Tuesday, October 23, 2012

It's Always Sunny in the seventh season

FX has recently released It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia The Complete Season 7 on DVD and Blu-ray. Included in the two disc set are all thirteen episodes of last fall's run, as well as a few special features.

Like a demented Seinfeld, where the characters live with little class and care even less about one another than in the popular network sitcom, It's Always Sunny has been amusing for years, and continues to deliver the same high quality as it ages. Season seven is fantastic, slightly playing off of pop culture, like when they visit the real Jersey Shore, but more often than not, just trying to outdo one another in ways that end up with no one winning, and with familiar recurring characters and callbacks to past seasons.

It's hard to pick favorite episodes from this stellar lineup, as they are all so good,  so here's what is included in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia The Complete Season 7:
  • "Frank's Pretty Woman" Frank (Danny DeVito) is dating a crack-addicted prostitute. The gang worries this will make them become known as the "gross group" (too late), but are too lazy to put any real effort into making her over. Charlie (Charlie Day) tries to help Frank con a new gal, finding that easier than fixing the current one. Oh, and Mac (Rob McElhenney) has gained fifty pounds recently, but is in denial about it. (That's no fat suit; McElhenney is dedicated to the role!)
  • "The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore" None of that glamorous reality show crap, the real Jersey Shore is kind of a crap hole, as the gang finds out when they nostalgically travel there as they did when they were kids. Charlie, alone, has the night of his life.
  • "Frank Reynolds' Little Beauties" Frank becomes involved in little girl beauty pageants. The more he tries to not to act child molest-y, the creepier he gets. The rest decide to use try to use his position to coach their way to victory.
  • "Sweet Dee Gets Audited" Dee (Kaitlin Olson) finally reveals the real reason she served as a surrogate last year, and the boys try to turn the bar into a democracy until dirty, dirty politics ruin the system.
  • "Frank's Brother" Told in flashback, we get the tale of Frank and his brother, Gino (Jon Polito), running a bar in the 1960's and '70's, and fighting over the lovely Shadynasty (Naturi Naughton).
  • "The Storm of the Century" With serious wind and rain on the way, Dee tries to get the Y2K bunker she stocked back in shape, as it isn't really useable. The guys go out in search of supplies, but Dennis (Glenn Howerton) is more concerned with luring women back to the hideaway than preparing for the worst.
  • "Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games" The foursome are bored, so they revive an old game they invented, not remembering the reason that they haven't played it in so long. Practically self-contained, letting the cast just play off each other as they do best, personalities clashing and yet complementing all at the same time, this installment is a true gem.
  • "The Anti-Social Network" Promoting one's pub on facebook is a good idea. Stalking people who offend you online, not such a good idea.
  • "The Gang Gets Trapped" Indiana Jones searched out treasures in a remote cave. The gang looks for valuables in someone's house, and aren't too happy when the family arrives home early.
  • "How Mac Got Fat" Mac sits in a confessional and lets the priest in on the secret of his huge weight gain, without taking any personal responsibility himself, of course.
  • "Thunder Gun Express" The President is in town, which means major traffic jams. This isn't welcome, as the gang would like to see a movie. Soon, they are all scrambling any way they can to make it across town by showtime, every man for himself!
  • "The High School Reunion" In the two part finale, each member of the group tries to rewrite their past by making new identities at their high school reunion. When the popular kids refuse to let this happen, our favorite losers declare war.
This last hour shows just how little these characters refuse to change, being the same as they were as teenagers, and for people who like entertaining television, this is a good thing. No matter what they are doing, and who they screw over, the laughs keep coming, whether from hilarity or disbelief. How they are acting is really working for them, as a show, and hopefully they will continue to do it for a long time to come.

Special features include a blooper reel, commentary on certain episodes, and Artemis (Artemis Pebdani) giving a tour of the city. I wish there was a bit more, but It's Always Sunny is merely a cable sitcom, and the jokes stand well enough on their own. Seven seasons in, those who wants to know what goes on behind the scenes already do. I guess it makes sense for the bonus features to begin to dry up at this point, even though previous sets were much richer in this regard.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia The Complete Season 7 is on sale now. And check out new season eight episodes, currently airing Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on FX.

If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Check out my website, JeromeWetzel.com! First posted on TheTVKing.com

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