It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

I have said it before, but one of the joys of summer is watching summer shows , knowing that they aren't being given even the slightest chance of survival. In most cases, these shows are being deservingly dumped in the summer because most of them are terrible. Surprisingly, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", which premiered earlier this month, is not terrible. Even though it seemed like it might have been, it ended up being one of the better shows to come along so far in the 2000s. The show is about four friends who own a bar in Philadelphia. At first glance, it doesn't seem like anything special. The owning a bar scenario has been done several times before in a variety of other sitcoms including "Cheers" and the recently canceled "Grounded For Life". However, since the show is more clever and much funnier than the previous sitcoms who have used the device, one can forgive the lack of originality.

What makes "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" better than any other of the sitcoms that are on today is the clever writing. The writing on sitcoms these days is beyond awful. The writing on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is great. In fact, if the show doesn't receive an Emmmy nomination for writing, there is no justice in the world. The three episodes that have aired so far have been incredibly well written and unlike with most sitcoms, the dialogue doesn't seem like typical sitcom dialogue. The dialogue comes across as natural as opposed to coming across as forced like on network sitcoms and other cable comedies. The writers are also the stars and executive producers of the show, which gives them almost complete control. Let's hope the writing staff doesn't change. I'd give "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" 9/10. It's one of the best shows one is ever likely to see on cable.

There hasn't been a show in the world that makes me laugh as hard or as often than It's Always Sunny in its prime. Seasons 1 through 5 have some of the best, sharpest comedy writing in ages. Since then, the show hasn't been as consistently brilliant, but there are gems in every season. The premise is very simple. It's about the life of four Philly bar owners. At least until season 2 brings in the father of siblings Dennis and Dee, Frank Reynolds, played to perfection by Danny DeVito, where it becomes a fearless fivesome of hilarity. The thing is, these aren't your ordinary people. They're delusional, narcissistic, borderline-psychotic idiots. The show has been described as "Seinfeld on crack" and that's about as good a descriptor you can get. The gang are always coming up with ridiculous schemes and stupid ideas which consistently result in awkwardness and belly laughs.

One of the best parts of the show is the characters themselves. They come across as shallow douchebags most of the time, because for the most part, they are, but they each have their own distinct personality that mesh so well with the others. Dennis Reynolds is about as close to an everyman that you can get from the gang, and he's a manipulative, insecure, raving sociopath. His sister Dee is almost as depraved but with more self-loathing and less psychopathy. Their father Frank is a rich businessman who traded that life away for living in the slums as a lascivious alcoholic. Specifically, he shares a bed with Charlie, the illiterate, idiot savant wild card of the group. Dennis' roommate Mac is an oblivious closeted homosexual that favors badassery above all else. To put it lightly, they get themselves into some interesting scenarios. Whether they're all together or broken into various group combinations, you can guarantee laughs are to be had.

The chemistry between the actors really sells the whole thing. Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, and Charlie Day are geniuses. Their writing, their acting, it's all so natural and infectious that you can't help but get immersed into any zany idea they come up with just to see how the gang comes out the other side. Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito are just as much necessary pieces to the cast. The humor ranges from uncomfortable to terribly politically incorrect, and that's the beauty of the show. It takes these "delicate" topics and shines a light on them that many people are afraid to address. The first season alone deals with racism, abortion, transsexuals, and child molestation. And no matter the topic, they find a way to make it hard-to-breathe hysterical.

I can boast about this show for days, but the fact is you either enjoy the humor or you don't. There's a lot of yelling and plenty of curse words, and it may be grating for newcomers to dip their toes into something like this, especially if they don't know what they're getting into. But for those who do and appreciate clever unrestrained comedy, treat yourself to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Great intro episodes: (#3.9) Sweet Dee Is Dating a Retarded Person - (#2.4) Mac Bangs Dennis' Mom - (#2.3) Dennis and Dee Go on Welfare - (#4.10) Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack - (#4.12) The Gang Gets Extreme: Home Make Over Edition - (#6.3) The Gang Buys a Boat

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is absolutely, without a doubt, the greatest comedy ever created! You would think that after 15 incredible seasons that it would start to get stale but it hasn't...EVERY season is just as hilarious as the others. It's amazing that show going into its 16th season hasn't gone stale yet but every year it's still as good as the one before and every year I still look forward to this wonderful show. The entire cast is so incredibly funny it's hard to say who's the best, they are all equally talented and equally hilarious. The 5 of them have literally become their characters and make it look so easy, you can tell they're all having a great time doing this show. That's why it's been on so long. Love this show so much!

I don't even know how to describe how much I love this show. It's easily one of my favorite comedies in the history of television. I don't know anyone who's seen this show who hasn't loved it. This is one of those shows where you'll have to watch each episode more than once because you'll miss parts from laughing so much. I've seen every episode of every season a few times and it's just as funny rewatching it as it was the first time. The cast (Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito) is perfect. They are all hilarious, as are all the supporting characters. I can't recommend this show enough, do yourself a favor and go watch it as soon as you can. I promise that you won't be disappointed.

This is a genuinely funny show, well worth watching, and deserving of it's high ratings on this site. It's compared to South Park for a number of reasons, most notably the enthusiasm with which it tackles socially sensitive issues and assaults them with the most extremist brands of political incorrectness --- but whereas South Park always tries to tidy up it's mess and make sure the audience knows the distinction between right and wrong, this show revels in the depravity and insanity of it's sociopathy. And it works amazingly well.

Since it's a situational comedy, there's not much to say about it without giving away the goods, but the actors all work better than any cast I've seen in a long time. It really seems like half the show is improvised and that the cast is talented enough to make it work without a hitch. The first few episodes are definitely the weakest, but still stronger than just about any comedy out there.

Highly recommended.