Claire has said more than once (definitely on the second part of the Hawaii vacation episodes) that she got pregnant and she and Phil had to get married (well, they didn’t HAVE to but they chose to). I think they stay together because they truly do love each other
Claire and Mitch are basically the same personality: serious, competent but somehow a little unsure of themselves. Phil and Cam are the same personality: over the top and always absolutely convinced in themselves.
I think that both Claire and Mitch were intimidated by Jay when they were growing up, and that’s why they both ended up with partners who are fun-loving and self-assured.
Claire, Mitch, and Jay all play straight man to their respective over-the-top-parters. Gloria is tempermental, stubborn, and proud. Phil is endlessly optimistic, goofy, and a bit developmentally arrested. Cam is an attention-seeking diva.
Modern Family is a wildly formulaic show, but it doesn’t pretend not to be and really knows how to use the formula well.
Two of the straight characters can also be over the top. Claire is a control freak, Mitch is uptight and overly cautious, and Jay – I guess Jay is this show’s norm.
I don’t see Cam as attention-seeking so much as enthusiastic and impulsive.
Cam and Mitch, well, I can’t see it. You don’t see any sort of actual affection between them at all.
You regularly see Claire and Phil being affectionate, but so many episodes I’ve just went “Why are these people together, they clearly hate each other.”
I wouldn’t call Cam attention seeking, but he does seem to thrive on drama, and has no problem manufacturing it if it doesn’t occur naturally.
Claire is obviously with Phil for the hot sex.
Phil is a catch.
He is a little goofy, but he has a lot of good qualities. First and most importantly he loves Claire with his whole heart, and always will. He is not unattractive, he is sort of funny, he has a great relationship with his kids (especially Luke), he has a good career. He doesn’t lose his temper, or make irrational demands. He doesn’t take things too seriously in general, but if something extremely serious does happen, he can display the necessary gravitas.
Perhaps, but his Mom is the Goddess of Tits. Wine, however?
I just caught one of the reruns. The one where Haley is going for her driver’s test. Claire is talking to Alex trying to find out why she doesn’t want to go to the school dance. She decides its because Alex doesn’t know how to dance. So she starts to dance to show her (only slightly better than Elaine Benes). Alex says something like, “Now the whole you with Dad thing makes more sense.”
Modern Family is filmed sort of like a reality show, so it makes sense that they show mostly just the drama and not the normal day to day stuff. However there have been moments where you do catch her love for Phil (as well as Mitch’s for Cam).
There was an older episode where Phil stayed home on the first day of school to help see the kids off and keep Claire company because he figured she would be sad that the kids were going back to school. Actually Claire wanted the alone time and was kind of annoyed with Phil. She decided to go on a run and he went with her and challenged her to a race. He was being really obnoxious about it and she knew she would beat him but during the run things happened to make her realize how great a dad he was and how thoughtful he was and she ended up letting him win. Claire is pretty competitive and for her to let him win was a big deal, especially since he was still being obnoxious about it.
He probably has a great big huge … ummm … what’s the word?
Or … maybe … he has somehow somewhere acquired a fabulous technique for pleasing her in many ways … or … just one special way?
What is the word I am looking for?
What would it be?
I know that I would be willing to give up all kinds of things if only I could be with Claire. What a beauty! What a wonderful lady! I would love to be with her. Oh yes!!!
Just to be clear, I have had a huge crush and a love for Julie Bowen ever since I first saw her on Ed, Lost, Wainy Days, Horrible Bosses and many other movies and TV shows.
I know it is crazy to feel that way about someone I have never met. But I just cannot help myself. That is just the way I feel. Sometimes, I guess that I’m just a fool.
I think she is just one of the most incredibly beautiful and attractive female actors working in Hollywood today and in the TV and movie industries in general. What an incredible beauty she is!
I just love Julie Bowen and I only wish that I had met her and married her when she first came to Hollywood. It will always remain one of my a biggest regrets.
She walks in beauty like the night and I must be a real fool for feeling this way.
All the Pritchetts(sp)(Jay, Claire, Mitchell) are sort of uptight stick-in-muds who married flamboyant extroverts(Gloria, Cam, Phil).
You know, this doesn’t sound healthy or normal. This is the kind of obsession that lands fans in a lot of trouble. Take care and get help if you are this obsessed.
Seriously.
For any other people who have a crush on Julie Bowen, Here is a link to a page you may enjoy. I know that I surely did enjoy it.
Wowsers! She sure did look gorgeous in that clip!
One of the big problems with sitcoms is that they are just not real life.
You cannot attempt to make sense of the story lines because they do not represent real life situations. For the most part, it’s all just made-up bullshit.
IMO, in all probability, the writers have never had to make any sense of the story lines and they have never had to come to terms with any of the stories.
So as far as any real explanation behind what motivates these characters, you can just forget about it. You won’t find anything to explain that.
The largest single explanation there is …
These characters serve to support the writers position and to make the interactions among the characters appear reasonable. Even though they are not.
So, just forget about it. You just will never find any sensible explanations behind any of these characters’ motivations. It just will not ever happen.
Shwanzschtucker?
This may be merely my opinion, but Phil is the only hot guy in the show. At least he was until he started butchering his eyebrows. In fact I have a kind of bond with Claire: we have the same taste in men.
Not only does it pretend not to be, I think it’s the central theme of the show. The idea is to show that the goings-on of a family (formulas) are applicable to 3 ostensibly different households.
Well considering his competition, you’re damning him with faint praise.
The hottest guy on the show was the waiter at the restaurant where Claire and Phil got blitzed. I like Modern Family, but it is not a show that is interested in male eyecandy.