Princess Party
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"Princess Party" is the 15th episode of the American comedy television series, ''
Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American television sitcom, created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, that aired on ABC for 11 seasons from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. The series follows the lives of three diverse but interrelated fa ...
'''s second season and the 39th overall. It originally aired on February 16, 2011, on the
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...
(ABC). The episode was written by
Elaine Ko Elaine Ko is an American television writer and producer best known for her work on ''Modern Family'' and ''Only Murders in the Building''. Early life Ko is a Korean American, whose Korean name is Ko Yoon-ju. Career Ko's TV career began on th ...
and was directed by
Michael Spiller Michael Alan Spiller (born August 1, 1961) is an American cinematographer and television director.TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles, and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could b ...
'' writer Joel Keller calling it "one of the funniest episodes of the season". The episode saw a significant drop in the ratings from the previous episode, " Bixby's Back" which reached a series high.


Plot

At the Dunphy's Claire (
Julie Bowen Julie Bowen (born Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer; March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She starred as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom '' Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received widespread critical acclaim. She won the Primetime Emmy A ...
) is going berserk because her mother — grandma DeDe (
Shelley Long Shelley Long (born August 23, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. For her role as Diane Chambers on the sitcom ''Cheers'', Long received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. S ...
) — is coming, so Phil (
Ty Burrell Tyler Gerald Burrell (born August 22, 1967) is an American actor. Burrell is best known for playing Phil Dunphy on the ABC sitcom '' Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...
) is arranging for the children to get off her back and orders Luke (
Nolan Gould Nolan Gould (born October 28, 1998) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Luke Dunphy on the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020). Early life and education Gould was born in New York City, to Angela and Edwin Gould. Shortly ...
) to be extra-charming to ward off any unpleasant situation. It turns out that DeDe ran into Robby Sullivan (
Matt Dillon Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Independent Spirit Awards alongside nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, ...
), Claire's old boyfriend, and invited him for dinner, without telling him that Claire is now married with children, much to his surprise. Robby is a limo driver who has kept his good looks and taunts Phil. During dinner he starts telling anecdotes of his and Claire's escapades which reveal how much she was out of control when growing up, to the amazement of Phil and amusement of her children. After dinner is finally over, Claire and Phil caught DeDe making out with Robby when he walks her to his limo. Gloria (
Sofía Vergara Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and television personality who received five nominations each at the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards. She is one of the highest-paid a ...
) comes back home from purchasing Lily's present, a children's book with a recorder where they can record their voices reading the book. She arranges for the entire Pritchett-Delgado family to play the roles with disastrous results just as Jay (
Ed O'Neill Edward Leonard O'Neill (born April 12, 1946) is an American actor, comedian, and former football player. Over his career, he has earned four Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe ...
) had foreseen. Meanwhile, Gloria is very anxious about going to Lily's party the next day, because she does not want to run into DeDe again. This is used by Jay as an excuse to get out of a friend's of Gloria's
first communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communion (ot ...
party because he feels that "the father does not like him very much". However his plan ultimately fails when Gloria rethinks her previous position and decides not to let DeDe prevent her from missing important family events because she knows that Jay will be there for her just as she will be there for him at María Victoria's first communion. At Mitchell (
Jesse Tyler Ferguson Jesse Tyler Ferguson (born October 22, 1975) is an American actor. From 2009 to 2020, he portrayed List of Modern Family characters#Mitchell Pritchett, Mitchell Pritchett on the sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he earned five consecutive nomin ...
) and Cameron's (
Eric Stonestreet Eric Allen Stonestreet (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Cameron Tucker in the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which he received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Com ...
) they are arranging Lily's birthday and Mitchell is nervous about DeDe's presence there. He has to disinvite Fizbo, much to Cameron's dismay, because it is a "princess-themed-party". At the party Cameron is angry because of the ban on Fizbo and he picks on the hired princess (
Kate Reinders Kate Reinders (born December 10, 1980) is an American actress and singer, who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows. She is best known for appearing as Miss Jenn in the Disney+ musical mockumentary series '' High Schoo ...
) and makes her break character by repeatedly asking how to pay for her services. When the Dunphys arrive Claire lets Mitchell in on all the events that took place after Robby left, namely that he and DeDe disappeared and she left to have breakfast with him. Jay and Gloria arrive, but Gloria is drunk, because she ingested a
Xanax Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of moderate duration within the triazolobenzodiazepine group of chemicals called benzodiazepines. Alprazolam is most commonly prescribed in the ...
with a shot of
tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos (Jal ...
. DeDe and Robby arrive, which makes Claire and Mitchell angry because they think it is a ploy to taunt them but in reality it is Jay that DeDe is taunting. Claire confronts Robby about kissing her mother and he admits that he had a crush on DeDe while dating her. Later he asks Claire to admit that she is angry at him kissing her mother because she still wants Robby. DeDe overhears this and Claire makes a scene despite Mitchell's intention to keep the party about Lily. Jay finally confronts Robby and makes him leave. DeDe is approached by Jay who admits that she fell for the admiration of a younger man. DeDe does not want to be labeled as the "crazy nana", causing her to end up attacking Gloria. Finally Mitchell agrees that Fizbo is the only salvation of the party.


Production

"Princess Party" was written by
Elaine Ko Elaine Ko is an American television writer and producer best known for her work on ''Modern Family'' and ''Only Murders in the Building''. Early life Ko is a Korean American, whose Korean name is Ko Yoon-ju. Career Ko's TV career began on th ...
and was directed by
Michael Spiller Michael Alan Spiller (born August 1, 1961) is an American cinematographer and television director. This episode was Ko's first writing credit for the series and the tenth episode for Spiller. The episode aired on the
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...
on February 16, 2011, in the United States as the fifteenth episode of the series' second season and the 39th episode overall. This episode was filmed on January 11 and January 13, 2011. The episode features the second appearance of Mitchell and Claire's mother, DeDe Pritchett, played by
Shelley Long Shelley Long (born August 23, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and comedian. For her role as Diane Chambers on the sitcom ''Cheers'', Long received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. S ...
, who previously guest starred on the season one episode, " The Incident". The episode also features the return of Fizbo the Clown and
Matt Dillon Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Independent Spirit Awards alongside nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, ...
playing Claire's former high school boyfriend and DeDe's new boyfriend. Matt Dillon's guest spot was originally announced December 2010 by ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
''. Dillon filmed his guest appearance on January 11, 2011.


Reception


Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Princess Party" was viewed by an estimated 10.453 million households and received a 4.3 rating/12% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 4.3% of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 12% of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This episode of ''Modern Family'' saw a 16 percent decrease from the previous episode, " Bixby's Back". Despite this, "Princess Party" was the most-watched scripted show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18–49, and the twentieth most-watched show among all viewers.


Reviews

The episode received mixed reviews from critics many commenting on the return of Shelley Long and Fizbo. ''
TV Squad Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles, and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could b ...
'' writer Joel Keller named the episode "one of the funniest episodes of the season" praising the "subtle fashion" of Fizbo's return. Keller also praised Long's performance, saying she stopped the character from being the "standard sitcom mom". Rachael Maddux of ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'' said the episode was a "bit of a letdown", saying that no one of the plot-lines got the "time it deserved." Alan Sepinwall criticized the show and the episode's use of
Multi-camera The multiple-camera setup, multiple-camera mode of production, multi-camera or simply multicam is a method of filmmaking, television production and video production. Several cameras—either film or professional video cameras—are employed on ...
-like humor, comparing it to a "bad episode" of ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
'' writing that the episode featured "funny, talented people in front of and behind the camera, and it's not surprising that even a bad episode would have a good joke or three.". ''
Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...
'' writer Christine Ziemba called the episode "respectable" writing that Long and Dillon were "perfectly fine in their roles", but criticized the fact that "they didn't bring an extra-added spark to the episode". She ultimately gave the episode 7.0/10. John Teti from ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' compared the return of Fizbo to last week's critically panned episode, " Bixby's Back" writing that it was "a relief" that Fizbo wasn't featured in the episode. He ultimately gave the episode a B+.


References


External links


"Princess Party"
at ABC.com * {{Modern Family, 2 Modern Family season 2 episodes 2011 American television episodes Television episodes about birthdays