Modern Family. Funny, heartwarming, or uncomfortable? Splashing around in the intermediate waters between the shallow and deep ends of the pool populated by such fare as The Office and Arrested Development, the story of the blended Dunphy-Pritchett clan ambitiously reached for all of the above, and somehow managed it. It helped that the writing was tight, and the casting inspired. I could readily have profiled Ed O'Neill's avuncular paterfamilias Jay, Sofia Vergara's hilarious Latin trophy wife Gloria, or one of the Dunphy kids (Luke became increasingly hilarious as the show wore on). And, Julie Bowen, who I've enjoyed since her spin opposite Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore, is at turns ravishing and relatable as harried series linchpin Claire.
But Phil. Ah, Phil, you glorious lucky bastard. You college cheerleading, amateur magicking, real-estate savanting bastard. With almost nothing to offer the world other than a penchant for malapropism and a seemingly bulletproof optimism, you managed to secure a wife several rungs higher than you on life's unspoken hierarchy, produced three children you became a fantastic father to, and generally arranged an enviable, if chaotic, upper-middle-class American life. Sometimes accidents (like unplanned pregnancies) can lead to greatness. Of course, if our teenage sons are reading this, know that it's a deeply unreliable blueprint.
Phil and Claire's marriage may have begun as a compromise, but it blossomed into a true love story, one that endured all the trying and awkward scenarios Hollywood scriptwriters could devise. Much of that is due to Phil's undying belief in love and in family and in happy endings. While Claire is the workhorse of the family, the one who makes life work, Phil is the show pony, the one who lives for laughter and spectacle and celebration and all the things that make life worthwhile. Sure, he's dopey, a walking dad joke. Sure he's a bit of a man-child, with varying degrees of competence (outside real estate, where he is routinely at least second in his territory). And sure, his ogling of his father-in-law's second wife verges on creeper territory (come on, it's peak Sofia Vergara). But he's loyal, and loving, and - here's the best part - he knows how lucky he is. It's hard not to like a guy who realizes he's living the dream and truly appreciates it. A tip of the cap to you, Phil Dunphy, you lucky bastard.
A final note: apparently showrunners wanted Matt LeBlanc, fresh off his work as Joey on Friends, for the role of Phil. I can see what they were going for, but it's hard to see anyone other than Ty Burrell in the part.
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