Modern Family - Season 4 - DVD

Content: The signs are on changes for the Modern Family: On his 65th birthday of all days, family head Jay (Ed O`Neill) learns that he will once again become a father. At his age, certainly not an easy challenge, especially since his hot-blooded Colombian wife Gloria (Sofia Vergara) does not handle the circumstances of pregnancy well at all. Her emotional swings, loud snoring and refusal to wear proper pregnancy attire not only causes Jay to suffer more than once, but also Gloria's son Manny (Rico Rodriguez)...

Other problems face Jay's gay son Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and his partner Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) after their plans to adopt a second child fall through. They both don't handle this news very well - and their little daughter takes advantage of the situation mercilessly. But that's not all: Mitchell is desperately looking for a new challenge for Cam. But he just doesn't want to be patronized. When he is offered a job as a substitute music teacher, however, he seems to have found his calling...

Jay's daughter Claire (Julie Bowen) and her husband Phil (Ty Burnell) are also facing big changes: their daughter Haley (Sarah Hyland) is going off to college, taking a big step towards adulthood. For Phil, it's too many changes: when his son Luke (Nolan Gould) tells him he's tired of trying to be an amateur magician, Phil does everything he can to change his son's mind. And now, of all times, daughter Alex (Ariel Winter) is searching for her own identity and even tries her hand at being a goth. So it's not going to be quiet at this Modern Family for a long time...

Modern Family is one of the most successful comedy series ever in the USA. In Germany, this popularity could not be achieved. But especially on DVD, the endearingly chaotic extended family has now also gained a loyal fan base. Why this is so, makes the very funny fourth season once again very clear. Because while there may be some changes dramaturgically, everything remains the same in terms of style and humor. And that's a good thing, because it's the tried-and-true concept and the experienced interplay between the actors that make Season 4 so amusing again. The excellent comedic timing in particular stands out extremely positively in some episodes. The discrepancy between what one of the characters says and what the viewer then gets to see provides quite a few hearty laughs.

But also classic comedy elements such as Phil's desperate attempts to offer his father-in-law a great 65th birthday - which of course goes horribly wrong - or Gloria's not so ladylike behavior during pregnancy provide a lot of good humor. In addition, the stories told in this season are again full of humor, but always have an emotional side to offer. When Claire and Phil take their daughter off to college and act extremely awkward, it's just funny on the surface. But when the eldest daughter leaves the parental home, there are also small emotional moments, which are pleasantly subtle as usual.

The mixture of mockumentary in the style of series like The Office or Parks & Recreation and more classic family comedy makes the special charm of this ensemble comedy. Well observed everyday situations, deliberately exaggerated clichés and a good portion of slapstick make a visit to the Modern Family in its fourth year again a very great pleasure. Therefore applies to all fans and those who still want to become it: Absolutely worth seeing!!

Picture + Sound: Technically, the series on DVD leaves a good overall impression. The picture is very clean, the overall sharpness is decent and the coloration looks pleasantly natural. The fact that slight blurring is noticeable in the presentation of smaller details hardly carries any negative weight. The audio, available in Dolby Digital 5.1, makes the amusing dialogue sound powerful from the speakers, but otherwise has hardly any notable surround moments to offer. Overall, the English language version seems a bit more harmoniously mixed than the German soundtrack, where the dialogue seems to be mixed a bit more centrally. Overall, when measured against the genre, the technical realization gets a well-deserved: good!

Extras: On the first disc, there are some dropped and extended scenes (approx. 3:38 min.). Disc 2 has another dropped scene (approx. 0:36 min.), as well as two audio commentaries and the featurette Family Addition (approx. 6:15 min.), in which Sofia Vergara talks about Gloria's baby and what it was like playing a pregnant Gloria who still wanted to be sexy at all costs.

The rest of the extras are on the third disc. In addition to more dropped & extended scenes (approx. 2:07 min.) and two more audio commentaries, there are the featurettes A Day with Eric (approx. 11:29 min.), in which actor Eric Stonestreet takes the audience behind the scenes, A Modern Parenting Guide (approx. 9:30 min.), and Modern Family Writers (approx. 12:44 min.) about the screenwriters' work. A few amusing outtakes (approx. 9:59 min.) round out the bonus material. Strictly speaking, however, also counts the season finale, which is available on the DVD in a slightly extended director`s cut.

Conclusion: In the fourth year of Modern Family, the signs are on change. New offspring is in the house, a child leaves the safe nest, there are new professional challenges and many new problems. But one thing has remained the same: the high fun factor of the series, which alone by the wonderful interaction of the ensemble and good comedic timing still works really well. The DVD box set presents the new episodes in good picture and sound quality and the extras are also worth watching. All in all there are enough reasons for fans to buy this fourth season box set. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp