# Modern Family 10/27 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619 "2010-10-28T02:59:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/21 "2010-10-29T11:09:40Z")
Yesterday’s lazy fends off this morning’s crazy ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/22 "2010-10-29T12:15:50Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Bowen \> Vergara 🙂 I’m with you there. The overly made-up/chunky jewellery look of Gloria does nothing for me whatsoever. Maybe she’d be hot as hell if she dressed down, which is how I generally like my women, but until I see her looking that way … ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/23 "2010-10-29T12:20:50Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Anyway, I enjoyed the episode, but it was not one of their best. As a non-American that very rarely does anything for Halloween at all, I find almost all US comedies in the week leading up to Halloween to be quite tiresome. They seem to throw away the jokes so they can have some kind of lame-arsed “horror” aspect that just does nothing for me whatsoever. The Simpsons’ Halloween shows are a good example. I have never enjoyed a single one of them. Ever. I fully accept that this is entirely cultural. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/24 "2010-10-29T12:43:01Z")
Bowen = Vergara. They both appeal to me but in completely different ways, and for different reasons. Yes, Haley is hot. Yes, as a father I feel a little sickened that I think so, but am comforted by the fact that she’s actually an adult. I’m also of the opinion that most Halloween episodes of shows I otherwise like usually suck, because they’re an unrealistic portrayal of the degree of effort that the average person puts into costumes and decorating. It’s as if they had professional help, which, in fact, they did. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/25 "2010-10-29T13:03:06Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > As a non-American that very rarely does anything for Halloween at all, I find almost all US comedies in the week leading up to Halloween to be quite tiresome. They seem to throw away the jokes so they can have some kind of lame-arsed “horror” aspect that just does nothing for me whatsoever. The Simpsons’ Halloween shows are a good example. I have never enjoyed a single one of them. Ever. > > I fully accept that this is entirely cultural. Most cultures I’ve encountered have some kind of horror/ghost story tradition. Is that not true for your culture? And I’m with Corkboard on the unrealisticness of Halloween arrangements on TV. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/26 "2010-10-29T13:15:35Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Most cultures I’ve encountered have some kind of horror/ghost story tradition. Is that not true for your culture? I’m a half English/half Scottish British guy. Halloween has its roots in my culture. I’m not denying that other cultures have them. In my experience, however, they are limited in scope, usually kept for when camping. That’s the only time I ever heard them: as a kid (when I was a scout). I find the Halloween episodes of US comedies tiresome as generally they are neither funny nor scary, making them largely pointless. But, as I said, this is entirely cultural. Halloween is a different kettle of fish in the US, even though they constantly try to import the commercialised variant back to the UK. Actually, they pretty much try to import it to Sweden as well but it just hasn’t caught on at all. The most irritating bit is trick or treating - they don’t seem to have got a grip regarding when you are supposed to do that. Honestly, you can get a trick or treater on any day a week either side of halloween. But then again, you still get very few of them. I don’t think I got a single one last year. The shops are desperate for Sweden to embrace it though, so they can sell more shit. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/27 "2010-10-29T13:17:47Z")
I thought the costume-at-work segment was pretty much comedy gold. I thought it was going to be a tiresome replay of “oh my god, I’m the only one with a constume,” but they turned it on its ear. For physical comedy, I’d almost put it up there with the Frazier segment when Niles was trying to iron his pants but kept passing out. The haunted house segment, though, was pretty much filler. Cute in spots, but generally meh. And what was that one line? Something like, “I have to go back home and wash my dish.” Hilarious and pathetic both. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/28 "2010-10-29T13:29:32Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > I thought the costume-at-work segment was pretty much comedy gold. I thought it was going to be a tiresome replay of “oh my god, I’m the only one with a constume,” but they turned it on its ear. For physical comedy, I’d almost put it up there with the Frazier segment when Niles was trying to iron his pants but kept passing out. The haunted house segment, though, was pretty much filler. Cute in spots, but generally meh. I did think it was amusing how they made the stereotypical flamboyant “gay” physical movements look very much like how Spider-Man has moved in the various films, cartoons and TV shows. ---
**Author:** ![Galileo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Galileo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galileo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/29 "2010-10-29T14:12:42Z")
I took me a while to realize that this episode was deliberately unrealistic in a cartoonish, over-the-top way. It took a while because the episode was not typical for this show. So, all the unrealistic parts are more forgivable, though not necessarily funny. How did Phil get his hand get through the counter? How did Mitchell put on his suit over the Spider-Man outfit? How did Gloria learn to speak English without a Colombian accent? Hey, it’s Halloween! A lot of “Trick”. And a bit of “Treat”. But, that’s enough talk of Sarah Hyland … ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/30 "2010-10-29T14:14:54Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > I did think it was amusing how they made the stereotypical flamboyant “gay” physical movements look very much like how Spider-Man has moved in the various films, cartoons and TV shows. The shot of Mitchell hiding in the toilet stall, with his feet on the seat and his arms splayed along the walls … that WAS Spiderman! ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/31 "2010-10-29T14:18:33Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > The shot of Mitchell hiding in the toilet stall, with his feet on the seat and his arms splayed along the walls … that WAS Spiderman! Or when he was opening his shirt to flash the costume as he entered the bathroom. It seems that there were several nods to superhero conventions. Man, you guys are a tough audience. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/32 "2010-10-29T14:27:29Z")
> [@Galileo](#): > > How did Gloria learn to speak English without a Colombian accent? That would be similar to me trying to speak French with an English accent, except she’s lived in the U.S. long enough to have heard lots American accents to try to imitate. I’ve no answers for the other ones. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/33 "2010-10-29T14:37:23Z")
You mean the actress who plays Gloria really talks that way? (i.e., like Charro) ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/34 "2010-10-29T14:38:33Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Bruja means witch in Spanish. As someone whose daughter owns a “Dora’s Birthday Celebration” book, I was tickled to hear one of about 10 Spanish words that I know. When I heard what the costume was going to be, I have to admit that I was hoping there would be…less of it. I wonder, is there anything on the TV Tropes site about how every sitcom family goes overboard with Halloween costumes? > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > You mean the actress who plays Gloria really talks that way? (i.e., like Charro) She is a genuine, relatively successful Colombian actress, so I’d assume so. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/35 "2010-10-29T14:49:39Z")
> [@Galileo](#): > > How did Gloria learn to speak English without a Colombian accent? The same way Sofia Vergara did, I should think. It seemed to me a plausible rendition of someone with a Hispanic accent trying to put on a more generic American accent. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/36 "2010-10-29T15:09:32Z")
[Sofia Vergara at the Emmys.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsEMUW77vjE&feature=fvst) She sounds like Gloria. ---
**Author:** ![Galileo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Galileo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galileo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/37 "2010-10-29T16:20:18Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > It seemed to me a plausible rendition of someone with a Hispanic accent trying to put on a more generic American accent. So Gloria can instantly change to a generic American accent but she chooses not to, unless she is angry at her husband? :dubious: I wonder how long it took Sofia Vergara to learn those lines. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/38 "2010-10-29T16:21:43Z")
> [@Galileo](#): > > So Gloria can instantly change to a generic American accent but she chooses not to, unless she is angry at her husband? :dubious: Lots of people with non-American accents can fake one. It’s work though, so they don’t do it all the time. Just like I could go to the UK and say “Pip pip, watch out for the lorry old chap,” but don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/39 "2010-10-29T16:22:58Z")
First of all, her generic American accent still didn’t sound exactly like a generic American. Second of all, why not? I hear people do things like that all the time. Just because you _can_ put on an (obviously faked) generic American accent, why would you want to put that accent on permanently? Third, _it’s exactly what Sofia Vergara was actually doing_. The fact that she was actually doing it, is proof that it is realistic. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619/40 "2010-10-29T16:25:42Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > First of all, her generic American accent still didn’t sound exactly like a generic American. Yeah. I thought it sounded more British. And I am actually British. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-family-10-27/558619.md?page=3)