My Funky Valentine

Plot

Phil and Claire had planned their usual Valentine's dinner spot, but Dylan's gift for Haley threw them for a loop, so they switched things up with a hotel stay and some role-playing. Phil became Clive Bixby, a businessman in town, and Claire played Julianna, a housewife looking for a fling. They met at the hotel bar, where he charmed her; she then excused herself to the restroom and returned wearing only her coat. As they headed for the elevator, her coat snagged on the escalator, leaving her stuck and exposed.

Meanwhile, Mitchell and Cameron had to cancel their Valentine's plans because Mitchell was consumed by a case he'd been grinding on for weeks. When his client settled just before he could deliver a killer speech, he came home deflated and far from romantic. Cameron had agreed to watch Manny, and his arrival perked Mitchell up—until they learned Manny was crushed. He'd written a Valentine's poem for a girl, but a classmate had stolen the credit.

They went to the restaurant where Manny had planned his date, and he confronted her about who really wrote the poem. The other boy denied it, so Mitchell stepped in, using the speech from his case to defend Manny, which delighted Cameron. Still, the girl chose the other boy because he claimed the poem's feelings were his own, even if he couldn't put them into words. Jay and Gloria went to a comedy club in the hotel to see David Brenner perform.

They were having a good time until Brenner started roasting Jay's age. Jay got annoyed and left, but Gloria followed to comfort him, and they ended up going salsa dancing—Gloria's original pick for the night. On their way out, they spotted Phil and Claire trapped on the escalator. Gloria took off her coat and draped it over Claire, letting her slip out of the stuck coat without losing her dignity in front of the crowd.

The next morning, Phil called Claire to relive the hotel romance, not realizing she had the kids in the minivan with the speakerphone on, so they heard every word.

Reception

In its original American broadcast, "My Funky Valentine" was viewed by 9.84 million viewers with a Nielsen rating of 4.2/11, matching with the previous rating high from "Fifteen Percent" and the pilot episode and helping it come second in its timeslot after American Idol, and making it the most viewed episode on ABC Comedy Wednesday helping ABC come third for the night after CBS and FOX. The episode ranked 13th in the 18-49 rating with 5,438 million viewers from that rating watching and ranked 23rd in the total viewership for the week.

The episode received positive reviews. Robert Canning from IGN gave the episode an 8.6 saying it was "Great" and "the three storylines from 'My Funky Valentine' had a lot of laughs. The episode continued to prove Modern Family is the best new comedy of the season." Jason Hughes of TV Squad gave the episode a positive review saying that "Again, it's those genuine little moments that help the audience believe in these characters, and believing in them makes the situations they find themselves in that much funnier."

Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A− saying that "It may not be the freshest idea in the world, but I haven't laughed this hard at a sitcom in a long time." and that "Nothing new about these storylines. But it's not about the situation -- it's about the comedy. And what we have here are comic actors playing characters -- especially Mitchell, Cam, and Phil -- that can make everything old new again." Lesley Savage of Entertainment Weekly gave the episode a positive review saying that "How is it possible that this show gets funnier every week?

I mean, you would think that it would have to plateau at some point, but the last few episodes have just gotten better and better. While I thought that last week was ultra-quote worthy, this week's Valentine's Day-themed episode may have just topped it."