Modern Family recap (1.02) "The Bicycle Thief"

With last night's episode, "Bicycle Thief," Modern Family let us get to know gay couple Mitchell and Cameron better. It turns out the most prominent difference between the two is something that can inspire a furious debate among gay men: Effeminate and flamboyant behavior and fear of living up to stereotypes.

Getting ready to take Lily to her first "Toddler Time" class, Mitchell's first inclination is to get Cameron to reign things in. He pushes Cameron to change out of wearing pink and paisley (paisley? I need to get an updated list of stereotypes that are supposed to set off the gaydar) and into a more straight-acting outfit of a polo and khakis. I should mention that Mitchell is asking his guy to change into a less gay outfit while he himself is wearing purple, instead of a more macho color like navy blue. When they arrive at the class, Mitchell begs him not to draw attention to himself and start a new episode of "The Cam Show."

That leaves Cameron struggling to restrain himself when the Toddler Time parents are called upon to dance. With Mitchell begging him to tone his usual personality down, Eric Stonestreet does a hilariously stiff and self-conscious dance. In hindsight, that gag could have easily have been a moment that would give me visions of Homer Simpson laughing and crying out "It's true! We're so lame!" but Stonestreet hits just the right tone with Cameron's attempt to make sure his dance isn't flamboyant enough to embarrass his partner.

Worse for Cameron, when he attempts small talk with another parent, he has to bite his tongue when the mother comments that she thought gay-fave Meryl Streep was miscast in Mamma Mia! "Meryl Streep could play Batman and be the right choice!" he objects in a confessional.

Breif aside, but where do I start the petition to see "Meryl Streep is The Dark Knight" become an actual comedy sketch? That sounds like the most inspired pop culture mash-up since MADtv had Martha Stewart join the cast of Oz.

Generally, Stonestreet strikes just the right tone for me with Cameron. Cameron certainly plays upon gay stereotypes when he cries at the mention of Sophie's Choice and references "Wind Beneath My Wings," but he manages to make these jokes about Cameron as an individual and not a cliched gay joke.