Modern Family follows the families of Jay Pritchett (Ed O'Neill), his daughter Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen), and his son Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Claire is a real housewife, Jay is married to a younger woman and also has a teenage son, and Mitchell and his boyfriend have adopted a Vietnamese baby.
In the previous edition I already indicated that I find it difficult to determine my favorite character of Modern Family. I had already secretly hinted that I actually have two favorites. Last time I described the character Phil Dunphy. For those who have not read that yet, you can nicely combine it with this column. This time I want to take you along in the in-depth exploration of my other favorite character Cameron “Cam” Tucker. The character is played by Eric Stonestreet and he also has the gift of making people laugh with a little quip.
Before I describe the character further, I think one aspect is reason enough to label him as a crowd favorite. I didn't know Eric Stonestreet at all and saw him for the first time as Cam. In Modern Family, the character Cam is homosexual and has a relationship with Mitchell Pritchett. I would describe Cam as the female version of the couple. What I, and perhaps many others, didn't know is that Eric himself is straight. This part is not meant to be sexist, but I find it admirable how he can pretend to be a completely different person. With his empathy, he convinced me that he would also be gay in real life.
So Cam is in a relationship with Mitchell and together they have an adopted daughter Lily. Later in the series they adopt another son named Rexford. Cam is known for his big heart, sense of drama and humorous personality. He is a real bon vivant with a passion for theater and music. He is also very emotional and can be overly sensitive at times, which often leads to comical situations.
Comedy situations are already abundant when you have Jay Pritchett as a father-in-law. He is a man of the old school. A traditional and rather gruff man. You can imagine that he has trouble dealing with love of the same sex. In the first seasons this regularly causes awkward moments. For example, Jay always introduces Cam as “Mitchell’s friend” instead of his partner. Jay’s lack of emotion and Cam’s sense of drama clash, which makes for hilarious moments. As the series progresses, they grow closer. It’s just like real life.
One of the things Jay can appreciate is the shared passion for football. Cam gets a job as a football coach and Jay helps him, asked or not, with his experience and advice. They also practice positions sometimes. In football you sometimes have to bend over. You can already sense that this provides the necessary humor. Cam's unconventional methods also make you laugh.
One of the most memorable moments is when Cam introduces his alter ego Fizbo the Clown. His clown act provides a lot of laughs, especially when he unexpectedly appears in this role at family gatherings. It is an outlet for his theatrical personality and provides many hilarious moments in the series. The same goes for Cam's love of Halloween. His traumatic experience as a child, when he was accused of stealing candy, often comes up and leads to comical situations.
My absolute favorite remains Phil, but Cam comes close for me. His character has left a lasting impression with his unique mix of humor, emotion and drama.
