Based on his track record with the most authoritative TV academy, Phil Dunphy has been an exceptional figure in the Modern Family saga.
For the eighth time in as many seasons, portrayer Ty Burrell is on the ballot at the Emmys for best supporting sitcom actor. While fellow cast regulars and some guest stars have joined him in the same or equivalent categories, this is his second consecutive year as the only individual representative.
Burrell is presently tied with Julie Bowen (Claire Dunphy) and Eric Stonestreet (Cameron Tucker) with two Emmys apiece for Modern Family. A victory next month to gain sole possession on that leaderboard is a long shot at this point in the show’s run. Then again, he is the only cast member with any shot at it.
The character of Phil has retained that Emmy-eligible endearment by adding more dimensions to the dorky dad cliché. He is not necessarily funny for his faults, but more often because he is loving to a fault.
On the eve of Burrell’s 50th birthday, and with four weeks until his next appearance at the Emmys, here is a chronology of highlights from every season. The 10 selected plotlines include one from each season that yielded a nomination, and two apiece from the 2010-11 and 2013-14 seasons that ended in a victory.
“Family Portrait”
Phil’s awkwardly abbreviated Q-and-A with Kobe Bryant brought back bittersweet memories of Saturday Night Live’s “Chris Farley Show.” His subsequent participation in the Lakers’ Kiss Cam with Gloria all but culminates a defining gag from the inaugural season. And even he is blindsided by it.
The way he panics over the kiss after a year of sneaking chances to touch his stepmother-in-law, Phil illustrates a sequence where fantasy and reality stand in the starkest of contrasts. Surely he never wanted an intimate moment like that to actually happen. Now that it has, the panic that comes with wondering how to explain it to Claire and Jay is facile comedic fodder.
“Regrets Only”
We all hate being sent to someone else’s doghouse for infractions we cannot ascertain and which the other party will not explain.
Phil’s conundrum with Claire is a textbook representation of that scenario. He continues to push her breaking button. She continues to leave the location of that button a mystery.
His desperation to retrace his steps and correct the one misstep strikes the most humorous chord when he stammers, “Happy Valenbirthaversary!” The rest of the time, he is a magnet for sympathy (minus the brief hints that he is not quite over Gloria). After all, as he reminds Claire after the restaurant debacle, the matter about a wedge salad is an anomaly in the attention he heeds her.
As many can surely relate, Phil does too much to try to patch up a rift, especially when he grasps too little about the cause. (Photo by Adam Larkey/ABC via Getty Images)
“Good Cop Bad Dog”
In Phil and Claire’s short-lived role-reversal experiment, Phil stops short of admitting his over-the-top disciplinary methods are partly nudged by bitterness. He only confides to the camera how much he had looked forward to escorting Luke and Manny to the go-cart venue.
Following the last-minute change of plans at Claire’s behest, Phil embraces his new “bad cop” position to the point where he bursts it. His icy stare and rapid insistence that “I’m not out of my mind!” as he duct-tapes Haley and Alex’s laptop encapsulate his overcommitment.
But the real Phil cannot be suppressed much longer than the vomit he implicitly dispenses after watching Haley extract a thick string of hair from the drain. Better stick with the not-so-tough variety of love, should he not? Anything else is more than he can stomach.
“The Last Walt”
There is more hinted, but mercifully unseen, precipitation of bodily fluid late in this episode. Once again, Phil cares a tad too much about his objective when he searches for a memory to share exclusively with Alex. As a consequence, he watches his effort backfire with her in the same fashion Claire’s did with Luke when they tried to have too much fun.
Facial expressions are another carryover from the previous highlight. As easy as it is to root for Phil, seeing him light up to the camera at the prospect of delivering the waitress’ baby can only elicit a half-amused, half-pitying headshake.
“Fulgencio”
Aren’t Godfather parodies as dead as the horse whose head bleeds on its owner’s mattress?
Not as of Jan. 23, 2013. The same goes for Phil’s propensity for excess in the name of helping his family and bolstering his business.
The reference is clearly coming by the time Phil and Claire intersect with Jay and Gloria’s storyline to assume the roles of baby Joe’s godparents. But the subsequent montage of misdeeds against four Dunphy adversaries does not so much roll eyes as instantaneously satisfy a craving.
And in the epilogue, when Claire inquires about the mysterious events, the stare returns.
“Farm Strong”
You have to admire Phil’s standing as a family man. While the violent deaths of multiple young crows play a patent role in his pain, there is more weighing on him throughout this episode. He immediately takes the accident as karma for putting chores ahead of Luke’s soccer game, and everyone else’s choice of words in the climactic scene exacerbate the wounds.
But amidst his own fit of distress, Cameron comes to Phil’s partial emotional rescue by spilling Claire’s secret about going rogue to Luke’s game. You know your character has made it as a TV dad when he alternates between chastising and cheering two family members in one place.
Usually the source of others’ frustration, Phil had his turn dishing out the displeasure after a distressing day in the “Farm Strong” episode. (Photo by Peter ‘Hopper’ Stone/ABC via Getty Images)
“The Help”
Fred Willard was a perfect pick to play Burrell’s onscreen dad. By placing him and Jay in the vehicle of this plotline, Burrell and the writers could not help but bring out the best of Phil here.
For those who have somehow been deprived of this episode, the two Phil quotes highlighted on IMDB are more than enough to instill the urge to catch up. An exchange with Jay about taking the widowed Frank on the town prompts Phil to naively use the term “three-way,” much to Jay’s characteristic discomfort.
And then, of course, the night they carry out yields another classic consequence of Phil’s brimful care for his family.
“The Cold”
Apparently, Phil did not retain his own lesson from the third-season “Disneyland” episode about taking care to stymie the spread of viruses. But where would this storyline be otherwise?
ABC’s YouTube channel set the tone by releasing a 79-second preview two days before the premiere. Watching seven other family members describe the inconvenience stemming from their own illnesses arguably gives the audience a greater sense of urgency for Phil than what he may have for himself.
That is saying a lot considering the resorts he takes to tweak the tape of Cameron and Mitchell’s wedding reception. This tree already had “The Incident” from its previous wedding, and Phil understandably wants no part, much less the catalyst role, in the sequel.
“Spread Your Wings”
The ducks that emerged nine episodes earlier as a borderline representation of Phil’s midlife crisis are on the egress in this installment. First, they are to conveniently disappear unbeknownst to Phil while he visits Alex at college, where there are obligatory displays of his cluelessness.
Ultimately, upon Phil’s return, the ducks take off under his accord, ending that portion of the saga at the half-season mark. The show as a whole will not be soaring into the sunset right away (at least two more years lie ahead). But this development, along with one in the most recent season, have put what should be an appropriate wrap on various Phil-centric motifs.
“Do You Believe in Magic”
Take your pick. There are both humorous and heartwarming elements to Phil acquiring the bench that hosted his first kiss with Claire, then placing it in their kitchen as Valentine’s Day gift.
The gesture evokes memories of Season One’s “Great Expectations” and Season Five’s “Suddenly Last Summer.” In both cases, Phil outclasses Claire in demonstrating detailed recollections of their romantic past. Will things finally balance out in mid-February of Season Eight?
The subsequent amusement over Phil’s wait for a return of the favor culminates in another culmination of a Modern Family motif. Finally another member of the household has committed to emulating his enthusiasm for magic without his over-the-head urging.
Leave a Reply