AS SEEN ON: ‘It’s Always Sunny’ spreads the Yuletide cheer
“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas” (2009) is vulgar, tactless and utterly hysterical, according to Alex Duckles.
By Alex Duckles, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The usual axioms about the quality of direct-to-DVD movies do not hold true for “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas” (2009), a special, double-length episode of the FX comedy packaged as a standalone DVD.
“It’s Always Sunny” follows the ridiculous antics of five raunchy Philadelphians called “the gang.” The group includes four twenty-somethings, along with Danny DeVito as the father to two of the half-wits.
The show is vulgar, tactless and utterly hysterical. With episode subjects ranging from abortion to drug addiction, there are few boundaries that the program will not cross.
Despite not having much critical success, the series, which premiered 2005, has amassed a sizable cult following.
As expected from one of the funniest programs on television, the holiday episode delivers 43 minutes of non-stop, outrageous laughs.
The Christmas special follows the gang as it tries to appreciate the true meaning of Christmas — by any means necessary.
Siblings Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson) and Dennis (Glenn Howerton) are upset with their father (DeVito) and decide to teach him a lesson, “Christmas Carol”-style.
Meanwhile, Charlie (Charlie Day) and Mac (Rob McElhenney) conspire to exorcise ghosts from their Christmases past. Of course, everything goes horribly wrong.
“A Very Sunny Christmas” manages to parody cliched Christmas classics from Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” to “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1964), and rightfully abandons all discretion in doing so. This being DVD, there is much greater license for profanity and nudity than the show has on television.
There also appears to be a bigger budget.
A naked Danny DeVito and a brutal mall-Santa massacre might not necessarily be in great taste, but I would not expect anything less from this hilarious show.
Despite the sometimes-revolting nature of the series’ comedy, “It’s Always Sunny” never ceases to keep the laughs coming at any cost.
Hopefully this version of the Christmas special will become a classic for the ages.
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