Modern Family 3×10 — “Express Christmas”: While I appreciated the fact that Modern Family didn’t do a sappy, overly sentimental Christmas episode, I just didn’t like this one very much. I didn’t think any of it was particularly funny — mostly because the wacky situations are just too out there now.
For example, I had a hard time believing the stun gun thing (I know, it’s just a sitcom) and didn’t laugh at Ty Burrell’s physical comedy even though I usually love him. Also, I didn’t get why Mitchell freaked out so bad about the tree being run over. He was RIGHT THERE at the tree place still. You mean he couldn’t spend another $50 to get a tree that wasn’t severed in half, even if it meant dealing with that cashier again? Yeah right.
We had some interesting pairings again this time (Gloria/Luke, Mitchell/Alex, Phil/Manny, Cam/Jay), but they weren’t really enough to make the episode a good one. The only thing I liked was Haley’s resourcefulness at getting that toy after she realized she wouldn’t be able to use her “assets” (her go-to method, apparently) on the gay guy. Otherwise…. pretty weak, IMO.