"Up All Night" is the eleventh episode of the first season of the American
family sitcom
A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...
television series ''
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 eleventh episode of the series overall. It premiered on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on January 6, 2010. The episode was written by co-creator
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...
and directed by
Michael Spiller
Michael Alan Spiller (born August 1, 1961) is an American cinematographer and television director. The episode features the first appearance of Javier, Manny's biological father and Gloria's first husband, portrayed by
Benjamin Bratt
Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor and producer who has worked in film and on television. He had supporting roles in the 1990s in such box office hits as ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), ...
.
In the episode, Gloria is annoyed at Jay's reaction to Javier, Manny's unreliable dad, but manages to let Jay allow Javier stay for the night. Jay is seduced by Javier's manner, leading Gloria to take action. Phil suffers from kidney stones and Claire calls the firemen to rush him to hospital. Mitchell and Cameron try to train Lily into sleeping alone but they have hard time doing it, especially Cameron.
The episode was rated 4.1/11 (the highest since the
pilot episode
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
) and received positive reviews from the critics.
Plot
Gloria (
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.
) is less than pleased with Jay's (
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 ...
) reaction to the arrival of Javier (
Benjamin Bratt
Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor and producer who has worked in film and on television. He had supporting roles in the 1990s in such box office hits as ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), ...
), Manny's ( Rico Rodriguez) infamously unreliable dad. Gloria talks Jay into allowing Javier to stay the night after Javier shows up a day late to visit Manny. Javier calls in a favor and takes Manny and Jay to a baseball field at night. The next day, Javier shows up with motorcycles and says they are for Jay and him to ride. Gloria forces Manny to go to school and has a discussion with Jay that he is now being seduced by Javier's manner just as she was in the past. Jay denies it but waits by the phone for Javier.
Meanwhile, 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 ...
) is suffering from
kidney stone
Kidney stone disease, also known as nephrolithiasis or urolithiasis, is a crystallopathy where a solid piece of material (kidney stone) develops in the urinary tract. Kidney stones typically form in the kidney and leave the body in the urine s ...
s. While suffering from the pain, 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 ...
) takes advantage to confess to breaking the glass coffee table which cost the Dunphys their hired help when he blamed it on her (and who was deported as jobless). Phil's dramatics leave 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 ...
) no other choice but to call for the firemen to rush him to the hospital. Claire dresses up, wearing a revealing top and tight jeans to look nice much to Phil's dismay. Phil ends up in the hospital to have the stones removed. He plans on taking advantage of the guilt Claire feels for flirting with the firemen but it is short-lived, as she discovers the very attractive patients a couple of rooms down that Phil visited while in the hospital.
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 ...
) 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 ...
) have a harder time than Lily as they attempt to sleep train her. Mitchell discovers Cameron cries all night listening to Lily cry and introduces Lily to
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for his work in the suspense, crime and psychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading ...
's '' Scarface''. While Mitchell is trying to use the
Ferber method
The Ferber method, or Ferberization, is a technique invented by Richard Ferber to solve infant sleep problems. It involves "sleep-training" children to self-soothe by allowing the child to cry for a predetermined amount of time at intervals before ...
of getting an infant to learn to sleep on their own, Cameron keeps running to the room - making Mitchell force him to return to their own bedroom. Mitchell comes home in the afternoon to keep Cameron from indulging Lily. They struggle a bit as Cameron insists on going to Lily's room, and in the ensuing confusion, Mitchell hurts his ankle - when Mitchell suggests they go to the hospital, Cameron starts thinking of the firemen and approves.
The episode wraps up with a reference to the opening bit - the kids have been told to act like adults and Alex remarks that if they're to act like the adults in their family, how hard could it be?
Production
The episode was written by co-creator
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...
and directed by
Michael Spiller
Michael Alan Spiller (born August 1, 1961) is an American cinematographer and television director. The episode was later put in for a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre, or even gender, specific. Beginning ...
for
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 ...
.
Reception
Ratings
"Up All Night" was viewed by 10.221 million viewers, competing primarily against reruns on the other networks. It ranked first in the timeslot and on ABC that night. As of its airing, it is the second most watched episode of the series after the
pilot episode
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
despite airing against CBS' ''
People's Choice Awards
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the general public and fans. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined using Gallup Polls until ...
'', an annual ratings draw. The episode also made it into the top 30 debuting at #25 in its original American broadcast and came in 12th for the 18-49 rating.
Reviews
Robert Canning of
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the episode 9/10 saying that "The three very separate storylines in Wednesday night's ''Modern Family'' had one important thing in common: hilarity", "Phil Dunphy stole the episode. Watching him suffer through the agony of a kidney stone ('Death is coming!') and over-exaggerate the possibility of his demise ('There is a scenario where you could be the man of the house, and you need to know all the PIN numbers and passwords') was painfully funny stuff", and "Modern Family still finds a way to pull everything together for a solid, funny half-hour.".
Chris "Boomer" Beachum and Rob Licuria of the "
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
" said that
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 ...
with this episode had the second biggest chance of winning the
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
after
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 ...
of ''
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 ...