Modern Family, "Hit and Run": all the answers

Quick Take: Modern Family, “Hit and Run”
“I’ll admit, I’m kind of turned on by women in power: Michelle Obama, Oprah, Condoleeza Rice, Serena... Williams... wait a minute...” - Phil

Review: Modern Family, “Hit and Run”
(S0305) I’ve always liked how sitcoms can fast forward a few weeks in their little universe without any serious repercussions. Even when storylines connect in consecutive weeks, it doesn’t feel as though we’ve missed much when they skip over a period of time - like this week. After having her request for a stop sign dismissed by Councilman Duane (guest-star David Cross) more than a month ago, Claire decides to run against him in the upcoming election. Even though Phil opts to pick up the slack in lieu of his wife starting work again, Claire projects her own fear of losing onto a few mistakes Phil makes.

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Granted, Phil punched Luke and sedated Alex, but in his defence, Hayley was scheming to get fake I.Ds for her and her friends well before Claire made the decision to run for city council. Having lost $900 to a friend of a friend, Hayley is going around looking for someone to float her. Unfortunately, Alex is strapped for cash, and Luke’s assets (obligatory snicker) are frozen for the time being. Literally. In a block of ice. When Claire finds out that Hayley lost her friends’ money and outs her in front of a family gathering, the men decide to take matters into their own hands.

Cam and Mitch are already at odds after becoming the victims of a hit-and-run rear-ending – Cam wanted to chase down the perp, while Mitchell played it cool and called the cops. Jay, on the other hand, can’t seem to “wow” his new yuppie client (guest-star Sam Levine), who refuses to see the wisdom in Jay’s experience with closets. Like daughter like father, Jay projects his own frustrations onto Hayley’s thief, and readies Cam, Mitchell, and Phil to track him down. Even though Mitchell thinks it better to avoid confrontation, he emerges the unlikely hero by tackling the thief when he tries to run away.

Gloria, too, finally gets her chance to shine. After spending the episode claiming that she has all the answers – to Manny’s mafia project, to Jay’s work dilemma, and to Claire’s hesitancy to run for office – she proves herself capable of more than just chewing on dog shoes and mispronouncing simple words. Assuming that she knows everything there is to know about the mafia (1/3), Gloria also inspires Claire to put some faith in Phil – and more importantly, herself – convincing her to try her hand at politics (2/3). Finally, she becomes Jay’s “wow” factor at his next appointment by putting on a tight dress and getting the go-ahead for the same closet blueprint that was rejected the first time around (3/3).

Fans of the show Community will get an extra kick out of this episode; Guest-star David Neher plays the thief that Mitchell subdues, which is a great turn from tormented nice-guy Todd, who he plays in last week’s “Competitive Ecology.” Speaking of guest-stars, David Cross finally gets a little bit more screen-time in what should pan out to be a recurring role, mostly driving Claire to her wits’ end – first, by not remembering her, and then by remembering her, which prompts further antagonizing on his part. I can only hope that we’ll see Counsellor Duane and Claire going head-to-head in a hot-topic debate sooner rather than later.