Princess Party
Encyclopedia
"Princess Party" is the fifteenth episode of the American comedy television series, Modern Family
' s second season
and the 41st overall. It originally aired on February 16, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company
(ABC). The episode was written by Elaine Ko and was directed by Michael Spiller
The episode revolves around the guest list for Lily's princess-themed birthday party which gets a little out of hand when Mitchell decides to invite his mom, much to Claire's dismay, and disinvite Fizbo, much to Cameron's dismay. Things get even more strange when DeDe (Shelley Long
) shows up with Claire's old high school boyfriend (Matt Dillon
) in tow, and Jay and Gloria each turn to their own unique methods of dealing with this gathering of misfits.
"Princess Party" received mixed reviews with TV Squad writer Joel Keller calling it "one of the funniest episodes of the season". The episode saw a significant drop in the ratings from the previous episode, "Bixby's Back
" which reached a series high.
Gloria comes back home from purchasing Lily's present, a children's book with a recorder where they can record their voices reading the book, so Gloria arranges for the entire Pritchett-Delgado Family to play the roles with disastrous results just as Jay had foreseen. Meanwhile Gloria is very anxious about going to Lily's party the next day, because she does not want to run into DeDe again, this is used by Jay as an excuse to get out of a friend's of Gloria's first communion
party because he feels "that the father does not like him very much", however his plan ultimately fails when Gloria rethinks her previous position and decides not to let DeDe prevent her from missing important family events, such as Alex's graduation or "all of Haley's weddings" and because she knows that Jay will be for her just as she will be there for him at María Victoria's first communion.
At Mitchell and Cameron's they are arranging Lily's birthday and Mitchell is nervous about DeDe's presence there, he has to disinvite Fizbo, much to Cameron's dismay, because it is a "Princess-themed-party". At the party Cameron is angry because of the ban on Fizbo and he picks on the hired Princess and makes her fall out of character by repeatedly asking how to pay for her services. When the Dunphys arrive Claire lets Mitchell in in all the events that took place after Robby left, namely that he and DeDe disappeared and she left to have breakfast with him. Jay and Gloria arrive, but Mitchell and Claire see that Gloria is drunk, because she downed a Xanax with a shot of Tequila
, which prompts her to make no sense. DeDe and Robby arrive, which makes Claire and Mitchell angry because they think it is about taunting them but Jay tells them that DeDe is taunting him. Claire confronts Robby about kissing her mother and he admits that he had a crush on DeDe while dating her but he also asks Claire to admit that she is angry because she still wants him. DeDe overhears this and causes Claire to go crazy despite Mitchell's intention to keep the party about Lily. Jay finally confronts Robby and makes him leave, which makes DeDe sad, she is approached by Jay who admits that she fell for the admiration of a younger man. DeDe does not want to be labeled as the "crazy nana" but ends up attacking Gloria. Finally Mitchell agrees that Fizbo is the only salvation of the party.
. This episode was Ko's first writing credit for the series and the tenth episode for Spiller. The episode is set to air on the American Broadcasting Company
on February 16, 2011 in the United States as the fifteenth episode of the series second season
and the 39th episode overall of the series. This episode of Modern Family was filmed on January 11, and January 13, 2011.
The episode features the second appearance of Mitchell and Claire's mother, DeDe Pritchett, played by Shelley Long
, who previously guest starred on the season one episode, "The Incident
". The episode also feature the return of Fizbo the Clown
and Matt Dillon
playing Claire's former high school boyfriend and DeDe's new boyfriend. Matt Dillon's guest spot was originally announced December 2010 by Entertainment Weekly
. Dillon fimed his guest appearance on January 11, 2011.
". Despite this, "Princess Party" was the most-watched scripted show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18–49, and the twentieth most-watched show among all viewers.
said the episode was a "bit of a letdown", saying that no one of the plot-lines got the "time it deserved." Alan Sepinwall critizised the show and the episode's use of Multi-camera-like humor, comparing it to a "bad episode" of 30 Rock
writing that the episode featured "funny, talented people in front of and behind the camera, and it's not surprising that even a bad episode would have a good joke or three.".
Paste
writer Christine Ziemba called the episode "respectable" writing that Long and Dillon were "perfectly fine in their roles", but criticized the fact that "they didn’t bring an extra-added spark to the episode". She ultimately gave the episode 7.0/10. The A.V. Club
s John Teti compared the return of Fizbo to last week's critically panned episode, "Bixby's Back
" writing that "a relief." that Fizbo wasn't featured in the episode. He ultimately gave the episode a B+.
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
Modern Family (season 2)
The second season of the comedy television series, Modern Family premiered September 22, 2010 and ended on May 25, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company in the United States. The series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Lloyd-Levitan Productions with creators...
and the 41st overall. It originally aired on February 16, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
(ABC). The episode was written by Elaine Ko and was directed by Michael Spiller
Michael Spiller
Michael Alan Spiller is an American cinematographer and television director.Spiller has directed on numerous series and has also served as a cinematographer prior to directing and worked frequently with Hal Hartley. He was a regular director on the HBO series, Sex and the City where he also served...
The episode revolves around the guest list for Lily's princess-themed birthday party which gets a little out of hand when Mitchell decides to invite his mom, much to Claire's dismay, and disinvite Fizbo, much to Cameron's dismay. Things get even more strange when DeDe (Shelley Long
Shelley Long
Shelley Lee Long is an American actress best known for her role as Diane Chambers on the sitcom Cheers, for which she won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress...
) shows up with Claire's old high school boyfriend (Matt Dillon
Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon is an American actor and film director. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.- Early life :...
) in tow, and Jay and Gloria each turn to their own unique methods of dealing with this gathering of misfits.
"Princess Party" received mixed reviews with TV Squad writer Joel Keller calling it "one of the funniest episodes of the season". The episode saw a significant drop in the ratings from the previous episode, "Bixby's Back
Bixby's Back
"Bixby's Back" is the fourteenth episode of the American comedy television series, Modern Familys second season and the 38th episode overall. It originally aired February 9, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company...
" which reached a series high.
Plot
At the Dunphy's Claire is going bezerk because grandma DeDe is coming, so Phil is arranging for the children to get off her back and orders Luke to be extra-charming to ward off any unpleasant situation. When DeDe arrives she starts annoying Claire. Later on it turns out that DeDe ran into Robby, Claire's old boyfriend, and invited him for dinner, neglecting to tell him that she is married with children much to his surprise. Robby is a limo driver that has kept his good looks and taunts Phil. During dinner he starts telling anecdotes of his and Claire's escapades which reveal how much she was out of control when growing up, to the amazement of Phil and amusement of her children. After dinner is finally over DeDe walks Robby out to his limo and Claire notices that he left his phone, as she goes to give it back Phil and Claire see DeDe and Robby kissing.Gloria comes back home from purchasing Lily's present, a children's book with a recorder where they can record their voices reading the book, so Gloria arranges for the entire Pritchett-Delgado Family to play the roles with disastrous results just as Jay had foreseen. Meanwhile Gloria is very anxious about going to Lily's party the next day, because she does not want to run into DeDe again, this is used by Jay as an excuse to get out of a friend's of Gloria's first communion
First Communion
The First Communion, or First Holy Communion, is a Catholic Church ceremony. It is the colloquial name for a person's first reception of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Catholics believe this event to be very important, as the Eucharist is one of the central focuses of the Catholic Church...
party because he feels "that the father does not like him very much", however his plan ultimately fails when Gloria rethinks her previous position and decides not to let DeDe prevent her from missing important family events, such as Alex's graduation or "all of Haley's weddings" and because she knows that Jay will be for her just as she will be there for him at María Victoria's first communion.
At Mitchell and Cameron's they are arranging Lily's birthday and Mitchell is nervous about DeDe's presence there, he has to disinvite Fizbo, much to Cameron's dismay, because it is a "Princess-themed-party". At the party Cameron is angry because of the ban on Fizbo and he picks on the hired Princess and makes her fall out of character by repeatedly asking how to pay for her services. When the Dunphys arrive Claire lets Mitchell in in all the events that took place after Robby left, namely that he and DeDe disappeared and she left to have breakfast with him. Jay and Gloria arrive, but Mitchell and Claire see that Gloria is drunk, because she downed a Xanax with a shot of Tequila
Tequila
Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....
, which prompts her to make no sense. DeDe and Robby arrive, which makes Claire and Mitchell angry because they think it is about taunting them but Jay tells them that DeDe is taunting him. Claire confronts Robby about kissing her mother and he admits that he had a crush on DeDe while dating her but he also asks Claire to admit that she is angry because she still wants him. DeDe overhears this and causes Claire to go crazy despite Mitchell's intention to keep the party about Lily. Jay finally confronts Robby and makes him leave, which makes DeDe sad, she is approached by Jay who admits that she fell for the admiration of a younger man. DeDe does not want to be labeled as the "crazy nana" but ends up attacking Gloria. Finally Mitchell agrees that Fizbo is the only salvation of the party.
Production
"Princess Party" was written by Elaine Ko and was directed by Michael SpillerMichael Spiller
Michael Alan Spiller is an American cinematographer and television director.Spiller has directed on numerous series and has also served as a cinematographer prior to directing and worked frequently with Hal Hartley. He was a regular director on the HBO series, Sex and the City where he also served...
. This episode was Ko's first writing credit for the series and the tenth episode for Spiller. The episode is set to air on the American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on February 16, 2011 in the United States as the fifteenth episode of the series second season
Modern Family (season 2)
The second season of the comedy television series, Modern Family premiered September 22, 2010 and ended on May 25, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company in the United States. The series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Lloyd-Levitan Productions with creators...
and the 39th episode overall of the series. This episode of Modern Family was filmed on January 11, and January 13, 2011.
The episode features the second appearance of Mitchell and Claire's mother, DeDe Pritchett, played by Shelley Long
Shelley Long
Shelley Lee Long is an American actress best known for her role as Diane Chambers on the sitcom Cheers, for which she won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress...
, who previously guest starred on the season one episode, "The Incident
The Incident (Modern Family)
"The Incident" is the fourth episode of the American family sitcom Modern Family. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company in the United States on October 14, 2009....
". The episode also feature the return of Fizbo the Clown
Fizbo
"Fizbo" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American comedy series, Modern Family. It originally premiered on American Broadcasting Company in the United States on November 25, 2009...
and Matt Dillon
Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond "Matt" Dillon is an American actor and film director. He began acting in the late 1970s, gaining fame as a teenage idol during the 1980s.- Early life :...
playing Claire's former high school boyfriend and DeDe's new boyfriend. Matt Dillon's guest spot was originally announced December 2010 by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
. Dillon fimed his guest appearance on January 11, 2011.
Ratings
In its original American broadcast, "Princess Party" was viewed by an estimated 10.453 million households and received a 4.3 rating/12% share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This means that it was seen by 4.3% of all 18–49 years olds, and 12% of all 18–49 year olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This episode of Modern Family saw a 16 percent decrease from the previous episode, "Bixby's BackBixby's Back
"Bixby's Back" is the fourteenth episode of the American comedy television series, Modern Familys second season and the 38th episode overall. It originally aired February 9, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company...
". Despite this, "Princess Party" was the most-watched scripted show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18–49, and the twentieth most-watched show among all viewers.
Reviews
The episode received mixed reviews from critics many commenting on the return of Shelley Long and Fizbo. TV Squad writer Joel Keller named the episode "one of the funniest episodes of the season" praising the "subtle fashion" of Fizbo's return. Keller also praised Long's performance, saying she stopped the character from being the "standard sitcom mom". Rachael Maddux of New YorkNew York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
said the episode was a "bit of a letdown", saying that no one of the plot-lines got the "time it deserved." Alan Sepinwall critizised the show and the episode's use of Multi-camera-like humor, comparing it to a "bad episode" of 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
writing that the episode featured "funny, talented people in front of and behind the camera, and it's not surprising that even a bad episode would have a good joke or three.".
Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
writer Christine Ziemba called the episode "respectable" writing that Long and Dillon were "perfectly fine in their roles", but criticized the fact that "they didn’t bring an extra-added spark to the episode". She ultimately gave the episode 7.0/10. The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
s John Teti compared the return of Fizbo to last week's critically panned episode, "Bixby's Back
Bixby's Back
"Bixby's Back" is the fourteenth episode of the American comedy television series, Modern Familys second season and the 38th episode overall. It originally aired February 9, 2011 on the American Broadcasting Company...
" writing that "a relief." that Fizbo wasn't featured in the episode. He ultimately gave the episode a B+.
External links
- "Princess Party" at ABC.com