#ThrowbackThursday

We all know the cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia now as Charlie, Mac, Dennis, Frank, and Dee, but where were they before they scored the rolls on this show? I thought it would be fun to take a look down memory lane and find clips from some of the first film/television rolls that each of the cast members landed in their careers. It’s crazy to see how far they’ve all come over the years and where they all started out before they were the crazy gang we all know and love.

Danny Devito as Louie DePalma on Taxi (1978-1983):

For six years, wayyyy before his role on Sunny, Danny Devito played a loud and outlandish taxi dispatcher in the hit series Taxi. I you watch this clip you can see that back in the day he had much more hair and much better eyesight, but the same crazy non-restricted personality that we’ve grown to love as he plays Frank Reynolds on It’s Always Sunny. 

Danny Devito as Mr. Wormwood in Matilda (1996):

Having not been alive for the generation that Taxi took place in, this was the only role prior to Sunny that I remembered Danny from. This movie totally reminds me of my childhood, and how much I hated Matilda’s con-artist dad. Looking back now though, he seems to bear a striking similarity to Mr. Reynolds. He even says, “nobody ever got rich bein’ honest.” Sound like anyone we know?

Kaitlin Olson as Janet on George Lopez (2004):

Before she was Sweet Dee, Kaitlin Olson appeared on an episode of George Lopez where she played a snarky assistant principal. While I have the utmost confidence that Dee’s sexual promiscuity and sailor mouth wouldn’t land her even an assistant role, the minor character’s sarcastic attitude and inability to deliver news appropriately reminds me quite a bit of Dee and her laugh-inducing flaws.

Rob McElhenney as Joey Timon on Law & Order (1997):

When I was a mere two years, Rob McElhenney was getting his acting career rolling with a spot on the show that it seems all of Hollywood has appeared on at one point or another. He plays a teenage bad-boy who ends up murdering an innocent victim just for the fun of it, and ends up facing 20 to life. Yikes… While Mac McDonald was once thought to be a serial killer, I’d like to think he’s not quite “bad-ass” enough to to actually commit that grave of a crime–hopefully.

Glenn Howerton as Corey Howard on That 80’s Show (2002):

One of Glenn’s first rolls before playing the narcissistic Dennis Reynolds, was as Corey Howard on That 80’s Show. While the show was not well-received by fans and only lasted one season, the 13 episodes that Glenn appeared in acted as the start of his career, as he would go on to become the gang member we all love to hate.

Charlie Day as Jeremy on Law & Order (2001):

4 years after Rob appeared on the show, we see none other than Charlie Kelly pop up on this crime series as well–see, I really wasn’t lying about everyone being on here at some point. Anyways, he stars as a laid back cool-guy witness, and his acting is soooo different than anything he’s done on Sunny that it’s almost funny to watch, since I know him so well as Charlie Day and all he represents. Vastly different than the cheese-obsessed dyslexic from Philly.

Charlie Day as Michael Boscorelli on Third Watch (2001-2004):

On a 6 season series that followes the lives of New York’s 55th precinct’s police officers, paramedics, etc., Charlie Day appeared as Michael Boscorelli in 5 different episodes throughout the series. He plays the brother of Officer Maurice Boscorelli (Jason Wiles) and carries out another unconventional roll in this early 00’s crime drama. While his performance is great, I’m not gonna lie, I’m glad soon after this stint he found his home on Sunny playing the roll he’s so clearly meant to be playing.

What’s your favorite past roll from a member of the Always Sunny cast? Leave a comment below, jabronis.

Top-Ten Tuesday: The Gang’s Best Quotes

For ten seasons now the cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia have been spitting out the most vulgar, outlandish, and utterly hysterical one-liners on television. As a result, it was a difficult task to choose just ten of the best quotes from the series as it’s progressed so far. However, these ten quotes are the ones that make me laugh out loud no matter how many times I hear them or read them–this is my list for the top ten quotes from the gang.

#10). “Hey-o! What’s up, bitches?!” -Mac 

#9). “Later, boners.” -Sweet Dee

#8). “Later, dudes. S you in your A’s, don’t wear a C and J all over your B’s.” -Charlie

#7). “See you later, Dirt Grub and Ronnie the Rat. Hope you suck each other’s rotten peckers until you get mouth cancer.” -Sweet Dee

#6). “You gotta pay the troll toll, if you wanna get into that boy’s soul.” -Frank

#5). “Name’s Artemis. I have a bleached asshole.” -Artemis

#4). “I will eat your babies, bitch!” -Sweet Dee

#3). “Your mom doesn’t know dick! She’s a dumb, fat cow. And your sister, she’s a stupid little shit-mouthed bitch, isn’t she?” -Sweet Dee

#2). Mac, you have an exceptional number of bugs in your teeth. You’re gonna wanna rinse those out. It’s disgusting. -Dennis

#1). Mac, I’m gonna stop you right there. First of all, your breath smells like an old lady fart passing through an onion. Secondly, I know you’re trying to manipulate me, and it’s not going to work. Get your hand off my shoulder, because I’ve got a fatty to burn. -Sweet Dee

Like I said, this was incredibly hard due to the plethora of quotes to choose from. So, just because I didn’t want to leave out some of my other favorites, here is a list of honorable mentions.

• “I’m a…full-on rapist, you know? Uh, Africans, dyslexics, children, that sort of thing.” -Charlie
• “I eat stickers all the time, dude!” -Charlie
• “Hi. Um, I’m a recovering crackhead. This is my retarded sister that I take care of. I’d like some welfare, please.” -Dennis
• “Oh, get a job? Just get a job? Why don’t I strap on my job helmet and squeeze down into a job cannon and fire off into job land, where jobs grow on jobbies?!” -Charlie
• “I’m not fat. I’m cultivating mass.” -Fat Mac
• “Dee, don’t be ridiculous…think of the smell. YOU HAVEN’T THOUGHT OF THE SMELL, YOU BITCH! Now you say another word and I swear to god I will dice you into a million little pieces…and put those pieces in a box, a glass box, that I will display on my mantle.” – Dennis

Agree or disagree with my list? Leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite quotes are from the show, and see if they made my list of top-ten picks.

Season 10, Episode 10 Review – Ass Kickers United: Mac and Charlie

Emotional instability, withdrawal, lost sense of purpose.

If you think these are all things to describe the members of the gang, you’re wrong (well…you’re not totally wrong). These are all things to describe how I’m feeling after watching the season 10 finale of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and knowing I now have to wait another year to see my favorite people doing horrible things. However, for the sake of this blog, I will set aside my feelings of depression and recap/review the finale that premiered last night on the FXX.

The epsiode begins with Dee and Frank finding Charlie, Mac, and two strangers aggressively exercising in the living room. They reveal that they’re part of “Ass Kickers United.” Mac received a newsletter advising him to follow the words of the ‘master’, someone who has achieved “enlightenment through the way of the warrior.” Come to find out however, the whole thing was created by Dennis’ to play on Mac’s body insecurities and make him stop eating Dennis’ thin mint cookies (no thin mints is one of the first Ass Kicker rules).

Dee jumps on board with the plan, wanting to use these newsletters to convince Mac to fix up his apartment so him and Dennis will leave hers. Frank also wants ‘in on the action’ as always, but for some less practical reasons: “Maybe you could get him to eat a shit sandwich. That’d be fun!” Thus, Dee drafts a new letter, with Frank gnawing beef jerky over her shoulder, including her personal specifications to convince Mac of the importance of drywall and construction. Frank continues his pointless rambling about what else he thinks is important:

“Pu**y…put pu**y.”

“Got damn, Frank. Don’t say pu**y. It’s disgusting. I’m not putting it.” (Crazy what people can say on TV now…).

To shut Frank up, Dee makes is a requirement that each Ass Kicker must bring one female into the system. When he sees said females at the bar working out, Mac, of course, seems to have a problem with it and decides to take a break from the system.

 

I love how this season has really brought Mac’s low key homosexuality more towards the forefront this season. I think it’s so funny how there’s a juxtaposition between Mac’s masculine appearance/homosexual tendencies and Dennis’ feminine appearance/masculine tendencies. Like when Dennis comes out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped on his head like a woman, but criticizes Mac for looking fat knowing he would care about Dennis’ opinion of him.

Dee brings the guys, including Dax Shepard who had an awesome cameo playing an idiot Ass Kicker, to Mac’s apartment so they can fix it up. However, they don’t take the bait and end up bailing–forcing Dee to think of another plan. She decides to use blackmail to hold information over the guy’s heads and get them to do what she wants, so she gives them a ‘personality’ test.  Basically, she just manipulates them to tell her embarrassing things about themselves, but all Dax and Charlie admit is that they’ve both previously eaten toads.

When Dennis convinces Mac to re-join with another newsletter, Dee sees it as a threat and sets her sights on now taking Dennis to see who can be the master manipulator. Thus, Dee and Frank get Charlie into a drunken stooper and convince him to rally the Ass Kickers together and bring them to the apartment–using a cloaked man to pose as the ‘master.’ However, Dennis bursts in claiming a higher level ‘master’ told him that all the Ass Kickers must commit suicide to reach enlightenment, and breaks out a bottle of lighter fluid. In the midst of bickering where the truth comes out about the entire system being false, Dax bursts out of the bedroom as it’s engulfed in flames. As the gang basically watches him burn alive, the episode comes to a close and they’re back to square one: a burned down apartment with their lives in shambles.

I thought this was a solid season finale. Wasn’t one of my favorites from the season but it was a strong way to come full circle and close out the season. Additionally, I’m a huge fan of Dax Sheppard and was happy to see him make an appearance. Rating: 8/10

 

Season 10, Episode 8 Review: The Gang Goes on Family Fight.

Last night’s episode of It’s Always Sunny brought the cast to the set of “Family Fight”–a parody of the popular game show “Family Feud.” As they wait backstage, Dennis applies some concealer to hide any un-god-like blemishes and tries to reign everyone else in. He hopes to control their oddities for the duration of the show and avoid horrible embarrassment. However, despite his attempt, everyone is already up to something in the green room: Mac is trying to steal an ash tray, Dee is showing off her fart-noise key chain, and Charlie is trying desperately to understand the concept of cottage cheese.

C: “Dennis, what is this enticing bowl of white?”

D: “This…? Charlie…that’s cottage cheese.”

“Cottage cheese. Like…cheese from some cottage? Who’s cottage? We-well, what is that exactly?”

“How do you not know what it is?! Aren’t you like a cheese guy?”

“I’m not a cottage guy.”

“You are gonna make us loose this game.”

Once they meet their opponents, they’re brought onto the stage, greeted by their host (Keegan-Michael Key), and start the first round. Frank wins control of the board for the Reynolds family by guessing the top answer for the prompt, “name an animal that we eat that doesn’t eat us.” When they choose to play, Dennis–despite his worries about everyone else–winds up being the only person to get an incorrect answer. Even Charlie scored a point with ‘dragons,’ claiming that, contrary to popular belief, they only eat gold and treasure. Dennis’ incorrect answer of ‘sea urchin’ gets him a big fat ‘X’ paired with a piercing buzzer noise that seems to get under his skin quite a bit.

During the commercial break, Dennis reapplies his makeup and criticizes everyone for their embarrassing performances. He can’t believe that his answer got them zero points, but Charlie’s didn’t

C: “People don’t even really eat sea urchin, Dennis.”

D: “Most people don’t eat dragons…”

“Well…dragon flies.”

“People don’t eat dragon flies!”

Everyone then starts ‘buzzing’ Dennis, further adding to his increasing frustration and irritation. After the break, he once again drops the ball by losing the round to the opposing team with the answer ‘laser beams’ in response to, “name something people groom themselves with.” In discussion about what to say in the case of a steal, Charlie pitches the answer of ‘bride,’ saying it’s not possible to groom oneself without a bride. Dennis brushes aside his stupidity but the rest of the gang backs his idea due to his previous correct odd-ball answer. Unfortunately, however, Frank goes with ‘toe knife’ which is clearly incorrect, and the board reveals that bride was in fact the final answer.

One of the funniest scenes comes during the next round with Dee faces off with a competitor and ends up knocking the buzzer right off the base with her gargantuan moose hands, sending sparks and smoke into the air.

Host: “I ain’t ever seen anything like that in my life. What you got hands made of anvils?”

SOMEHOW, the gang wins and advances to the fast money round where it’s decided that Dee and Dennis will pair up and compete. Despite Dennis’ advice for Dee to eat something before she goes on, she declines–she’s trying to play to role of Jenny McCarty who never looks fat. When Dee steps out on stage to compete she ends up passing out from hunger and landing on her key-chain, thus emitting the continuous sound of farts from beneath her limp body.

As a result, Frank takes over and ends up killing it. He gets the top answer for each question, leaving Dennis the responsibility of only gaining 5 points to win the money. However, when he keeps giving the same answers as Frank and getting buzzed, he spirals out of control and ends up in the fetal position on the floor. Begging the host not to air the episode, the screen pans out to the gang watching on the TV from Paddy’s where Dennis’ sits in a big ol’ puddle of shame.

This was a fantastic episode that had me consistently laughing throughout. I thought each person had a great performance and funny moments that stood out. In addition, I enjoyed the numerous references to past episodes like Frank’s toe knife and Dennis’ laser hair removal. I thought this was definitely one of the strongest episodes so far this season and believe it will be a fan favorite due to it’s chaos and pop-culture reference.

Rating: 9/10

 

 

The Gang Goes Late Night

Finally, a talk show host finally did something sensible and got the entire cast of Always Sunny together for an interview. Kaitlin, Danny, Glenn, Rob, and Charlie all appeared on the Conan O’Brien show Monday night and I’m so happy that we finally got to see them all together, not as their television personalities. I included the four segments from their spot on the show (sorry about the last one being a link it wasn’t on YouTube for some reason).

The gang discusses fan tattoos, black-face, and the much talked about hook up between Charlie and Dee from last week’s episode. I hope they do more mainstream group appearances like this because it’s so great to see their dynamic off screen–you really see how true their friendships are in real life.

Danny Devito discussing all of the outrageous things he’s done throughout the series, which always seem to push the envelope of sanity.

The gang’s take on their previous controversial episodes, in light of the drama surrounding the recent film The Interview.

A look at some of the most extravagant fan tattoos. Yes they’re all real.

Kaitlin, Charlie, and Rob’s opinions regarding the hookup between Dee and Charlie

http://teamcoco.com/video/charlie-day-kaitlin-olson-kiss?playlist=x%3BeyJ0b3RhbCI6MTAsInR5cGUiOiJyZWxhdGVkIiwiaWQiOjg3OTA4fQ

Enjoy, bozos.

 

 

Season 10, Episode 6 Review: The Gang Misses the Boat

Man cheetahs, mesh shirts, and def poetry in last nights episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

 

The episode starts off with the gang on their way to catch a boat that’s hosting an exclusive party. However, they wind up missing the boat (hence the title) because Dee took too long getting dressed up as a new character, Mr. Barnacle, that she created. Dennis, determined to make the party, decides to drive his Range Rover into the river where it gets stuck–clearly. Dennis’ frustration carries over into the bar where he begins ranting about what the gang has turned into, claiming he used to be a cool guy and now is just “a chauffeur to a bunch of worm sucking idiots.” This argument results in Mac, Frank, and Dennis storming out of the bar with the intentions of taking a break from the debauchery, leaving Dee and Charlie alone to hang out.

During their lunch at a local diner, Dee and Charlie appreciate the freedom they have to do what they want now that the other guys aren’t there to control or intimidate them. Charlie is especially excited that, due to Frank’s absence, he can order a chicken sandwich without having to also order and eat the chicken’s beak. I don’t know what American restaurant would ever provide a beak to be eaten, but regardless, good for him! They later decide that it would be a good idea to get into def poetry, since Charlie’s music writing has never really gotten them anywhere. Dennis brutally criticizes them for this, assuring them of their inevitable failure, but their new found freedom overpowers his insults. Then, in the midst of an emotionally charged moment between Dee and Charlie, this happens:

Yes, that’s Charlie and Dee, and yes, they’re kissing. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cringe, or gag. I was completely caught off guard and I think they were too, as they become completely awkward toward each other afterwards and don’t mention their hookup to anyone else.

To stray away from the awkward and weird to the…slightly less awkward and weird, lemme talk about Mac. He uses his break from the gang to get back to his “party boy” lifestyle of going out and getting chicks. He hits the club, dressed in a mesh tank top, to try and get his game back. However, when he fails to pick up the first girl with the line, “You want me to milk your adrenal glad? You’ll go berserk.”  the camera pans to two guys (one of them shirtless) dancing with some girls, ashe claims that’s what he needs. This is supposed to be pretty ambiguous and further hint at Mac’s undeclared homosexuality.

This is further developed when he announces to Dee, Charlie, and Dennis that he’s finally found what he’s been looking for over the years and that he’s been lying to himself about what he wants. He then introduces Dusty, thought to be a man, who actually turns out to be a hot girl who gained that name due to her love for angel dust…classy! He claims he’s in love and finally was able to score a 10 without Dennis around to steal them. After being questioned about whether or not she has a dick, the two take to the bedroom following Mac’s best line of the episode: “Lets go Dusty, we don’t need these turkeys. I’m gonna go slam ass.” Turns out though, their sex was all faked and he only brought her around to impress the gang–bribing her with drugs.

Meanwhile, Dennis goes off to try and reinstate his calm cool persona and sell his car (still submerged in the river). However, his effort to remain calm falls quite short as he ends up screaming at both potential buyers and spewing out his bottled anger. This results in my favorite scene from the episode with hilarious work from Glenn.

“I’ve contained my rage for as long as possible, but I shall unleash my fury upon you like the crashing of a thousand waves. Be gone vile man, be gone from me. A starter car…this car is a finisher car, a transporter of gods…the golden god. I am untethered and my rage knows no bounds.” (bolded because the entire thing is delivered in a vein-bulging scream).

Finally, we have ol’ Frank, who finds a new gang to roll with–a group of friends who coincidentally just bought a bar. All he can talk about though is the gang and their wacky plans from the past. They new crew isn’t accepting of Frank’s behavior as he fills their bar with underage kids, releases a live ferret into the bar, calls a health inspector, and eventually gets the place shut down and fined $75,000.

These horrid experiences lead the gang to come together at the end and plead to make things go back to normal: dressing in costumes (Frank in a cheetah getup), Mac doing whatever he wants without question, Charlie and Dee ridiculing each other, etc. It goes to show that these people have no chance of surviving without each other and have crippling codependency issues…a fairy tale ending.

Rating: 8/10

Season 10, Episode 5 Review: The Gang Spies Like U.S.

Episode 5 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s 10th season premiered last night and went international. Not literally of course, but in that the gang was involved with the Asian fish factory across the street from Paddy’s. After noticing they had set up cameras that were facing the bar, Dennis and Mac grabbed Dee to bring her in on the plan to infiltrate the plant. Surprised by Dee’s inclusion despite her constant “back-sassing,” Frank and Charlie become suspicious of what’s really going on with Dennis and Mac. They’ve recently been locking the back office door and have been acting quite fishy (no pun intended) since they moved in with Dee. The duo decides to act on these suspicions and concoct a plan to spy on Mac and Dennis’ endeavors.

After Dennis and Mac instruct Dee to infiltrate the plant and dig up any useful dirt, she poses as a factory worker. However, in typical Dee fashion, the only thing the does is hurt herself (repeatedly) and cause physical and structural damage to the plant and it’s workers. She:

• Get’s slapped in the face with rancid fish guts
• Causes a fork lift to slip on fish innards and spiral out of control into a shelving unit
• Fails at flirting with the manager and gets her hair caught in a conveyor belt–forcing it to be hacked off with a meat cleaver
• Slips off a ladder while spying on Frank and the manager, causing her to fall (hitting many pieces of machinery along the way) and wind up hospitalized.

Smooth!

Meanwhile, Charlie enters Dennis and Mac’s apartment pretending to deliver a bouquet of flowers but it’s actually housing a hidden camera. All the while Charlie is being directed by Frank via ear piece and doesn’t seem to understand the concept of remaining discrete. The whole situation is extremely awkward, but Dennis and Mac are used to Charlie’s bizarre actions and don’t question him because they just want him out of the apartment. Charlie’s funniest scene of the episode for sure, especially when he tells the guys he’s acting strangely because there’s a spider in his ear that tells him it’s thoughts. Doesn’t seem too far off from a typical Charlie-ism.

When the hidden camera fails after the flowers are thrown away, Frank decides to have Charlie call Mac and Dennis to an ‘urgent’ meeting at Guiginos restaurant while he breaks into their apartment to search the computer. At this dinner the trio runs into the waiter who served them back in season 8 (“The Gang Dines Out”), the same waiter whose shoes they tied together, causing him to face plant into scalding spaghetti. However, the guys have no recollection of who he is and treat him with no sense of respect (as the do with everyone):

Dennis: “I’m to remember every man I’ve seen fall into a plate of spaghetti?!”

Mac: “Get me the snapper, bozo”

Just two of the many classless things said during this encounter. We come to find out that Frank hacked the guys’ laptop and found their previous searches were ‘Asian’ and ‘cream pies.’ Frank misinterprets their clearly sexual context and instead thinks Dennis and Mac plan on going into a pastry making business with the Asian factory. Wanting to prevent this from happening, Charlie meets again with Dennis and Mac to try and get “in on the action” as Frank would say. An incredibly awkward conversation ensues with both parties misinterpreting the connotation of ‘cream pie.’

The episode ends with the guys meeting Dee in the hospital where she cluelessly believes she’s been a big help. They leave her in the bed to recover and walk off down the hallway to concoct some new bogus plan that we know definitely will not work.

 It was going to be hard for this episode to live up to last weeks brilliant “Charlie Work,” but I think it did a good job. While the story-line and directing wasn’t nearly as innovative as last week, I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit. Even though all of Dee’s misfortunes are now somewhat predictable, they never fail to make me laugh because they’re just quintessential to her character. One again I find myself levitating to the comedic voice of Dennis in this season and he had another great episode full of snide comments and hilarious one liners. Overall, a good episode that’s keeping a great season rolling along.

Rating: 8/10

Top-Ten Tuesday: Charlie’s Best Moments

Tuesday is here once again and it’s time for another top-ten countdown. This week, I’ve assembled my picks for the ten best moments from none other than Mr. Charlie Kelly. His wacky outlandish personality has established him as one of the most well received characters from the series. Whether he’s killing rats, eating cheese, or writing in his dream journal, he never fails to make an audience laugh. So, without further adieu, here are Charlie’s top ten moments from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

#10). His green-man acid trip

Photo via itsalwayssunny.tumblr.com

“Green Man is saving your life right now, bro.” When the gang gets the opportunity to try out for the Philadelphia Eagles, Charlie and Frank decide to sit out and tailgate the mediocre event. When Frank drops a boat-load of acid into Charlie’s beer, he slips into a hallucinogenic state–leading to a dance party with the McPoyles in his Green Man suit.

9. His night with the waitress

Photo via tumblr.com

During a trip to the Jersey Shore, Charlie runs off on his own and runs into someone surprising–the waitress. She seems shockingly receptive to his greeting and, although apprehensive at first, he runs with her affection. They end up spending a wonderful night together by the ocean. Unfortunately for Charlie however, he comes to find that she was actually on ecstasy the night before and his chances with her are once again crushed into steroid-soaked sand.

8. When he got smart..kind of

Photo via rebloggy.com

Was this the workings of the apocalypse, or did Charlie Kelly actually become a sudden savant? When Charlie is selected–as a direct result of his sheer idiocy–to be the subject of an intelligence experiment, he finds himself quickly rising up the scale of intelligence. Books on tape, new languages, and science equations all come quite naturally to him as keeps poppin’ the new brain pills. However, we come to learn all of Charlie’s “progress” was just a result of the ever-so-fooling placebo effect; all of his work was actually a jumbled mess.

7. The pirate door

On a mission to scope out the competition from a neighboring Korean bar with a popular micro-brew, Charlie has one of his best dyslexic mess-ups of the series. Misreading an office door marked ‘private’ as ‘pirate,’ he needs the help of Dennis to clarify things for him and explain that no, pirates don’t live in bars.

6. His “spa” day

When Charlie’s birthday rolls around, the gang decides to prepare him a surprise party full of all the things he loves (AKA incredibly ambiguous and incomprehensible etchings found in his dream journal). They send Dee out with two spa gift-certificates to act as a distraction for Charlie as they prepare for the party. However, he’s quite confused by the whole “spa” idea and is convinced it has something to do with spaghetti–which he carries around in a plastic freezer bag the entire day.

5. The Dayman song

After being kicked out of the guys’ band due to his questionable, rape-referencing lyrics–despite his surprising keyboarding skills–Charlie takes to a depressed hibernation in his room. After being discovered by Dennis in his dark living room, high on spray paint, Charlie gets inspiration from the light through the curtains. With their musical juices flowing, Charlie and Dennis go on to create the ‘Dayman’ song, which any fan probably knows…and acted as my roommate’s morning alarm for an entire semester.

4. When he was hooked on steroids

My favorite episode of the entire series, “Hundred Dollar Baby,” follows Charlie as Mac and Dennis train him to become an underground street fighter. Eventually, he stumbles upon Dee’s stash of steroids and winds up hooked, becoming manic and emotionally unstable–more so than usual. The result is a typical Charlie freak out with some drug-induced flare that never fails to make me laugh.

3. When he tries his first pear

Photo via pinterest.com

On a road trip to the grand canyon, Charlie reveals to the gang that he’s never had a pear. While I can relate, somewhat, to his confusion about the bulbous appearance and awkward shape of the bland fruit…come on, how have you never tried one? When Mac buys one at the market, Charlie expresses his distaste after having eaten the entire thing–sticker, stem, core, and all. Responding to Mac’s criticism, Charlie comes in with one of his most famous lines, “I EAT STICKERS ALL THE TIME, DUDE!”

2. Kitten mittons

Charlie’s creativity reaches an all time high when the gang decides to make some Paddy’s merchandise. While not Paddy’s related, Charlie creates Kitten Mittons: little mittens for your kitten if it’s being too loud walking around your house. The idea itself, paired with his horribly made commercial make this one of Charlie’s most memorable moments from the show.

1. When he wrote a musical

I wish I could post this whole damn episode (“The Nightman Cometh”) because it’s one of my–and almost every Always Sunny fan’s–favorite episodes. Charlie writes a musical, and the gang acts it out on stage for an ambiguous audience. Charlie acts as the director, becoming progressively more unstable as the gang messes up his “glorious” work. The musical ends with a sunny (literally) song sung by Charlie to the waitress in which he offers up a pathetically sincere proposal. Can you guess what she said?

Season 10, Episode 4 Review: Charlie Work

Nothing cures a hangover like greasy food and some Always Sunny. 

This fast paced, Charlie driven episode premiered Wednesday night and I have to say–bravo. Mark Shakman did a fantastic job directing this episode that was carefully crafted and brilliantly written by Charlie, Glenn, and Rob. It kicks off with Charlie frantically heading towards Paddy’s while on the phone with Frank; he urges him to ensure the bar is empty and clean for the impending health inspection. As he walks in however, Charlie finds the bar in shambles and riddled with chickens–yes, live chickens. Come to find out, the gang is in the midst of carrying out an initially ambiguous plan involving chickens, airline miles, and a “loophole” they discovered. (It’s later revealed that they used Frank’s card to buy airline miles, ship a butt load of steaks to the bar, planned to contaminate them with chicken germs, repackage them, and return them to the steak company for cold hard cash). Charlie frantically begins instructing them to clean up their shit and tells Frank to find some shoes. Honestly, how does a human begins loose shoes so frequently, if at all???

We later learn that he actually flushed them down the toilet due to anxiety but still…..????

The entire episode is basically one long frantic progression with Charlie as the ring leader–trying his best to ensure that the health inspection doesn’t go awry. Odd for him to take the reigns, but when it comes to dirt and grim and the removal of the two, who better for the job? I mean, there’s a reason it’s called Charlie work…

In the midst of all this chaos the gang must also deal with the different components of their plan coming into play: a delivery man showing up with 4000 steaks, the tension arising over the issue of who thought up the idea for the plan, and of course, the god damn chickens.

One of the best things about this episode is the plethora of creative and perfectly placed foreshadowing throughout the progression. There are things that seem initially puzzling but end up working out just the way Charlie planned in the end–shockingly enough:

• He tells Mac to count down from thirty, then moan into the storage room vent and say “I’m sorry.” This acts–with perfect timing–as a cover up for the clogged toilet in the bathroom. A strategically placed pair of shoes and moans from Mac make it appear that the stall isn’t clogged, but rather someone’s just in there takin’ a big ol’ dump.
• When they check the carbon-monoxide detector in the basement, Charlie notes that the operating noise is a G-sharp; he later has Dee paint Frank black, puts him in the dark basement, and has him play the note on a recorder when the inspector checks to see if the detector is working. Little does she know, there’s no battery in it, and there’s enough gas in the basement air to knock out an African elephant.
• Finally, throughout the episode Charlie repeatedly picks up and slams down one of the bar stools. Come to find out, it’s to prove a point to Dee about comedy. She wanted to leave out the “joke stool” (a regular stool with a gigantic nail sticking out of it), but Charlie had other plans. His stool slamming paid off in the end as Dee sits down and it collapses, tossing her frail body to the ground and showing everyone what a real joke stool is.

For once, everything works out almost seamlessly (I literally think once is a correct word, because nothing ever goes as planned on this show…). Aside from an angry delivery driver who was served a charred steak and a slight deduction for a dumpster regulation, Paddy’s is awarded the highest possible score by the inspector. She hands over the paperwork just as Charlie slips her keys (which he pick-pocketed) back into her purse and her car (which they stole) pulls up to where she parked.

I didn’t think this episode was particularly hysterical, but I loved it anyways. The writing was top-notch, and the story-line really went above and beyond what the show normally produces. There were subtleties and intricacies that were both unexpected and genius. I feel Glenn and Charlie both had amazing performances in this episode as well, and I honestly think Glenn is shining so far this season. Great acting, great one liners, great performances. An episode that was well-crafted and worthy of just as good of a rating as they got from their inspector.

Rating: 9/10

 

Season 10, Episode 3 Review: Psycho Pete Returns

Hide ya kids, hide ya wives, because Psycho Pete is back!

The third episode from season ten of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia hit the air last night on the FXX with the “return” of Psycho Pete. I’m using quotes because although it’s his return, this is actually the character’s first physical appearance on the program. He was only previous mentioned as an old high school friend of Charlie and Mac’s who led their freight-train gang and mustered up an infamous reputation for his crazy antics.

Charlie and Mac enter Paddy’s with what they think is exciting news; Psycho Pete has been released from the loony bin and is ready to reunite! As expected however, the other members of the gang aren’t to thrilled that a criminal, who is said to have killed and eaten his whole family like a meal off the McDonald’s dollar menu, is now back out among the normal population. They bitch and moan about the scary possibilities now that Pete’s out, only to be interrupted by a normal looking guy who introduces himself as “Peter.” Charlie claims he knows no one named Peter (clearly Pete and Peter aren’t the same in Charlie world), but Mac realizes that this average-Joe is in fact, Psycho Pete. Quite anti-climatic is the fact that Pete doesn’t appear to be very psycho at all. In fact, when asked if he pulled all his hair out when he was locked up he reveals that his hair loss is actually just genetic. Sooooo psycho…

Despite this lack-luster entrance Dennis, Dee, and Frank are still apprehensive about Pete’s intentions and decide to visit the asylum he was supposedly released from. Come to find out however, the institution was deserted and had been recently shut down. But, while inside, Frank is caught up in the aura of the asylum as it brings back some haunting memories of when he was admitted there as a boy. A few genuinely creepy flashbacks show Frank locked up in a cushioned room where he talks to a counterpart who he refers to as ‘Froggy.’ He even finds “Frank and Froggy 1995” etched into the floor of one of the old rooms. Looks like Frank’s mental state has never really been solid at all.

In the midst of this, Charlie and Mac (saddened by Pete’s lack of psychosis) seek out help from an old friend. In a beat up neighborhood riddled with abandoned buildings and graffiti they find none other than Rickety Cricket. This is the first appearance of Cricket so far this season and his presence really saved the episode. When he removed the cloak he was wearing it revealed yet another unfortunate ailment: a burn covering the entire left side of his face, which he claims he received while he was trapped in the gang’s burning apartment during Thanksgiving. Now he really does kind of look like those stray dogs he worked with back at the shelter in season eight. Anyways, once bribed with beer Cricket agrees to reinstate his priestly status and receive a confession from Pete about his past sins–to rid him of his guilt–which Charlie and Mac think is what’s making him a current snooze-fest.

Confused about the entire situation, Pete neglects to confess his sins, so Charlie and Mac do it for him. However, when they see that it has no effect on Pete’s behavior, Mac comes to the most logical of conclusions–he must be possessed by Satan! Of course, what hadn’t I thought of that?? Thus, the preparations for an exorcism ensue.

Meanwhile, the other three decide that since the asylum was closed that they should go visit a psychiatrist to try and get some medication to ensure Pete remains under control. Once at the office, Frank leaves pretty quickly–remembering the name of his old doctor and wanting to track him down in order to try and learn the current whereabouts of Froggy (who he later finds out was just a figment of his own imagination). Dee tries to speak in a bunch of horribly executed accents (as always) to convince the doctor she’s schizophrenic, sparking aggravation from Dennis and my favorite scene from the episode:

“Dee, I swear you would be of more use to me if I skinned you and turned your skin into a lamp shade, or fashioned you into a piece of high-end luggage. I could even add you to my collection!”

“Are you saying that you have a collection of skin luggage…?”

“Of course I’m not, Dee, don’t be ridiculous…think of the smell. YOU HAVEN’T THOUGHT OF THE SMELL, YOU BITCH! Now you say another word and I swear to god I will dice you into a million little pieces…and put those pieces in a box, a glass box, that I will display on my mantle.”

*SIDENOTE* It confuses me why Dennis is so widely thought of as the least-funny character on the show by fans, because as I’ve watched the series he’s honestly become one of my favorites. This is undoubtedly the funniest segment of the episode and I think his delivery of his lines, his emphasis, etc. is always so on point. He may not always be written the funniest material but I feel like he always works so well with what he’s given. Maybe it’s just because his snarky sense of humor reminds me of myself, but anyways…enough ranting.

This fit of rage was enough to have the doctor give Dennis an actual prescription for multiple-personality disorder, but of course Dennis just claims he got the medicine because he was such a persuasive conversationalist.The gang all joins back at Paddy’s where Charlie, Mac, and Cricket are taking inventory of their exorcism supplies. In the midst of this chaos, Pete finally speaks up and tries to tell the gang that he really is fine, and was never even ‘psycho’ to begin with. In fact, it had been rumors (predominantly spread by the gang themselves) back in high school that had created this aura around him. Turns out, he was admitted into the asylum for social anxiety and depression as a result and only returned to Paddy’s because he found solace in the fact that Charlie, Mac, Dennis, and Dee had all  talked to him back in the day when he was so infamous. He was there seeking help from them the entire time.

But, in typical Always Sunny fashion, rather than doing something good and helping Pete stay on the right path, they ship him off on a train to L.A, where they claim he can be happy and successful.

All in all, I’d say this was a good episode in itself. I was happy that Cricket came back because he always makes the show more entertaining. However, compared to the previous two episodes I would have to say this was probably my least favorite. I’m such a fan that I honestly love every episode of the show, but this one didn’t get as many laughs out of me as the first two of season 10. However, I have high hopes for next week and good luck to Psycho Pete over in the city of angels.

Rating: 7/10