(S03E02) You may have never seen Invincible, but you know what it's about. Schmo off the street tries out for the Philadelphia Eagles. Odds are against the schmo. Everyone tells schmo he's fooling himself. Schmo makes the team, despite the odds, and plays in the NFL. Schmo is triumphant. We've seen the formula a million times.Only the story behind Invincible really happened, since it was the story of Vince Papale, who played for the Eagles in the seventies. So what if every lunk with some tidbit of football skill came away from the movie thinking they could make the Eagles? That's what the crew from Paddy's is going to find out.
Well the crew really doesn't think they're going make the team. Dennis and Mac are going to meet Donovan McNabb, run around on the field of Lincoln Financial Field, and make fun of the people who are actually taking the fantasy camp seriously (they get none of those wishes). Dee is going because the guys goaded her into proving she's better at football than they are. And Charlie and Frank are just tailgating, with help, in the case of Frank.
Can I just take this moment to mention how seamless the addition to Danny DeVito was to this show? All last season, he showed that he fits well in the ensemble, despite his star status, and he's twisted enough to make Frank the perfect older "role model" for the Paddy's crew, especially the shrill and illiterate Charlie. DeVito and Charlie Day make a good comedic team, and it shows here, as Charlie's disgusted reactions to Frank dropping acid are really funny ("I'm gonna trip balls!"), especially because Charlie himself is getting quickly drunk. The acid makes Frank paranoid, especially when he thinks he's locked in an RV's bathroom, like he was at Woodstock ("I survived on hand soap and toilet water for three days. The memory haunts me.").
Then there are the McPoyles. Yes, the inbred family we've grown to love is back, to cheer on brother Doyle as he seriously tries to make the Eagles. God, the McPoyles are freaks, aren't they? The unibrow, the voices, the unibrow... not a fun sight. It's interesting that Ryan McPoyle is played by Nate Mooney; wonder if being on It's Always Sunny got him the part playing the similarly inbred Kenny on fellow FX show The Riches (along with Kaitlin "Sweet Dee" Olsen, who was also great on that show)?
So, this is the second time Dee has worn facial hair, but this time it's fake -- in last year's "Hundred Dollar Baby," her steroid addiction gave her real facial hair. Seeing Dennis and Mac jump-tackle Dee was hilarious, but Dee got her revenge; she kicked the crap out of that ball, didn't she? Problem is, her timing sucked; when she got the attention of the coach, her glass-like foot snapped and she went down in a heap. But she was warned ("Your body is like 90% scoliosis, Dee").
What else was funny here? How about Geoffrey Owens, Elvin from The Cosby Show, stepping in for McNabb, and promoting McDonalds on top of it? Maybe a trippy Charlie (Frank put acid in Charlie's beer) donning his Greenman suit and dancing with the McPoyles (when they talked about the suit at the beginning of the episode, little did I know it had no eyes or mouth... just one big tube o' green)? Frank's freak-out? Dennis thinking he's an actual athlete? It was all good.
Oh, and the final scene, when Frank accidentally shoots Doyle, who actually made the team, will come back and haunt the Paddy's crew later on, as the McPoyles show up in a later episode. I won't give any more details, but suffice to say when life comes back to bite the gang in the collective ass, it does so in some very funny ways.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-13-2007 @ 11:52PM
SJ said...
This episode was hilarious, especially the part about Frank thinking he was stuck in a bathroom. And then Charlie in that green suit...hilarious. I'm glad this show is back.
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9-14-2007 @ 2:16AM
steve said...
"you guys dont mind if i dance do you?" charlie is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters on TV
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9-14-2007 @ 5:05AM
Derek said...
I wonder if the Dee glass bones thing was a refrence to Unbreakable? Didn't that also tak place in Philadelphia?
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9-14-2007 @ 10:33AM
Verbal said...
After this episode ended I kept laughing and laughing for ten minutes. My roommate was looking at me like I was nuts. I had already turned the tv off and was just replaying this episode in my head. Wow, just wow, so funny. Charlie's inner monologue about dancing with the McPoyle's was hilarious and then we see him, oh my god it was fantastic. The lizard line was great too.
I wasn't too big on the DB episode but this one surely put me over the top and shows me why this show is by far the #1 comedy on tv right now.
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9-14-2007 @ 10:37AM
Matt said...
The part where they flash to Frank standing in the garbage can caused my friend and me to bust out laughing. Just classic stuff right there.
Great episode overall. If they can keep this up, this might be the best season yet.
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9-14-2007 @ 5:22PM
sitruc said...
Just reading about the episodes makes me laugh some more. Although I haven't slept in days and I could be going hysterical, I'm pretty sure the show was funny.
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9-14-2007 @ 12:16PM
Haggis said...
DeVito standing in the trash can for who knows how long, talking to Dee's strange actress friend Artemis, was too funny. Especially when she said "I think he took a dump in there"
And I lost it when I saw Charlie in the greenman suit. Especially when he asks "You guys mind if I dance?" during the peak of the shenanigans.
I'm so glad this show is back.
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9-14-2007 @ 12:30PM
Chris said...
Another question you have to ask yourself is why is DeVito always packing that pistol around?
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9-14-2007 @ 3:06PM
ac said...
I thought this was better than the DB episode. That one was only funny for saying Dumpster Baby 100 times. This one was great. Frank lacing Charlie's beer with acid and making him become Greenman, Dennis getting hit with the ball, Frank in the bathroom, and then in the garbage can were priceless. And wtf is with the McDoyles? They move to Philly from sticks? They look like the people from Deliverence.
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9-19-2007 @ 6:33PM
matt said...
Does anyone know where i can buy one of those "GreenMan" costumes....i want one really bad and will pay whatever it costs.
THanks, MATT
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9-21-2007 @ 11:43PM
Stigmata said...
best comedy on TV hands down. also the most underrated!
so far its only for ppl in the know, lets hope it gets more attention!
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9-27-2007 @ 8:37PM
Z Zag said...
Ugh, I hate this show... I watched the first 2 episodes with an open mind, and I did crack a smile a few times. I'd give the DB show a 1 or 2 out of 10. This one was slightly better.
It's positioned like Seinfeld -- group of friends that get into random situations week to week, they're self-conscious, don't care about other people, etc. But the big difference is they have no funny lines -- nothing is quotable. If they're going for more of a situationally funny show, like Curb Your Enthusiasm, then they fall way, way short.
I hate the constant arguing where they talk over the top of each other -- sounds like a few high school girls screeching to each other.
Rob and Kaitlin are good, the other two guys are sucky actors. DeVito is OK, he acts the same regardless of the role - either you like him or you don't.
I'll probably watch one more show but it better be great to overcome these two mostly yawners.
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10-04-2007 @ 3:35AM
melinda said...
YES. I completely agree with the person above me; actually, I thought of Curb Your Enthusiasm when I watched It's Always Sunny as well. It's like...the dumbed-down, ignorant version of Curb Your Enthusiasm....There's nothing really witty about it. It basically seems to be a show made in the style of Seinfeld/Curb, but it lacks the intelligent backbone to support it.
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10-05-2007 @ 11:31PM
Stigmata said...
i disagree with the 2 ppl above me. seinfeld and 'curb' were/are great shows, but they were peddling to the lowest common denominator. they didnt tackle any social issues that really mattered. and larry's social insensitivity angle is ALL played out, what else can he do with it??
whereas these guys, even though they are portrayed as the anti-christ , actually do tackle issues like welfare, corporate america, globalisation, immigration, war, foreign policy, free speech, labor laws, etc.. (albeit all tongue in cheek)
they dont champion these causes on the show, otherwise it wouldnt be funny, but it goes to show that these guys are FAR more socially aware and intelligent than jerry seinfeld and larry david combined. this also means their material will never get stale, as there are always new issues to make fun of, like South Park. 11 years and still running strong.
also, has anyone seen the latest eps of curb lately? hello, its OVER! larry should have quit last season!
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