Were you aware of Phil Dunphy’s physical attraction to Gloria Delgado-Pritchett? I’m so serious. I mean, like, sexual attraction. Even if you have been watching Modern Family regularly since it premiered, you may not have noticed the subtle sexual dynamic between Phil and his mother-in-law Gloria. But it’s there, and the writers have actually trotted it out frequently over the years, but have scaled it back recently. What’s especially crazy is that Claire will be right there for Phil’s awkward, flustered response to Gloria and she either doesn’t notice, or does notice but doesn’t seem to care.
I don’t mean to condescend, but I can’t imagine how else “Sleeper” makes any sense unless the audience has completely forgotten about one of the character dynamics Modern Family tapped most often in its treasured early years: Phil’s conspicuous crush on Gloria. Claire doesn’t seem bent out of shape about the whole thing. As I recall, she was equally unruffled when Judy Greer tried to sexually assault Phil in the kitchen. There’s really never been anything on Modern Family to buttress the idea that Phil is cowering in fear of Claire’s unreasonable jealousy. If anything, it’s been clear that Claire is neurotic, but when she has perspective, she knows her husband is an odd bird who just so happens to fit her as a husband. Claire is not frequently insecure about her relationship.
In order for the bulk of “Sleeper” to work, the audience has to buy that Phil’s guilt over listening to a Carly Simon single and reminiscing about his first time would be so profound, so intense it would stress him to the point of causing narcolepsy. Is this the same Phil Dunphy who went to great pains to cover up his failure to secure a bookshelf prior to an earthquake? Those were actual stakes. “Sleeper” is about Phil acquiring a neurological disorder because he enjoyed a memory of a woman from his past. Sorry, no. It doesn’t work out of the gate, and given how much of “Sleeper” is occupied by Phil’s bizarre struggle with narcolepsy, it’s not as easy to forgive the subordinate plots, which have flashes of charm but aren’t in support of anything, really.
What makes “Sleeper” especially disappointing is how it diminishes Phil, Modern Family’s most consistently written character, by putting him in an aimless, unfunny plot that even Ty Burrell couldn’t save. Given how much Burrell can do with very little—“Enough said about that!”—it’s kind of a downer to be reminded that even Burrell is limited by the material he’s given.