"Three Dinners" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth 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' 109th overall. It was aired on January 22, 2014. The episode was written by Abraham Higginbotham,

Steven Levitan Steven E. Levitan (born April 6, 1962) is an American television producer, director, and screenwriter. He has created many television series such as ''Just Shoot Me!'', '' Stark Raving Mad'', '' Stacked'', '' Back to You'', ''Modern Family'', a ...

Jeffrey Richman Jeffrey Richman is an American writer, producer and actor. Producer * ''Uncoupled'' (2022): executive producer * ''Modern Family'': co-executive producer * '' Stacked'' * ''Frasier'': executive producer * '' Charlie Lawrence'' (2003): executive ...

and directed by Steven Levitan. In the episode, Jay's friend Shorty and his wife arrive at the Pritchett house for a dinner where Shorty informs Jay and Gloria that he and his wife decided to move to Costa Rica, leading the two friends to argue. Mitchell and Cameron go out on a romantic dinner to distract themselves from the planning of their upcoming wedding. Phil and Claire go out for a dinner with Haley to discuss her future. "Three Dinners" received positive reviews from the critics.

Ariel Winter Ariel Winter Workman (born January 28, 1998) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Alex Dunphy in the ABC sitcom '' Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she and her several costars won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Ou ...

and

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 ...

do not appear in this episode.

Plot

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 ...

) and Gloria (

Sofia Vergara Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river and has many mineral springs, such as the ...

) host Shorty (

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
. Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an America ...

) and his wife, Darlene (

Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American-Canadian actress and professional poker player. Known for her distinctive breathy voice and comedic timing, she is the recipient of a Saturn Award, and a GLAAD Award, ...

), for a dinner at their house. During the dinner, Shorty tells Jay and Gloria that they are moving to

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

in a couple of weeks. Jay gets upset with the news and he does not know how to react. He tries everything to make Shorty change his mind but the two of them end up fighting with Shorty leaving the house. Gloria tries to make Jay admit that the reason he reacted that way is because he is afraid that Shorty will like Costa Rica and he will not come back. Even though Jay denies it, he later accepts the possibility of "losing" his best friend and gets very emotional when he tells him goodbye. 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 Cam (

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 ...

), due to the stressed days they go through the last couple of months with the wedding planning, decide to go on a romantic date at a restaurant to reduce the tension between them. With the subject of the wedding and Lily (

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons Aubrey Frances Anderson-Emmons (born June 2007) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lily Tucker-Pritchett on ABC's ''Modern Family'' (2011–2020). Early life Anderson-Emmons is the daughter of Amy Anderson and Kent Emmons, w ...

) out of the table, they do not have much to say. Things get more interesting when they start talking to the couple who is sitting next to them, Brandon (

Eddie McClintock Edward Theodore McClintock (born May 27, 1967) is an American actor. He is best known for his role of Secret Service agent Pete Lattimer on the Syfy series '' Warehouse 13''. Early life McClintock was born in Canton, Ohio, and raised by his ...

) and Katie (

Leslie Grossman Leslie Erin Grossman (born October 25, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lauren on The WB sitcom '' What I Like About You'', and for her frequent collaborations with Ryan Murphy, appearing as Mary Cherry on The WB's come ...

), and Brandon reveals to them that he wants to propose to Katie. 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 ...

) and 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 ...

) decide to take 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'' ...

) out for a dinner so they can discuss her future. They worry that she does not know or have any plans about her future, and they decide that it is time to get her to make plans. Haley deduces their intentions and why they asked her out and reveals that she has already become a semi-successful photo blogger. Things then get reversed when she asks them what are ''their'' plans for the future when all three of them (Alex (

), Luke (

), and herself) leave the house.

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast, "Three Dinners" was watched by 9.59 million; up 0.45 from the previous episode.

Reviews

Joshua Alston of ''

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 the episode a B+ rate saying: "...it’s a solid episode that does nothing to push against the show’s boundaries, but it was brisk and had some solid laughs. ..In the first three seasons, “Three Dinners” would have been an average episode, but in season five, it’s pretty sterling." Leigh Raines from ''TV Fanatic'' rated the episode with 5/5 saying that the show "gave us one innerthat was surprising, one with difficult emotions and one that ended up really, really awkward." Madina Papadopoulos from ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is an American monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publi ...

'' rated the episode with 9.2/10 saying: ""Three Dinners" could have been a stage play, and it would have received a standing ovation. ..this episode proved that sedentary table talk can make you fall out of your chair with laughter." Jordan Alder from ''We Got This Covered'' gave a good review to the episode saying that "it is the finest episode of Modern Family this season and one of the best half-hours in the show’s run. Its structure is simple, its humour more refined and less shrill than typical for the sitcom, and the mix of drama with levity balances out just right" while praising the three writers " tfeels less like an episode of a comedy series that’s been through 100 episodes, and more like short segments from a comedy play. That’s how sharp the writing is ..The writers use a night out, paced and structured expertly as the characters examine the pace of their own lives at the current moment. It’s as lovely an episode from Modern Family as we have seen in years."

References

External links

*
"Three Dinners"
at ABC.com {{Modern Family, 5 Modern Family season 5 episodes 2014 American television episodes