Modern Family Episode 2.24 The One That Got Away

It's Jay's birthday.

Claire and Mitchell's gift to their dad is going to be a recreation of a picture they took when they were kids. Haley and Alex interviewed members of their family for a video tribute to Grandpa Pritchett. And Cameron is in charge of the cake. He drops Lily off with Gloria because this adorable little girl has been driving her two dads crazy lately. As for Jay, he just wants relax while fishing his b-day away.

Manny wants to impress a young lady softball player, so Cameron helps him prep for the big game. They have a catch and, later, Cam feeds Manny some wooing lines over the phone. Of course, it sounds like a grown man is chasing after a sixth grader to all those eavesdropping in the cake shop. The misunderstanding gets our modern day Cyrano banned from the bakery, so Cam calls Jay for help.

In order to recreate the gift picture, Claire puts her hair in pigtails and Mitchell dress up like a sailor. When they hop the fence at their old house, a big watchdog chases the oddly-dressed trespassers up a tree. Then their car is towed. Claire makes most of this bad situation by cracking open the wine she bought as birthday gift for her dad. Pigtail girl and sailor boy get totally hammered and call Jay for help.

Phil runs into his old college rival, Glen Whipple. The guy was captain of the cheer squad and winner of every robot battle. Yes, Mr. Whipple had it all. When Phil runs into Gloria, he creates the illusion that she's his wife in order to make his nemesis envious. The plan works until Glen mentions Claire. He always thought Phil would end up with her. Glen thinks whoever landed Claire is one lucky guy. Suddenly, Phil feels the same way.

Jay delivers Claire, Mitchell and his birthday cake to his party. Sadly, Stella his new pooch has a sweet tooth. The dog ends up trashing the cake and Jay never does go fishing. That's fine. He still has his family and what's left of the mushy, mangled cake. As far as presents, the wine is gone and that video the girls shot isn't going to win any film festivals even after Luke's creative editing efforts. It has marvelous production values though.

Manny's date with the softball girl went fine, but now she wants to hit the batting cages. Cam thinks the kid just needs a little practice. Manny agrees, which is why he'll ask Jay to take him out later. For now, he drags a mini boat out to the pool. Jay didn't get to hang out on the lake, but kicking back with his kid here isn't so bad. It's a sweet little scene that has Cam and Mitchell reflecting on their day. It makes them think they want to have another baby.