I’ve never had a problem with where they live. Jay’s wealthy, Mitchell is a lawyer and they rent, and Phil is a successful realtor. That house he sold in the most recent episode looked extremely nice, I’m sure he got a nice commission out of it. All three households have money.
Yeah, I don’t get the sense that they’re living beyond their means. They’re just rich.
And if he sells at least one more house a week we could round that up to 200K. That gives him (based on 30% of income for a mortgage) about $5000 for his house payment. I’d be surprised if the Dunphy house had a $5000 mortgage payment. It’s probably in the $2500-3000 which gives them extra disposable income to pay for things like upgrades to the house* and all the other stuff they want to spend money on. Decent cars, vacations, nice clothes. As Acsenray said. They’re living within their means…they just have a lot of means.
*Don’t forget, as a real estate agent, Phil would know exactly what to spend his money on to make a house look more expensive.
I live in a moderately high cost of living area (Philadelphia suburbs). My realtor friend (single mom who just recently remarried) could afford a very nice house in a very good neighborhood on her salary alone.
Plus, it’s a TV show. It’s a fantasy world. We are supposed to be envious of their lifestyles. It makes us good little consumers.
Regardless of what kind of income Mitchell or Phil make, I wouldn’t be surprised if their lifestyles were partially subsidized by Jay. Rich parents do those kinds of things for their kids (down payments on houses, tuition for the grandkids, vacations, etc).
Phil is at least good enough at real estate that he was asked to be a partner in a new firm. That means that other people, who presumably know what he’s like, are willing to trust their careers to him!
I don’t get that Claire and Phil’s house is so fancy- The girls share a bedroom. The kids share a bathroom. We’ve seen an eat-in kitchen and a family room. Have we seen a formal dining room, living room or finished basement or anything? I think they have a pool, but that’s not uncommon in California.
Jay’s house is something else, but Claire’s and Mitch’s homes just don’t seem that over the top.
They’ve got that broken step too.
I don’t think they have a pool - Jay has a pool, and the rest of the family sometimes heads over there. There is a room to the right just as you walk in the front door that I don’t think we’ve ever seen - the kitchen/family room is to the left of the front door. But yes, it’s definitely not a gigantic house by any stretch.
Maybe I’m thinking of a trampoline in back- they had something…
Yeah, there was a trampoline in back, but I think it was only there for one episode, when they were trying to get Alex to have some fun because she was studying so much.
Just for kicks I googled “Modern Family Dunphy House” to get a picture of it and the first hit I clicked on gave me the address of the actual house the used for the exterior shots. 10336 DUNLEER DR, Cheviot Hills. Looking at it on Google Maps, the house is actually really big. The LA assessors office puts it at $1.8M.
But, it’s a sitcom, I try to make a point of not poking holes in sitcoms. Maybe Jay bought it for them or gave them a million dollar down payment. Maybe Phil is selling 4 houses a week (he is supposed to be really good). If he sells four $500,000 houses each week that would give him $7800 per month for a mortgage payment. Who knows, it’s not something I concern myself with.
If the daughters’ names were intended as a joke I’d take it as a joke unrelated to Alex Haley’s actual work but about white, liberal parents trying to prove how progressive they are by naming their kids after a prominent African-American author. But I don’t think that fits Claire and Phil’s characters.
One of the first two season DVDs had an extra feature short about the three residences and how they filmed in them. I watched it but I don’t remember much about it.
It may be online somewhere.
It was also in the episodes where Luke liked to run around in the backyard without wearing pants and an episode where Luke is bouncing on it with a box on his head when Manny comes to visit.
Who are your guys’s favorite characters? I have a hard time deciding between Phil and Cam. Phil actually reminds me a lot of Steve Carrell’s character in the office. Absolutely hilarious. Except Phil is probably less obnoxious. Cam is to die for. His facial expressions are always so on point.
I’d say my favorites are Gloria, Luke, Phil, Manny, and Cam. It’s hard to rank them. Oh, and Alex and Haley. Jay’s pretty good too. The only ones who I find occasionally off-putting are Claire and Mitchell.
I’d say it’s a testament to the writing and acting if the two that annoy you are brother and sister. They should be somewhat similar.
And his running - hands always in the air!
I like Claire, not only because I find her physically attractive but because she has created (with the writers) such a quirky character. Wound a little too tight most of the time but smart, loyal and a good wife and mother. I like that she and Phil seem to genuinely be in love.
Cam is the one that’s a little too over the top for me. I understand he’s supposed to be over the top but they should show the smart, strong and competent side of him more often.
Just saw this episode last night, and I dug up this thread just because, after 3 seasons, I just noticed the Alex Haley thing. Given that there’s also the Cameron Mitchell thing, I think the writers are just being cute.
I loved the opening…how the dialog indicates indirectly that Luke is wearing a lice-ridden hat, and going to try to reanimate a dead squirrel.