About: Modern Family "Princess Party"

Is it too bold to say that "Princess Party" was the best episode of the second season so far? I don't think so. Every story line was well crafted and hilarious. We know that the show works best when the three families are together in one place, so Lilly's birthday party served as a great catalyst for the funny in this episode. Not to mention it facilitated the return of Fizbo, the hilarious, and now apparently English, clown. Eric Stonestreet who plays Cam is a comic genius and he has successfully turned Fizbo into the only clown I like.

This weeks guest stars included Matt Dillon (Claire's high school boyfriend turned Beiber-hair-toting limo driver) and Shelly Long (Claire's passive-aggressive, never satisfied mother). As far as these characters go, it's nothing we haven't seen before, but for some reason it worked. They blended in with the cast seamlessly and offered just the right amount of quirk. Just the fact that DeDe would think it was
appropriate to bring Claire's high school boyfriend over for dinner gave a good indication of what kinds of squeamish Claire moments we could expect. And there were plenty. But I have to say I didn't see the Stacy's Mom twist coming until Dillon's character forgot his keys. I actually yelled to Claire, "no, no, NO!" but she looked anyway. Talk about scarred for life.

The Jay and Gloria story line about recording the book was priceless. When Jay shares the flashback of the answering machine debacle I couldn't stop laughing. Especially at Gloria's exaggerated "beeeeeeeeeeep". Ed O'Neil and Sofia Vergara have great comedic chemistry and their story lines never disappoint. And the book they end up recording for Lilly is definitely a keeper. Nothing like the sound of Jay asking Manny to freshen up his drink to lull your toddler to sleep.

My only complaint would be that the kids weren't the center of any of the story lines. And maybe it's not a complaint so much as something I just noticed. Manny did have his cashmere-loving moments. I also never get over how delicately he sips his tea with his pinky finger in the air. Then there was Luke's attempt to calm Claire down with his cutesy "pasghetti" pronunciation.

*I also have to mention Cam quizzing the princess. "Never break character!"
*Gloria on Xanax
*Why does everyone smell like cheese?