"Express Christmas" is the tenth 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, pe ...
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
Modern Family
''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...
'', and the series' 58th episode overall. It was aired on December 7, 2011. The episode was written by
Cindy Chupack
Cindy Chupack is a screenwriter and film director who has won three Golden Globes and two Emmys for her work as a writer/executive producer of HBO's ''Sex and the City'' and writer/co-executive producer of ABC's ''Modern Family''.
Early year ...
and directed by
Michael Spiller
Michael Alan Spiller (born August 1, 1961) is an American cinematographer and television director.
Plot
The episode starts with the whole family lounging around Jay (
Ed O'Neill
Edward Leonard O'Neill (born April 12, 1946) is an American actor and comedian. His roles include Al Bundy on the Fox Network sitcom '' Married... with Children'', for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes, and Jay Pritchett on the awar ...
) and Gloria's (
Sofía Vergara
Sofía Margarita Vergara Vergara (; born July 10, 1972) is a Colombian and American actress and model. She was the highest paid actress in American television from 2013 to 2020.
) pool. Mitchell (
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (born October 22, 1975) is an American actor. From 2009 to 2020, he portrayed Mitchell Pritchett on the sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he earned five consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding ...
) announces that their mother canceled for Christmas because she will go for a cruise with her new boyfriend. Claire (
Julie Bowen
Julie Bowen Luetkemeyer (born March 3, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for starring as Claire Dunphy in the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she received critical acclaim and six nominations for the Primetim ...
) is also upset with the cancellation, not because she will miss her, but because she did not even know about her mother having a boyfriend. Mitchell points out that their mother had previously mentioned him in a Christmas Family Newsletter, which Claire finds impossible to read. Discussion continues between family members regarding everyone's plans: Jay notes that on the day of Christmas he, Gloria and Manny ( Rico Rodriguez) will be traveling to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. The family realizes that this day (December 16) will be the last time the whole family will be together before New Year. Phil (
Ty Burrell
Tyler Gerald Burrell (born August 22, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. Burrell is best known for his role as Phil Dunphy on the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in ...
) has the idea of them celebrating Christmas that day, names it "Express Christmas," and enthusiastically attempts to get the rest of the family behind the idea.
Everyone gathers indoors as Phil, who is excitedly looking forward to this challenge, gets all the family members into groups so that everyone has something to do and get everything ready for their Christmas Day. Mitchell and Alex (
Ariel Winter
Ariel Winter Workman (born January 28, 1998) is an American actress. She starred as Alex Dunphy in the ABC comedy series ''Modern Family'', for which she and her co-stars won four consecutive Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Ensemble ...
) go for a tree along with Lily (
Aubrey Anderson-Emmons
Aubrey Frances Anderson-Emmons (born 6 June 2007) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lily Tucker-Pritchett on ABC's ''Modern Family''.
Personal life
Anderson-Emmons is the daughter of Korean American Amy Anderson and Kent Emm ...
); Phil and Manny go to the grocery store; Jay and Cameron (
Eric Stonestreet
Eric Allen Stonestreet (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for portraying Cameron Tucker in the ABC mockumentary sitcom ''Modern Family'', for which he received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting ...
) are responsible for wrapping the gifts; Claire and Haley (
Sarah Hyland
Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress and singer. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having small roles in the films '' Private Parts'' (1997), '' Annie'' (1999) and ''Blin ...
) go to the store to buy the last minute gifts and Gloria with Luke (
Nolan Gould
Nolan Gould (born October 28, 1998) is an American actor known for his role as Luke Dunphy on the ABC sitcom ''Modern Family''.
Early life and education
Gould was born in New York City, the son of Angela and Edwin Gould. Shortly after his bir ...
) need to find the Christmas angel for the tree and the ornaments that are packed in the house's attic.
Mitchell and Alex, with Lily in tow, search for the perfect tree - an 8' tall Douglas Fir - in an urban tree lot. A tree salesman who has been watching them, tells them he thinks where they could find what they are looking for. They mistakenly think that he is pointing them to a group of artificial pink trees. Alex, immediately standing up for her uncle, tells the salesman that just because he is "clearly" gay does not mean they have to buy a pink tree. The salesman states he was talking about the truck pulling in behind those trees, which were loaded with 8' tall Douglas Firs. Being clearly embarrassed by their overreaction, but seeming to want to hold on to their dignity at the same time, they buy another tree they had previously dubbed unsuitable and load it onto the car, even offering to load it onto the car themselves. As a result of this, the tree falls off the rack and into traffic, where Gloria and Luke just happen to be passing that moment, and run over the tree destroying it. After some hopeful quips between Mitchell and Alex of salvaging the tree, a truck following Gloria's car destroys what has left of it. Instead of stopping, Gloria speeds on ahead, instructing Luke to never look back.
Gloria and Luke have to find the Christmas ornaments but Gloria is afraid to get into the attic because there are many spiders in there. They manage to find everything they are looking for, including the angel Mitchell and Claire want and their mother made for them when they were kids. On their way home, Gloria sees a spider on the angel and she throws it out of the car. The angel gets run over just like the tree and it breaks. Gloria "glues" the head back with chewed gum but Mitchell notices.
Claire and Haley are at the store to buy the gifts. They find everything they have on their list, except from the nightlight for Lily. While Claire is heading to the register, Haley goes to find the nightlight. She gets there but there is only one left and it is taken by another man. Haley, to get it from him, she dressed up like an employee and she offers to bring his items to the register while he shops. She gets to Claire with the nightlight and they now have everything they wanted.
Cameron and Jay wrap the presents and while they do it, Cameron tries to have an emotional moment with Jay. He gives him a present and when Jay opens it, there is a cork in the box. Cameron tells Jay that it is from a moment they drank wine together but Jay does not remember which one. Cameron gets all teary and explains Jay that it was from the time they watched their first football game together. Jay offends Cameron that he is too attached to things and Cameron leaves the room.
Phil and Manny finish with the groceries and they now wait to meet with a guy at the parking lot, having arranged to buy a rare baseball card (a gift for Jay) on
Craigslist
Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, Gig worker, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.
Craig Newmark ...
. Manny though freaks out with the whole situation (Luke convinced him that child-snatching is very common) and he just wants to go back home. The guy gets there and while he tries to get a higher price from Phil, Manny whips out his mom's stun gun but he accidentally zaps Phil. The guy takes the money and the turkey Phil bought for the dinner, however Phil's hand goes into spasms and he ends up crushing the card.
The family finally gathers back together at Phil and Claire's home; the tree is in pieces; the angel is ruined; Claire does not have a turkey to cook and Phil is still vibrating after Manny zapped him with the stun gun. Everyone is disappointed and angry with each other since nothing has gone right so Jay makes a proposition; instead of celebrating Christmas they could all go to a Chinese restaurant and celebrate Jewish Christmas. Everyone agrees, desperate to put the disaster behind them, however when they get outside they find that Jay has covered the whole front of the house with fake snow. The arguments and problems are forgotten and the family has a wonderful early Christmas, and Gloria says in her interview that as long as you have family around you every day can be December 16.
Afterwards, Phil gives Jay his back-up present; dog antlers for Stella (which he picked up at a gas station). Although Phil doesn't expect much of a reaction, Jay loves them.
Reception
Ratings
In its original American broadcast, "Express Christmas" was watched by 12.20 million; down from the special Thanksgiving episode.
Reviews
"Express Christmas" received positive reviews.
Leigh Raines from ''TV Fanatic'' rated the episode with 4/5. "My two favorite parts of the episode, not counting the tear-inducing snow scene, were Phil's explanation of Craigslist's shadiness before Manny tasered him and Haley working her magic at Target."
Christine N. Ziemba from ''
Paste Magazine
''Paste'' is a 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 publication fro ...
'' gave the episode 7/10 saying that "The new dynamics between characters were refreshing, even if some of the storylines fell flat."
The review from ''Wetpaint'' was really good. ""Express Christmas," had everything with love about Modern Family: plenty of jokes, mishaps, Phil-isms, Gloria mispronounciations, bickering, and heartwarming good cheer."
Despite these positive reviews, Noel Murray of ''The A.V. Club'' rated the episode a C−.