This week for my Top 10 Tuesday, I am counting down the Top 10 characters from the Emmy winning hit Modern Family!
It was inspired casting to bring the late, great Fred Willard on board as Phil Dunphy's father, Frank. Ty Burrell's dopiness as Phil really seemed like it could have been inspired by Willard's brand of comedy. Frank wasn't in a ton of episodes but he makes the list over some actual series regulars because he never stopped being funny and always elevated any scene he was in. It was one of Willard's final recurring roles and he was the most memorable of the many Modern Family characters who turned up once in awhile.
9. LUKE DUNPHY
I struggled with what to do about Luke, Manny and Alex for this list. All three became so insufferable by the end of the series, I was left with a really bad taste in my mouth. But Luke ultimately made the list because he was the best as a young child and then the "least bad" among the three I mentioned in later years. I liked when the show embraced Luke being sort of dumb and it was very endearing before it became pathetic. He had a lot of great moments in the first several seasons.
8. DYLAN MARSHALL
Dylan is the highest ranking non-family member (though of course he becomes part of the family by the end of the series). Dylan had so many hilarious moments as Haley's very dense boyfriend turned ex-boyfriend turned baby daddy turned husband. Despite being one of the dumber characters in recent memory, he was so endearing too because everything came from a place of innocence. Haley was always funniest when she was involved with Dylan so I'm glad they ended up together.
Gloria was an interesting character to slot on this list because I think the writers did her no favors by making her accent such a large part of her personality. Sofia Vergara was very capable of doing some funny things but she was too often saddled with subpar material, especially compared to the other adult characters on the show. The character never really evolved from the first episode even if she occasionally had some good moments (I always loved her and Cam being kindred spirits). It might not be Vergara's fault but as a character, Gloria is the weakest of the six main adults.
6. MITCHELL PRITCHETT
Mitchell sort of went the opposite way of many characters on Modern Family for me because I actually grew to like him more over the course of the series. If I had made this list after Season 1, he would have been below all the adults and some or perhaps all of the kids. But over time, I grew to appreciate his snarkiness and his exasperation. I think the show always steadied his character and even though he could be a stick in the mud, he wasn't as prone to extreme character quirks that felled some other characters.
Jay was a steady presence throughout all 11 seasons of Modern Family even as the other characters grew more and more irritating. He was funny at times and probably one of the better dramatic characters in the few moments where the series called for it. He sort of had a disengaged personality who would look around with the audience and think "is this family really being as ridiculous as it seems to me?" He was sort of the window into the family for the audience and served an important purpose.
4. CLAIRE DUNPHY
Claire was an interesting character and there was a time in the run where she might have been my favorite - maybe around seasons two or three. She was great as the harried mom and especially as the sarcastic commentator on her children and husband's poor choices or dumb moments. I don't think Claire was a great person and the show didn't really try to redeem her all that often with sentimental moments but maybe that was for the best. In later years, the character became quite repetitive but in the early years, she was quite often hysterical.
It wasn't even close who the best kid on Modern Family was, it was Haley. She was one of the few characters to evolve over the course of the series as she went from a ditzy party girl to a mom of twins. But she never lost her character, she was still a funny and ditzy mom of twins but she was more responsible and her character grew as a result. Haley was a great character because she was funny herself and also made other characters funnier such as Claire and Alex in their constant exasperation with Haley.
2. CAMERON TUCKER
Cam is one of the ultimate boom or bust characters. There are times where he is one of the funniest characters on this or any other show and there are other times where he's just too much. Cam is at his best when he's a little put-upon or being petty about something. And of course he had one of his biggest triumphs as Fizbo the clown. He had some truly great moments during the run of the show and was very deserving of his love from the Emmys. It was just when Cam went too far into caricature that he didn't work as a character.
Modern Family prided itself on being an ensemble show and is also remembered for its portrayal of a gay couple in Cam and Mitchell. But there's no doubt that its most enduring and endearing character, and the one who will probably be the best remembered from the series, is Phil Dunphy. The befuddled dad was a different type of standard sitcom dad. He was goofy and lame like Ray Barone or Jim (of According to Jim) but he also just tried so, so hard to be cool and that was where so much humor was. He wasn't a groundbreaking character or one who evolved all that much, but his humor was the heart and soul of the show.
Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at 1989's Free Spirit!
Next Tuesday: Top 10 Taxi Characters!
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