Normal families, but funnier

If you haven’t yet checked out ABC’s new comedy "Modern Family" you are really missing out. The show centers around three families that are all inter-related. We have Claire and her husband Phil, the "normal" suburban family with three kids. There’s Claire’s gay brother Mitchell who lives with his partner Cam and their recently adopted infant Lily. And, stay with me now, Claire and Mitchell’s father Jay (Ed O’Neill) who lives with his much younger Colombian wife Gloria and her son Manny.

This week’s episode had each set of parents dealing with kid issues. Manny is starting the 5th grade and decides to leave the house in a poncho to represent his culture. Jay stares in disbelief and make some wisecracks that convince the young boy to leave it in the car. The relationship between Manny and Jay is hilarious to witness. The kid is very wise beyond his years and Jay is a very gruff, no-nonsense kind of guy.

When Gloria discovers what Jay has done, she makes him return the poncho to Manny at school. They then find out Manny planned to play a pan flute to the class while wearing the traditional garment. Afraid her son will die a virgin, Gloria and Jay hastily pretend to drop the flute and then step on it. Poor Manny’s disbelieving face makes the scene.

Mitchell and Cam’s parental woes this week were equally hilarious. Cam has decked out their daughter as, "Diana Ross from the RCA years" for a little photo shoot in the living room. Cue montage of baby Lily as various pop icons.

While dancing around with the baby, Mitchell accidentally bumps her head on the ceiling. Following this is a great scene in the doctor’s office in which they have to explain to the doctor the reason Lily’s head was protected was because she was wearing a "ghetto-fabulous wig."
As usual, the show leaves us with a message about the importance of family, but instead of cheesy music and a hug from Danny Tanner, we get a chubby Colombian kid playing a pan flute in a poncho. Genius.

"Modern Family" airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on ABC.