(S05E10) A weird thing has been happening this season, where I find myself really appreciating what the writers have been doing with the gang but I'm not laughing nearly as much as I should. This episode was a prime example of that. Dennis is notorious for his way with women, so hearing a full breakdown of the DENNIS System should have been a complete riot (a riot with cringing, sure). I smiled at certain parts and quietly enjoyed the scary-elaborate ways of Dennis and the rest of the gang, though ultimately, the laughs fell short. Perhaps things are feeling a little forced this season?
Trust in the douchiness of your characters and the chemistry of your actors, writers! The lines will come.
The cast of the FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia gathered a stone's throw from Beverly Hills this week to celebrate the release of the show's new Christmas special.
A Very Sunny Christmas arrives on Blu-ray and DVD November 17 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Fox teamed with Maxim Magazine to hold a festive bash last Thursday night at Guys and Dolls Lounge in the shadow of Cedar Sinai Hospital on Beverly Blvd. (Event gallery below.)
A modest red carpet set-up gathered a cramped collection of reporters and photographers together to greet the arrivals of show stars Danny DeVito, Kaitlin Olson, Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day.
As if looking to mimic the bleak Philadelphia winter, rain sprinkled the LA streets in the hours leading up to the event -- and temperatures hovering in the low 50s made it a goose bumpy night for the several cocktail dress-clad ladies mingling in the crowd.
Gallery: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Christmas Special DVD
(S05E09) Well. This episode was certainly successful in further quelling the doubts of any audience members that are still, for whatever reason, unconvinced that all the guys from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia are actually super-gay for each other. Yeah, not just "gay" but "super-gay." Considering the adorable, almost symbiotic nature of the guys' relationships, I would probably just refer to them as "hetero lifemates," but Frank and Charlie play Nightcrawlers and we all know what happened onstage between Dayman and Nightman in "The Nightman Cometh." Don't fight it.
(S05E08) Yes! Finally. The moment we've all been waiting for. Ever since the season five promos first aired, I have been eagerly anticipating some sort of context for Charlie's uncontrollable eyebrows and the ridiculous Kitten Mittens (or Kitten Mittons, as it were). Seeing the ad in full certainly didn't disappoint, though I wish we could have seen more Kitten Mittons throughout the episode. Admittedly, thirty-some minutes of cats struggling in booties probably doesn't sound like a hot idea, but, hey, animal humor has sustained many a clip show.
(S05E07) This episode brought back many things that fans of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia have already come to know and love: nearly aggressive patriotism, needless shirtnessness, songs sung in falsetto and, of course, Rickety Cricket. I would like to also submit that the Birds of War get-up (pictured above) would be perfect for this Halloween, especially if you're desperate for few high-fives or silent nods of approval. It covers a wide range, as it appeals to both Always Sunny fans and people who like America and/or chickens. I mean, eagles.
(S05E06) Ooh! Things I learned in high school! This episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia was presented as a frame story, just like The Canterbury Tales. Did the gang out-Chaucer Chaucer!? Well, no, but it was a lot funnier than the Wife of Bath, I can promise you that.
There were a lot of excellent moments (read on to find out who won the "Best Retch-Face" award, which is as coveted as it is imaginary) and they made for a solid episode, though not one to immediately jump into my favorites. Admittedly, that's an unreasonable weekly expectation anyway. Oh well. At least we got some Greenman.
According to the press release, the gang from Paddy's Pub will make an appearance for the first time on Comedy Central for a limited run next summer with the long-term license window starting after the first of the year in 2011.
(S05E05) This, more than any of the other episodes from the current season, felt the most true to the show. I know, that's kind of weird, since the canon is growing and developing with every installment, but this episode had all the things that we've come to know and love from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, from Frank's increasingly speedy spiral toward rock-bottom to Charlie and Dee's personal issues with the Waitress (never give her a name, for the love of everything that is terrible and in poor form). The schemes and the chemistry of the gang was extra-perfect in this episode, especially during the rapid-fire conversations surrounding Mac, Dennis and Charlie.
This is one of those episodes I've pocketed away in case I need to subject -- I mean, introduce -- an uninitiated person to the world of Always Sunny.
(S05E04) This week didn't really bring anything mind-blowing, but it returned us to old stomping grounds. With this episode, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia revisited a few familiar themes: gross people from the gang's history and the never-ending quest to bang moms. Mary Lynn Rajskub (remember, it's like "rice cub") made her Always Sunny debut as Dee and Dennis' "garbage pail cousin," Gail the Snail, and successfully joined the McPoyle brothers in that elite league of characters that make viewers feel greasy just from looking at them too long.
(S05E03) Something was a little off about this episode. I still can't tell what triggered this reaction. I think it was because I only half-laughed once or twice during the entire thing, or perhaps it was the heavy-handed product placements that were too involved to be casual and excusable. Certainly, it wasn't terrible television; it just didn't live up to the quality that I've come to expect from the show.
If I wanted to be harsh and really ballsy, I could say this was one of the weaker episodes from the series. But I won't. Because I have no balls (I haven't perfected the technology for me to engineer a pair).
(S05E02) Although it's interesting to see the individual characters play in their own storylines and schemes every once in a while, there's a lot to be said about the chemistry and rapid-fire interactions when all five members of the gang are stuck together for an entire episode. Doubly so when it's an episode that mainly takes place in a tiny car or cramped U-Haul.
In addition to this, their poor decision-making seems to escalate faster when they're feeding off each other's bad intentions, which means more laughter and delighted points-at-the-screen for us bozos.
(S05E01) It's Always Sunny is back and it's kicking your ass. Or at least it's threatening you and your wife until you start crying a little bit and agree to partake in the antics, and we wouldn't have it any other way. There were a lot of good moments in the premiere episode, though it didn't really feel like a typical season opener, in as much as it didn't present anything too big and different from the usual Always Sunny episode. Again, it was funny, of course, but it didn't scream "premiere", and perhaps that's the best thing for Always Sunny.
When Joel interviewed Danny DeVito last month at the TCA press tour, DeVito didn't specifically mention this outtake from an upcoming episode from the new season of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, though he did mention a Christmas DVD. It's...bizarre.
Please note that it features a naked DeVito, though helpfully the most disturbing parts are covered by festive decoration.
Before I spoke to Katey Sagal at last night's FOX party, I ran into Danny DeVito, who was conveniently wearing a It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia hat, just in case people had no idea what show he was there to promote.
We talked a little about Asbury Park, NJ, where he grew up, but then the subject turned to his current show, and the new holiday-themed DVD subtitled It's A Very Sunny Christmas. The DVD will be a never-before-seen feature-length episode where the gang spread Christmas cheer with their usual blend of inappropriate humor, uncomfortable situations and general mayhem.
DeVito mentioned the DVD as he talked about the exploits his character, Frank Reynolds, will be up to this year. "It's off the charts. I'll tell you, Oh my god. There's an intervention; I'm over the top they come in and intervene. I go to a frat house and have lots of fun there. We have a Christmas DVD coming out that's off the charts, doing everything we can't do on television. It's like basically sex, and drugs and rock 'n' roll. Anything we want."
One of the most terribly underrated comedy shows on television today is FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Here's a hot tip for any Americans that have yet to experience the delightfully atrocious characters from the show: Get on it. Hulu is rolling through all of the episodes and they've just started at the beginning (first five episodes are now available). Perfect time to start, kids.
For those that are already a little more well-versed in the Always Sunny universe, there's fun stuff for you, too. The gang is taking an It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia tour to perform a live stage version of one of their most popular episodes, "The Nightman Cometh."