MODERN FAMILY: Send Out The Clowns

If you have a fear of clowns, this week’s episode of Modern Family was not the episode for you. It begins at the funeral of Cam’s mentor from clown school. Cam is dressed as Fizbo the clown, and all of his friends are dressed in clown attire as well. Seeing a sad group of clowns is definitely a downer. Lewis (guest star Bobby Cannavale), Cam’s former clown partner, appears to be handling it better than the others. Cam and Lewis used to be like the Beatles at kids parties until Cam broke up the group, which is still a sore subject for Lewis.

After the funeral, Cam, Lewis and the rest of the clowns pile up in one car, like only clowns can, and head out for some drinks. Cam and Lewis had such a good time, Mitchell wakes up to them entertaining Lily in the kitchen at 5am. They are having a blast but Mitchell is not happy about it.

Cam and Lewis decide to put their old act back together for a Childs party. Cam thinks it is a one-time thing but Lewis has other plans. Right before their big performance, Cam breaks it to Lewis that he won’t be doing any other shows because he is a family man now. Lewis acts like he understands, but we see later that he is really angry when he starts hitting Cam with a frying pan during the show. The kids are laughing but Cam is not amused.

At the Dunphy’s, Phil is excited because he is about to land the biggest listing of his career. He is focused and ready until he arrives at the house and Mitzi Roth (guest star Ellen Barkin) is there. Mitzi Roth is a real estate agent who will do anything to get a listing. Not a woman you want to mess with. She takes the listing from Phil by falling in the bushes in front of the home owners and accusing Phil of pushing her. That is it for Phil, no more Mr. Nice Guy. He can play dirty too.

Phil borrows Luke’s spy pen to record a confession from Mitzi. She admits her trick before giving Phil a hug and swiping the spy pen. Ooh Mitzi is wicked. But Phil will not give up.

Luke runs into Mitzi at the grocery store. He tells her that he has the best Dad in the world, and how he worries about money to pay for college. Phil comes and takes Luke away once he sees him talking to his rival. Later that day, Mitzi shows up at the Dunphy’s to tell Phil that she’s giving him the listing after all. Score! Phil’s stunt with Luke in the grocery store paid off. Phil staged the whole thing which proved he knows how to fight dirty too. Take that Mitzi Roth!

Manny has a new friend Griffin coming over. Jay questions this friendship because Griffin is too “cool” to hang with Manny, so he is convinced it’s because he saw Jay on his motorcycle. Well Jay was on the right track, but we find out Griffin has a crush on Gloria, not Jay. Manny overhears Jay and Gloria talking and he finds out Griffin is only using him because he has the hots for Gloria. We think Manny will be hurt by this, but instead he is relieved. He was only hanging around Griffin because he has a crush on his sister. It all works out for everyone, except for Gloria. Griffin invites the family to a pool party, and Manny instructs his mother to dress accordingly.

Claire finally decided to get a Facebook page and is bothered that the girls won’t accept her friend request. Haley doesn’t want her to see what she does at parties, and Alex doesn’t want her to post embarrassing pictures of them when they were kids. Well, the tables are turned when Claire decides to show them her page. Someone tagged Claire in a picture that she did not want the girls to see. They thought it was very funny and Claire was screaming “What is tagging?” Hilarious! See kids being friends with your parents on Facebook can be fun for you too.

Modern Family airs Wednesday nights at 9/8c on ABC.