Modern Family - Season 2 - DVD

Content: The genre of the so-called Mocumentary, so a posed documentary, is really not new. Director Christopher Guest, for example, made viewers laugh as early as 1984 with his fake music documentary This is Spinal Tap, and Dieter Wedel also used this stylistic device, which is usually used for humorous purposes, in his multi-part series about the Semmeling family in the 1970s. But more recently, mockumentaries have enjoyed enormous popularity thanks to the success of the British series The Office. In addition to the American and German spin-offs (Stromberg) of the concept conceived by Ricky Gervais, other formats (Parks & Recreation, Come fly with me) have also enjoyed great popularity in TV and cinema. Whether in the U.S. (Reno 911), England (Twenty Twelve) or Australia (Summer Heights High), mockumentaries are currently a very own size in the comedy genre.

One of the most successful representatives of this sub-genre is probably, in addition to The Office, the multi-award-winning series Modern Family, whose second season is now finally released in Germany on DVD. At the center of the amusing hustle and bustle are the three parts of the family around head Jay (Ed O`Neill), who all live in close proximity to each other. Besides Jay, his hot-blooded Colombian wife Gloria (Sofia Vergara) and their son Manny (Rico Rodriguez), there are Jay`s gay son Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and his companion Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) as well as Jay's daughter Claire (Julie Bowen), who faces the pitfalls of everyday family life with her husband Phil (Ty Burnell) and their shared children Haley (Sarah Hyland), Luke (Nolan Gould) and Alex (Ariel Winter).

In the new episodes there are again numerous events, which provide for mighty much chaos in the families. Phil, for example, has to say goodbye to his old family car with a heavy heart and gets into serious conflicts of conscience when an important customer turns out to be the speeding driver Claire has launched a personal campaign against. Mitchell, on the other hand, wants to prove to his father and Cameron that he has a talent for craftsmanship - which, of course, backfires big time. Jay, meanwhile, is desperately trying to get Manny to tell him what anniversary Gloria wants to celebrate with him. Because he knows how uncomfortable his feisty wife can get if he forgets one of their special anniversaries. On top of that, an earthquake also rocks the town, which Mitchell and Cameron try to use to avoid a party. Phil and Claire try to bring their family closer together by giving up all electronic devices for a while. And once again, Halloween is not about having fun.

The stories told here and the conflicts between each character are certainly not exactly new. Still, Modern Family works really well. Through the interaction with the camera of the documentary team, which is invisible to the viewer, and through the family interviews that are interspersed again and again to comment on the events, the very special mockumentary humor is created, which in combination with classic family comedy results in the mixture that makes this series so amusing. When Phil, for example, tries again and again to appear extremely cool and casual, proving through his constantly hoping for confirmation looks towards the camera, how little cool he really is or when Jay always acts as the head of the family, but in the interspersed interviews it becomes clear that in his marriage actually Gloria wears the pants, then it is always good for a laugh.

Modern Family certainly does not reinvent the comedy genre and is also not a real revolution. But the makers have managed to bring a breath of fresh air into the very dusty subject of family comedy and to hire a really great cast, which is just fun to watch. Therefore, if you can get into the mockumentary style, this second season of the award-winning series can be warmly recommended. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Picture and sound are present on the DVD in good TV quality. 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 representation of smaller details, hardly falls there negatively into the weight. The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio 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, there is a deserved for the technical implementation measured by the genre: Good!

Extras: The four DVDs of the second season have plenty of extras to offer. Starting off on the first disc are some deleted family interviews (approx. 3 min.), deleted and extended scenes (approx. 7 min.) and a look at the making of Mitch`s flash mob (approx. 3 min.). Additionally, viewers can attend a script reading performed by the cast in front of an audience (approx. 37 min.).

Disc 2 offers more family interviews (approx. 3 min.) and deleted scenes (approx. 7 min.), as well as the music video for the song Imagine me naked, recorded by Haley`s friend Dylan. Disc 3 also offers only a few family interviews (approx. 4 min.) and additional scenes (approx. 6 min.). There is more on the fourth and last DVD. Besides the obligatory additional family interviews (approx. 1 min.) and cut scenes (approx. 1 min.) this disc offers some funny outtakes (approx. 8 min.), an interview with producer Steve Levitan (approx. 4 min.) and a guided tour through the families' houses (approx. 6 min.). In addition, another short documentary shows how special events like Mother's Day, Halloween or Valentine's Day are celebrated in the series (approx. 12 min.). And viewers can also watch the preparations for a big interview with American talk show queen Oprah Winfrey in the bonus material (approx. 4 min.). Good!

Conclusion: The concept of Modern Family is certainly not new, but the implementation is simply extremely amusing and seems somehow Fresh and unspent. The well-selected cast and many original gags make the episodes of the second season again clear why this series is so successful in the U.S.. The DVD box contains besides the 24 episodes still a lot of amusing extras, which makes the acquisition of this second season for fans and all who want to become it, absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp