Modern Family

Wednesday night's episode of Modern Family asked the question, "Can people really change?" This was the set up for three storylines showing us just how much people can actually change. Two of those storylines were silly sitcom filler with just enough good jokes not to become dull. The third story gave us some great insight into a couple of the characters and kept "Fifteen Percent" from being a standard but funny sitcom outing.

The two unoriginal plotlines involved a makeover and women having difficulty with technology. Not exactly the first time we've seen that sort of thing on television. The makeover storyline was strong in the first half of the episode when it focused on Manny meeting his date for the first time. Turned out she was much older. Kristen Schaal guest starred as Whitney, though her presence didn't illicit as many laughs as her appearances on Flight of the Conchords or The Daily Show. The best parts came from Manny and his mature persona: "You're not stupid. Stupid is not following your heart and taking a chance on love." When the storyline moved to Gloria giving Whitney a makeover, things got generic fast. The episode tried to give this standard story a new outcome, with Whitney swooning over Cameron. This was cute, but it wasn't up to the comedy level Modern Family has made us come to expect.

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