Seinfeld gained a reputation as the greatest show about nothing ever made. Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David transformed many of life’s most tedious moments and conversations into horrifically overwrought situations with worst-case scenario endings. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia foregoes the overwrought situation and just takes the worst-case scenario in all things. If there’s a wrong way to go about doing something, the gang, as they’re affectionately known, goes in that direction and then five steps further until all semblance of moral restraint and human dignity is out of the frame. This total lack of inhibition on all fronts makes It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia a comedy goldmine – because the most promising shows are the ones where you can’t guess what’s going to happen next; with Sunny, that’s rarely an issue.
The simultaneous downside and benefit of a show like Sunny is that there’s no real passage of time. The closest the show ever came to major story arcs are based on how much the waitress hates Dennis (Glenn Howerton), who Mac (Rob McElhenney) is sleeping with, or who Dennis and Dee (Kaitlin Olson) are calling their father. Even these indicators will really only carry you through the first three seasons, as from season four onward the waitress despises everyone in the gang, Mac is sleeping with a man/woman in the final stages of transgender surgery, and the Reynolds siblings have resigned to Frank (Danny DeVito) being their dad. With all temporal contexts thrown out, It’s Always Sunny has become a parade of politically incorrect shenanigans unhindered by any real story ties. Charlie (Charlie Day) can be as illiterate or ridiculous as he likes, Dennis can resort to some of the most reprehensible acts known to man just to prove a point, and Dee is free to be abused and tortured by everyone else. Few shows find such freedom in a lack of narrative responsibility, but It’s Always Sunny excels when all it has to do is throw its most absurd ideas at the screen.
The fifth season takes aim at such topics as dance marathons, wrestling, economic recession, interventions, road trips, gypsies, bromances, screenwriting, drinking games…and kitten mittens. Nothing is sacred and the cast never fails to go the distance required to make the absurdity of the given situations hilarious. The writing consistently delivers the laughs, though not always to the degree of the most memorable moments in the Sunny canon (i.e. Day Man). The fifth season’s biggest quotable moments occur with Charlie’s Kitten Mitten video and “Flip-Flip-Flip-adelphia”. Beyond that the season is funny but it wouldn’t count as the best (a title held by the third season).
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The Blu-ray release of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia starts on the perfect note: a brief bumper with the guys mocking the consumer for shelling out the extra cash for a hi-def format when their show was shot in standard definition. After saying “tough break” they drive off in their Blu-ray money-earned sports car leaving you with a menu screen. It’s a good and fitting start for the show’s fifth season. The set sports the basic extras like deleted and extended scenes, a few hilarious audio commentaries, and an above par blooper reel. There are three highlights in the extras and the first is a 96-minute loop of Kittens in Mittens. It’s the same two-minute clip 48 times, but it’s deliriously funny when watched in memory of Charlie’s ridiculous commercial. The two other great featurettes include dating profiles by the Sunny characters and an incredibly fast slideshow that’s pretty damn funny.
Overall the fifth season isn’t the best, but it’s still funnier than 80% of what’s out there. The real issue most consumers will ask themselves is “Why buy it on Blu-ray?” There’s no real reason and considering it’s a short 12-episode season, the Blu-ray and DVD set will be virtually the same in every way. So unless you’re in the mindset where you no longer buy DVDs, the Blu-ray set might not be worth the few extra dollars.
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Complete Season 5" is on sale September 14, 2010 and is not rated. Comedy. Directed by Daniel Attias, Fred Savage, Matt Shakman. Written by Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Becky Mann, Audra Sielaff. Starring Charlie Day, Danny DeVito, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Rob McElhenney.
