Punkin Chunkin (Modern Family)

"Punkin Chunkin" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American sitcom Modern Family, and the series' 57th episode overall. It was aired on November 23, 2011. The episode was written by Ben Karlin and directed by Michael Spiller.

"Punkin Chunkin"
Modern Family episode
Cam (Eric Stonestreet) trying to prove his story is true while the whole family's watching.
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 9
Directed byMichael Spiller
Written byBen Karlin
Production code3ARG05
Original air dateNovember 23, 2011
Guest appearance(s)

In the episode, an old kid neighbor of the Dunphys who never attend college but he is now billionaire due to his ideas for video games, visits them causing some tension to the family since Haley takes the opportunity to say that not going to college is not that bad if you follow your dreams while Phil blames Claire for holding him back from his dreams. Jay tries to give Manny constructive criticism but Gloria does not understand why they should tell Manny negative things. Mitchell questions the authenticity of Cameron's stories challenging him to prove that his stories are true.

"Punkin Chunkin" received mixed reviews from the critics.

Plot

As Thanksgiving approaches, the Dunphys receive a visit from their old kid neighbor Kenneth (Josh Gad) who idolized Phil (Ty Burrell). Kenneth tells the family that he dropped college and is now an Internet billionaire because of the ideas he had on video games, something that he owes to Phil since he was the one who was always telling him to follow his heart and told himself to 'think like Phil' when making decisions. Haley (Sarah Hyland) takes the opportunity to say that it is not so bad not to go to college and follow your dreams instead, something that upsets Claire (Julie Bowen). Phil starts to wonder why he isn't as successful as Kenneth, and starts to believe that Claire pouring scorn on various ideas is what held him back. Haley and Alex go out for a drive, however Alex distracts Haley and makes her run the car into a post. The two then do everything they can to keep Claire from noticing until she goes to the store (guessing that she'll assume it happened there).

Meanwhile, at the Pritchett-Delgado home, Jay (Ed O'Neill) tries to give Manny (Rico Rodriguez) a little constructive criticism in regards to a messy-looking centrepiece he made, but Gloria (Sofía Vergara) stops him all the time because she does not want to hurt Manny's feelings. Jay tries to explain her that it is not bad to tell Manny that he is not perfect in everything but she does not understand.

Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) are out with friends and Cameron tells a story of when he used a catapult a pumpkin across a football field. Mitchell, who is tired of the story, tells Cameron he doesn't believe it and questions the authenticity of it and several others. Cameron is offended insists that all his stories are true but he struggles to make Mitch believe them.

The whole family gathers at the Dunphys house, where Jay takes the chance to tell Manny his centrepiece isn't that good. Manny throws it in the trash, leading to an argument over all three issues and dividing the family into the "Dreamers" (Cameron, Phil and Gloria) and the "Realists" (Jay, Mitchell and Claire). The arguments ends up leading them to a football field so Cameron can prove that his story with the punkin chunkin is true.

At the field, a catapult is prepared and a pumpkin is shot from it however it doesn't travel very far, seemingly disproving Cameron's story. The Realists don't get the satisfaction they thought they would and instead tell the others they want to try again but this time with the pumpkin shot from a steeper angle with more people pulling at it. The second time, it works. As the pumpkin sails through the air a guilt-ridden Alex confesses to Claire what happened to the car just before the pumpkin hits the dent (meaning the girls would have got away with it if Alex had held her silence for just a few extra seconds).

Reception

Ratings

In its original American broadcast "Punkin Chunkin" was watched by 12.72 million; slightly down from the previous episode.[1]

Reviews

"Punkin Chunkin" received mixed reviews.

Claire Zulkey from The A.V. Club gave a B+ rate to the episode saying that "...the show didn’t go anywhere new tonight but it was good entertainment for the night before Thanksgiving."[2]

Leigh Raines of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3/5 rate stating that this week's episode was "just depressing".[3]

Maris Kreizman from Vulture gave a good review to the episode saying: " The push and pull between the three main couples has always been the show’s lifeblood. If revisiting this dynamic sometimes comes at the detriment of plot and character development, well, at least it’s good for laughs."[4]

References
  1. Seidman, Robert (November 28, 2011). "Wednesday Final Ratings: 'Modern Family,' 'The X Factor' Adjusted Up; 'Happy Endings,' 'Mobbed' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers.
  2. Zulkey, Claire (November 23, 2011). "Punkin Chunkin". The A.V. Club.
  3. Raines, Leigh (November 23, 2011). "Modern Family Review: Dreamers vs. Realists". TV Fanatic.
  4. Kreizman, Maris (November 24, 2011). "Modern Family Recap: What Would Phil Dunphy Do?". Vulture.
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