Modern Family (2009–…): Season 4, Episode 9 - When a Tree Falls - full transcript

Haley, hurry up.
You're gonna be late.

Alex, what are you doing?

I need to document Haley's
first day on the chain gang.

It's not a chain gang.
It's community service.

And leave her alone.
She feels bad enough as it is.

Okay, I'm torn.
On one hand, I'm like,

"ugh, I have to pick up
garbage all day."

And on the other hand, I'm like,

"look at me in orange."

Aw, that's cute.
Send that to me.

Haley had a little run-in
with the law in college.



She was arrested
for assaulting a police officer.

Accidentally. I fell on him.

While evading arrest
for underage drinking.

That was on purpose.

They were very lenient with her.

She only has to do
community service.

Because I do not have any priors.

Taking a little too much pride
in that, sweetheart.

Things can get
pretty rough out there.

I couldn't get my hands
on any cigarettes.

But I did make you
a shiv out of an old knife.

You don't make a shiv
out of a knife.

Yeah, you make a shiv
out of a rusty spoon

or a shard of glass.



Or a human femur.

Exactly. Be creative.

It's really sweet of you, Luke,

but there's just gonna be
a bunch of drunk drivers

and vandalizers who were
stupid enough to get caught.

Or stupid enough to use
the word "vandalizers."

It's vandals.

I'm so alone.

They're gonna eat you alive, suburbia.

Mitchell, we're back.

You are not going to believe this.

Cam, do you remember
why I didn't want you

to swap out the handles
on Lily's dresser?

Because you lack a designer's eye
and fear change?

No. Because I was afraid
two weeks would go by,

and we'd still be using a spatula

to get at Lily's clothes.

Okay, well, we have bigger issues.

Guess what they are cutting down
at the park today?

- A tree?
- Yes. How did you know that?

I played a hunch.

Not just any tree, Tree-ona Elmsly.

Oh, no. That's terrible.
That's our picnic tree.

It's a nightmare.

Well, someone's picked up
her daddy's gift for hyperbole.

They are literally
chainsawing paradise

- to put up a parking lot.
- Oh, it's too bad.

We have to do something.

Well, if we knew earlier, we could.

I blame myself.
I've taken on too much.

What exactly have you taken on?

Are you kidding me?
Teaching music?

This dresser handle project?
My role in the musical?

Oh, that.

You know what?
I don't like your tone.

The understudy's
the most challenging role

in any production.

You have to be ready
at a moment's notice

to go on and face
a disappointed audience

who was there to see
Kenny van Heffington.

Our insurance guy?

He's breathtaking.

- Really?
- Yeah, I hate him.

Anyway, what was I talking about?

Putting new handles on the dresser.

Right. The tree.
I have to do something.

I can't live like this.

Manny, while we're young!

He doesn't want to go.

That's why he's taking
so long with the primping.

A boy his age should do
exactly zero primping.

You ready?

Not in the least.

That's the spirit.

This kid in my class, Doug Brooks,

has a sports-themed
birthday party every year.

All boys. All sports. All day.

He calls it the Doug-lympics,

which might make sense
if he did it every four years,

or if his name was Al.

Let's just say nothing
about it works.

Manny, it's a beautiful day outside.

Go on. Enjoy your dougy-lympics.

You don't have to win a medal.
Just have fun.

Doug finishes with the most
medals no matter what.

Plus I think he only invites me

because he likes to match
skin color to nation.

I know that's why
Alan Yan gets invited.

Okay, we get it.
Sports isn't your thing.

But you gotta step out
of your comfort zone sometime.

And for God sake,
change out of those wingtips.

You're a kid.
You're not Nixon on the beach.

Fine. I'll put on my sporty shoes.

Where are they?

They're still in the box.

And don't forget
to take out the paper

before you put them on, okay?

And they're called sneakers.

Hello, hello!

Hey, Gloria. So, ready to go?

- Where?
- Thought we were doing a Costco run.

Oh, I see what this is.

You called Claire to babysit
the stupid pregnant lady!

You're the one who called her.

I did?

I called Claire.

Gloria needs watching.

She's got a serious case
of pregnancy brain.

Last week, I found
a bar of soap in the fridge

and a stick of butter in the shower.

I walked around all day
smelling like a bucket of popcorn.

Better than the toast I ate.

Yet you ate the second piece.

Jay! Bye-bye! We're leaving!

Seriously? I'm right here.

Duck! Duck! Come on
and hit him, you little freak!

Talk about a big left hook.

God, I love you.

Phil in the blank!

Bill of rights!

Jerry-atric!

Alan's dad!

Hey, guys.
Luke, you getting in there?

Of course.

Look, I'm Mexico. Again.

Does anybody care
that I'm not from Mexico?

You keep saying that,

but we've never seen
a birth certificate.

All right, look,
I'll pick you up at 5:00.

Knock yourself out.

Or better still,
knock someone else out.

Jay, where you headed?

Why don't you stick around
and grab a beer with the dads?

Oh, I don't really know those guys.

I think I'll just swing
by the club, hit a few balls.

Well, come here.
Let me introduce you around.

Hey, guys,

this is Jay, my father-in-law.
Manny's stepdad.

Hey, what's up, Jay-lo?

Okay, guys, I'll see you later.

What's the matter, Jay?

Afraid to step outside
your comfort zone?

I will send you back to Mexico.

I didn't really call you, did I?

No, my dad did.
But I thought you knew.

Ugh. I want to be so mad at him,

but he's right.

I have two brains in my body,

but I've never been so dumb.

It happens. I get it.

You have another
human being inside of you,

competing for resources.

Look, when I was pregnant with Alex,

I could barely remember my name.

Same with Haley and Luke?

Mm, not so much.

They kind of just hung out in there,
let me do my thing.

Thank you for understanding.

I'm glad that you came.

It will help me not to forget stuff.

- I'm glad I can help out.
- I-- Whoa, whoa!

- Whoa, whoa, whoa!
- Why didn't you stop first?!

Where's daddy?

I don't know, sweetie.

He said to meet him by Tree-ona.

Mitchell! Lily!

Where is he?

Up here! Look up here!

Cam, what are you doing up there?

I came down to say
goodbye to the tree,

give it one final hug,

and before I knew it,
I was up here.

When you say "one final hug"...

If I'm occupying the tree,
they can't cut it down.

I googled it. It's a thing.

Okay, Lily, see,
this is a nightmare.

Tell me about it.

You know what?
You're a list-maker,

a planner.

I'm a doer and an action taker!

Sean Penn would play me
in a movie about this,

or Anne Hathaway, if they
wanted a female-driven vehicle.

And who would play
your long-suffering partner?

Julianne Moore, either way.

- I would totally see that. I would.
- I know.

Hey! My supervisor wants to know

if you have a history
of mental illness.

No, sir, I do not.

All right, Cam, let's hear.
What's the plan?

I don't know.
I'm sort of making it up as I go.

Are you sure you wanna do this?

Yes. I've never been more sure
about anything in my life.

We need to teach our daughter
the value of taking a stand,

no matter the sacrifice!

Hello?

Done. I'll be right there.

Mitchell, you need to get up here.
I have to go.

Excuse me?

That was my theater troupe.
An actor's sick.

I have to go and do the matinee.

What happened to showing Lily
the value of taking a stand?

It's the lead.

It's also important
to show her the value

of honoring one's commitments.

And in this case,
my commitment preceded my stand!

This is so you, Cam.

You start something, and
then you expect me to finish it.

So you're not coming up here?

No! No, I'm not.
Come on.

Mitchell?

Where were we the first day
Lily rolled over?

Under this tree.

Where is home base when
we play hide-and-go-seek?

Under this tree.

And where did we take shelter

during that dangerous
lightning storm?

Wasn't a good idea,
but it was under this tree.

Daddy, you've got to save the tree!

Yeah, daddy,
you have to save the tree!

Okay, okay.

But you get back here
the second you are done.

Well, I can't very well turn away
fans that come backstage.

The second!

Last summer, my sister took
a totally humiliating photo of me.

Haley, that's not funny!

Then she posted it to Facebook

and refused to take it down.

It got 873 likes.

Meanwhile, there's not one
embarrassing photo of Haley.

Even her mug shots were cute.

Today, I get my revenge.

One photo of Haley, dirty, sweaty,

picking up trash like a criminal.

It'll be my finest moment.

In a few years, I hope
to have some more friends

and not have time
for this kind of stuff.

Okay. Hey.

Where did you go?

To get a sweatshirt.

We've been standing in
the frozen food aisle for half an hour.

I need something frozen.

Right. What?

I don't know.
I just wrote the word "frozen."

Okay. Uh, let's think.

Peas. Ice cream. Pizza. Waffles.

Wait a minute.

It says "dozen." I need the eggs!

Ah, the eggs. Okay.

Ay, no, on the other side.

Oh, God. I-I'll get the carts.

So that's... oh, sorry.

That's... that's me.
That's me. I got it.

Come on, guys! You're killing us!

Where the heck is Mexico?

Good news, gentlemen!
I found another rope.

If we double-Dutch, everyone wins.

Okay, hold still...

And wait for it...

This is what you'd look like
fat and bald.

On my phone,
that app's called a camera.

Bill, don't do that to yourself.

Let me tell you something.
Ellen is one lucky woman.

Why is that funny?

Because she's married to Jerry.

Jay, you got any good apps?

I don't know. I got call waiting.
Is that an app?

You guys laugh a lot, huh?

Jay's a little
technologically challenged.

From a guy who can't drive a stick.

- What?
- You can't?

Well... he called me
to rescue him one time.

He got stuck on a hill.
He was afraid to let go of the clutch.

Well... by the time I got there,

traffic's backed up half a mile,

everybody's yelling at him.
He's in tears.

Not tears. Maybe sweat.

Yeah, sweatin' out your eyes.

I had about ten
pretty bad pictures of Haley.

I could have quit right there,
but I'm a perfectionist.

I thought,

"I could do better.
She could look worse."

Oh, my God.

All right, pal.

Come down from the tree.

Sorry, can't do that.

Come down before we pull you down.

W--hey. Ease up.

What's the problem?

Look, I don't want to be up here.

You know? But this is
my daughter's favorite tree.

And my partner--
he's all up in arms

about them cutting it down, so...

Well, if your partner's so worked up,
why isn't he here?

Oh, well, that's
a very good question.

It's because he starts things,
and he doesn't finish them,

so then I have to.

Just like my wife.

You know, my therapist
would say we're "enabling" them.

You and your therapist.

Well, I wouldn't have to see him
if you hadn't shot that guy.

Aw, that again?

Look, let's just spray him
with the fire hose.

You're not helping, Terry.

It's not your fight.

So why don't you do us a favor,

and come on down?

Because he's right, all right?

That's the frustrating part.

I-I've been sitting up here
these past few hours,

and... this tree is beautiful, okay?

And I-I can hear the squirrels
dancing through the branches,

you know, chasing each other,

no idea what's about to happen.

You know, this isn't just a tree.

This is a home.

Yeah, to, like, a hundred rats.

They're all over this thing.

Well, that changes nothing.

I will wait you guys out
all night if I have to.

Cam, you got 20 minutes,
and I'm out of this tree.

Terry, you wanna
get ready with that hose?

So Alex comes home
from school the other day,

and she said the teacher didn't know
what she was talking about,

when in reality, I don't think that--
Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Hey! You almost
just cut my head off.

You gotta focus.

I am sorry.
After all that, I forgot the eggs!

- Excuse me.
- Yeah, hang on one second.

Listen, this is not
just your pregnancy.

You are purposely
turning your brain off.

You have to at least
try to pay attention.

- Ma'am?
- Yeah.

Do you have a receipt
for that sweatshirt?

Oh, shoot.

I'm gonna need you
to come back into the store.

Oh, no. No, it's--
I forgot I was wearing it.

It's no big deal. Here.

Ma'am. The store.

Are you kidding me?

I didn't try to steal a sweatshirt!

Sir, I'm a mom.

- Uh-huh.
- Gloria, help me out.

Listen, Mr. Policeman,

if we wanted to steal it,

you wouldn't even know
that it was gone!

Yeah, okay. That's not helping.

Oh, my God! A gold bracelet!

Hey, can we keep what we find?

Unbelievable.

Really?

Gentlemen, you wanna know
about the real ultimate frisbee?

Walk with one balanced
on your head for 50 meters.

It is a measure of poise,
balance, and posture.

Let's just whip the frisbees
at each other as hard as we can

and see who quits first.

Frisbee smash.

Awesome! Let's go!

Oh, my God, I'm Sisyphus. Yes!

A big one! Ha ha! Uhh!

So he's out in our yard
and he's got a boombox...

What's the name
of that movie with the boombox?

- Oh, "Say anything."
- With John Mahoney.

So anyway, he's out there,

- and he's begging Claire for forgiveness.
- I...

She's still mad at him.
She won't have any of it.

So he turns it up full-blast,

and it's Olivia Newton-John.

And he starts singing,
"Let's get Phil-sical"!

It was an inside joke.

Well, not anymore!

Okay, enough with
the funny Phil stories.

No, but I haven't even gotten
to the best part yet.

So he's doing his little dance,
and I can't take it anymore,

so I nail him with the sprinklers!

Yep, and you also
shorted out my boombox,

which you said you'd replace
and you never did.

I never said that!

Yes, you did. You still owe me
one boom box, 12 "D" batteries,

and an Olivia Newton-John cassingle.

Okay, uh...

Why don't we settle it in the ring?

We get in there,

and if you beat me, I'll buy you
any boombox you want.

If I beat you,

then you've gotta do
your little dance for everyone.

Yeah!

I'm in.

Let's get Phil-sical.

I wasn't worried.
I'd boxed in the Navy.

And it was Phil.

And here's something
I thought I'd never say--

I'd rather box
my daughter's husband

than my son's.

I may have been holding on
to a tiny bit of anger towards Jay.

I scooped ice cream
all summer for that boombox!

Excuse me. Pardon me.
We're here!

We came as fast as we could!

You couldn't change?

You said come right away!

Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen!

Oakwood rep's production of "Cats"!

Make sure you catch it this week.

Word on the street is the understudy
steals the show!

Mitchell, I get two more shows!

Kenny van Heffington's
toenail is infected!

Just get up here, all right?

The crew has to leave at dark,
so you have until then.

Easy peasy.

Sweetie, tell daddy what
you thought of my performance.

Transcendent.

Oh, jeez.

Is this sap?

Why would I buy hundreds
of dollars worth of merchandise

and then steal a $20 sweatshirt?

I don't know.
Maybe you do it for the thrill.

I know your type.

You're a bored housewife,
drives a minivan,

husband spends a little
too much time online.

Got a couple of kids,
a college degree you don't use.

You could not be more wrong.

Yes. She has three kids.

Okay, no. No, no.

No, no. No, that's not helping.

Look, as I said before,
it was an accident.

Heard it a thousand times.

Grandmothers, businessmen,
honor students--

they all say the same thing--

"it was an accident.

I don't know how that
clock radio got in my pants."

Oh, for God sake!
I don't feel well. Let us go.

Yeah, right.

Is that even a baby?

'Cause from here,
it looks like a turkey.

I need you to sign this,
admitting your guilt,

and promising you'll never
return to this store.

I'm not signing that.

Okay, great.

- Then I'm gonna call the police
and I'll be forced to-- - Aaah!

What was that?

My water broke!

I'm having the baby!

Hey.

Sorry about that.
I went a little nuts there.

I don't know what happened.

I do.

I was ragging on you
in front of your friends.

- Oh, yeah.
- Sorry about that.

I couldn't think
of anything else to say.

Why not?

I got 20, 25 years on those guys.
We got nothing in common.

It's only gonna get worse.

I mean, what's it gonna be like
with the new kid in ten years?

Oh, my goodness.

You're insecure and vulnerable.

This is the cutest thing
I've ever seen.

Shut up.

Who's a shy bunny?

You wanna go one more round,
without the gloves?

I'm just playing around, Jay.

I don't care how old you are.

I could sit and talk to you all day.

Those guys really liked you, too.

I don't care about that.

Did they?

- Even Jerry?
- Yes.

Well, maybe you're right.

I mean, Manny didn't want
to come, and look at him.

Looks like he's having a great time.

So then Luke's dad
grabs the taser from me,

- and he was like, "uhh! Uhh!"
- No. No!

That's not how it happened.

Hey.

Aah! Ay! Ay! It hurts!

Hang in there! Hang in there!

Get you to the hospital
as soon as I can!

- I just want to apologize...
- Uh-huh.

One more time
on behalf of the store

for any stress that
I might have caused you.

Here, you can keep
the sweatshirt as a gift.

And congratulations on this baby,

which is clearly not a turkey.
That was--

- Go away now!
- Yeah.

- Ay! Ay!
- Okay. Go on. Go on. Get in. Keep going.

What hospital are we going to?

- No! No hospital!
- No hospital. Wow.

Wow, you're one of those, huh?

Okay, please don't have it
in the pool, though.

'Cause we swim in there.

I'm not having the baby, Claire.

I was just faking it.

What?

Not bad for someone
with pregnancy brain, huh?

Okay, that's good.
That was very good.

Good thinking, Gloria.

I'm sorry.
I just couldn't sit there

and watch you suffer

just because
you had turned your brain off.

Okay, I deserved that.

Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no.

I just blew through a red light.
Damn.

You think you can keep
the pregnancy thing up

for a little while longer?

Ay! I feel the head!

Feel it! Feel it!

Save it! Save it for the cop! Aah!

Save it.

All right, guys, that's it.
Pack it up!

You win for today.
See you on Monday.

That's it?

That's it.

So I'll go to city hall on Monday

and see what I can do,

but... you did it, Cam!

No, we did it.

I had to run away,
and you stepped in,

and like an understudy,
you gave a brilliant performance.

Yeah, but you're the star.

Oh, well...

Can we stop doing this
and go home?

Yes, Lily, but I want you
to remember this moment--

the day your daddies
made you proud.

Turn her away, Mitchell!
Turn her away!

Alex, what are you doing here?

Learning a valuable lesson
about karma

and how wrong it is
to take pleasure

in people's embarrassment.

Wow. I don't know
what any of that means,

but you look like hell.

- Say "geek."
- No!

He's a vandalizer!

593 likes, and counting.

Who does he belong to?

He's mine.

It was a great ending
to an amazing day.

Look, I even... made the paper.

"Bizarre protest saves park tree."

Oh, look what it says.

"This production of 'Cats'
should be put to sleep."

Don't read that.

Don't...

Oh, hey, Gloria.

Listen, I called Jay
about borrowing a drill

for my dresser handles.

I got it right here, Cam!

Oh, jeez.
What's with the getup?

Ay, good. You see that, too?

Stella, stop.

Ay, shh, shh, shh.
Sorry, Cam.

Oh, no, don't be.
I take it as a compliment.

"Cats"-- Now and forever.

Actually, just till next Thursday.

It's been described as "transcendent."