Finally, a new episode of Modern Family! How I’ve missed thee as my mid-week pick-me-up. This week’s episode titled “Election Day” found Election Day finally upon us, as the entire family did some hilarious last-minute campaigning on Claire’s behalf. While everyone certainly had an important job, from manning the phone banks to driving senior citizens to the polls, the stand-out was Cam and Mitchell driving around town with a megaphone and a La Cucaracha-playing horn attached to their “Vote for Claire Mobile.”
It was like they were on their own personal mission from God to get Claire elected in some scenes that were decidedly reminiscent of the Blues Mobile in one of my all-time favorite movies, The Blues Brothers. When they yelled out various things at the passers-by, I was cracking up. It reminded me so much of the scene in which Elwood and Jake Blues drove around town informing people about their big concert, telling them they had to attend. However, Cam and Mitchell are just a tad cattier than the Blues Brothers and their “campaigning” quickly turned into them being “a voice of change” for their community whether it was ready to hear their unleashed voices or not.
Cam: “Hey, you, in the yellow jacket! Pick it up and put it in the trash!”
Mitch: “Hey, dragon tattoo! No jay-walking!”
Apparently taunting individuals guilty of petty crimes was not enough for the dynamic duo, so they decided to go around taunting businesses who had wronged them in the past:
Cam: “They will break all your buttons and say you brought it in that way.”
Mitchell: “Turns out we had a lot of axes to grind.”
Cam: “And a Hybrid, so there was virtually no stopping us.”
Mitchell: “Do not see that movie. You will neither laugh nor cry.”
Cam: “Best pizza in the city? Not even the best pizza on the street.”
Mitchell: “They do not do the hair of the people on those pictures.”
Cam: “Totally free checking? Don’t bank on it!”
All I can say is what a great idea! If we could all go around harping on the businesses who have wronged us, wouldn’t the world be made a better place as the result of our incessant bitchiness, complaints and grudges? Oh wait, that’s what Yelp is for I guess!
The best campaign slogans uttered from the megaphone:
Cam: “The choice is Claire. Vote Claire Dunphy for town council.”
Cam: “I can see Clairely now that Duane is gone.”
Mitchell: “You don’t have to be clairvoyant to know who to vote for. Vote Dunphy for Town Council. Uh … Claire Dunphy. Claire’s her first name. I’m sorry if that wasn’t Claire.”
Was anyone else a little surprised Claire didn’t win the election? I really thought she would end up getting the town council position, but I love that they kept the characters grounded and the show credible by showing that sometimes the underdog doesn’t always win. It also made me wish more than ever that I was a member of the Dunphy clan.
If you give it the old Dunphy try, you’ll never be considered a failure. As long as you tried, that’s all that matters. The rest of the family will still support your effort, as we saw them do with Claire and also with Haley when she got rejected by several colleges and put on a waiting list for her final choice. While we may not get to choose what wacky family we’re born into, we should be thankful for them because chances are they’re going to have our back if we decide to run for a public office.
Memorable Quotes:
Phil: “Town Councilwoman Dunphy, how do you respond to allegations that you look super sexy in your new suit?”
Claire: “I haven’t been elected yet. Come on kids, we gotta vote. Honey, come on. Please stop filming.”
Phil: “I’m just excited. After today, you are going to be a town councilwoman and I am going to be a first husband.”
Claire: “If you don’t stop filming, you’re going to be my first husband.”
Phil: “I will be driving 50 of our finest senior citizens to the polls, assuming of course that they remember that I’m coming for them.”
Jay: “Claire likes to win. When she was eight, a little Girl Scout friend of hers bragged she could sell the most cookies. Damn if Claire didn’t walk the neighborhood ‘til she got blisters on her feet and won by 10 boxes. Best part is, Claire wasn’t even a Girl Scout.”
Mitchell: “I know how important winning is to Claire.”
Cam: “And I love to festoon things.”
Mitchell: “We’re her dream team.”
Cam: “So, we cleared the whole day, dropped Lily off at school and voted first thing.”
Mitchell: “Although one of us had a bit of a dimpled Chad situation.”
Cam (to a handsome poll-worker): “Can you tell me how this machine works again, Chad?”
Jay: “Manny, write this down. Election Day is America at its finest. The people speak and the government listens. I don’t know what they do in Colombia.”
Gloria: “No one does and don’t ask.”
Cam: “Oh my gosh. This is an instrument of power. How could they not sell tacos?”
Mitchell: “You know what we could do with this thing? Cam, we could really make a difference. We could be the voice of change.”
Cam: “Oooh, I got it. Let’s go yell at the drycleaner that lost my shirt.”
Phil: “No, she feels great. Her spirits are high. The whole family’s high. There’s your headline.”
Jay: “Actually, I don’t know how she took it ‘cause I wasn’t there. We dated a few weeks and then after we, you know, I slipped out of her house before she woke up and never called her again. Put my pants on in her yard, put the car in neutral, let it roll down the driveway lights off… Hey, I can’t talk about this anymore.”
Gloria: “So, because of this woman you didn’t vote for your daughter? It’s Claire. We need her to win. I don’t wanna be around when something that tight comes unraveled.”
Mitchell: “Oh my God, there’s Sandy.”
Cam: “Sandra Bullock?”
Mitchell: “Yeah, Sandra Bullock. We’re such good friends I call her Sandy, so. No, Sandy who works at Lily’s pre-school.”
Cam: “Oh, yeah. You know she got engaged?”
Mitchell: “Nooo, to the gay boyfriend?”
Cam: “Totally.”
Mitchell: “Oh, how does she not see it?”
Cam: “If I was with somebody that gorgeous, I’d overlook a few quirks too.”
Mitchell: “First of all, thank you. Second of all, point well-taken. Poor Sandy. I feel so bad for her.”
Cam: “It’s better than being alone.”
Mitchell: “Is it?”
Luke: “If you vote for Claire Dunphy, you won’t have to pay taxes for the rest of your life.”
Alex: “Luke, what are you doing? You can’t say that.”
Luke: “Oh, like she’d be the first politician to make a promise she can’t keep.”
Mitchell: “We see a great looking guy like Gregory and we say he’s gay because we want him to be gay.”
Sandy: “Really, really are you sure?”
Cam: “Absolutely. Look at what we do with movie stars. You know, Hugh Jackman. He sings, he dances, he’s dreamy, so obviously we would want him on our team but he’s straight. Trust me, I know. I said hello to him once in a restaurant and there was absolutely no chemistry.”
Mitchell: “Well, if that isn’t proof.”
Cam: “Three weeks later, Sandy and Gregory got married and everyone said the wedding was beautiful.”
Mitchell: “Gregory did the flowers … which is perfectly normal for a straight guy.”
Haley: “Dear Miss Dunphy, we regret to inform you … While we cannot offer you admission at this time, you are a promising candidate and therefore we would like to place you on our wait list. Oh my God, I got waitlisted!”
Claire: “We will take it!”
Phil: “Our daughter might be going to college!”
Clacked by Kim Tibbs
on Apr 12, 2012 @ 13:46 EST5EDT
