"Punkin Chunkin" is the ninth episode of the third season of the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
''
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 ...
'', and the series' 57th episode overall. It aired on November 23, 2011. The episode was written by
Ben Karlin
Benjamin Miles Karlin (born c. 1971) is an American television producer and writer. He has won eight Emmy awards, and is best known for his work in ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' and ''The Colbert Report''. He is one of three co-creators of ...
and directed by
Michael Spiller
Michael Alan Spiller (born August 1, 1961) is an American cinematographer and television director.
Plot
As Thanksgiving approaches, the Dunphys receive a visit from their former kid neighbor Kenneth (
Josh Gad
Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise and playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon''. For his role as Olaf, Gad won two Annie ...
) who idolized 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 ...
). Kenneth tells the family that he dropped out of college and is now a billionaire because of an investment company he started with a friend, something that he owes to Phil since he was the one who was always telling him to follow his heart and told himself to 'think like Phil' when making decisions. Haley (
Sarah Hyland
Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having minor roles in the films '' Private Parts'' (1997), '' Annie'' (1999) and '' Blind Date'' ...
) takes the opportunity to say that it is not so bad not to go to college and follow your dreams instead, which upsets 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 ...
). Phil starts to wonder why he isn't as successful as Kenneth and believes that Claire pouring scorn onto his various ideas is what held him back. Haley and Alex go out for a drive, but Alex distracts Haley and she accidentally runs the car into a stone trash can. The two then do everything they can to keep Claire from noticing until she goes to the store (guessing that she'll assume someone hit her car in the lot).
Meanwhile, at the Pritchett-Delgado home, 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 ...
) tries to give Manny ( Rico Rodriguez) a little constructive criticism in regards to a messy-looking centerpiece he made, but 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 ...
) stops him because she does not want to hurt Manny's feelings. Jay tries to explain that it is not bad to tell Manny that he is not perfect, but she does not understand.
Cameron (
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 ...
) and Mitch (
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 ...
) are out with friends and Cameron tells a story of when he used a catapult to launch a pumpkin across a football field. Mitchell, who is tired of the story, tells Cameron he doesn't believe it and questions the authenticity of it and several other stories he tells. Cameron, offended, insists that all of his stories are true, but he struggles to make Mitch believe them.
The whole family gathers at the Dunphy's house, where Jay takes the chance to tell Manny his centerpiece isn't that good. Manny throws it in the trash, leading to an argument over all three issues and dividing the family into the "Dreamers" (Cameron, Phil and Gloria) and the "Realists" (Jay, Mitchell and Claire). The arguments ends up leading them to a football field so Cameron can prove that his story with the punkin chunkin is true.
At the field, they build a catapult and shoot a pumpkin from it, but it doesn't travel very far, seemingly disproving Cameron's story. The Realists don't get the satisfaction they thought they would and instead tell the others they want to try again but this time with the pumpkin shot from a steeper angle with more people pulling at it. The second time, it works. As the pumpkin sails through the air, a guilt-ridden Alex confesses to Claire what happened to the car just before the pumpkin hits the dent they made.
Reception
Ratings
In its original American broadcast "Punkin Chunkin" was watched by 12.72 million; slightly down from the previous episode.
Reviews
"Punkin Chunkin" received mixed reviews.
Claire Zulkey 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 ...
'' gave a B+ rate to the episode saying that "...the show didn’t go anywhere new tonight but it was good entertainment for the night before Thanksgiving."
Leigh Raines of ''TV Fanatic ''gave the episode a 3/5 rate stating that this week's episode was "just depressing".
Maris Kreizman from ''Vulture'' gave a good review to the episode saying: " The push and pull between the three main couples has always been the show’s lifeblood. If revisiting this dynamic sometimes comes at the detriment of plot and character development, well, at least it’s good for laughs."