'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' is not afraid to laugh about any subject, the more taboo, the better.
By TODD ORODENKERits always sunny in philadelphia(photo credit: )
It's just so…wrong. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia hoists episode titles like "Charlie Wants an Abortion" and "The Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby" as if it's nothing to poke fun at major, if not serious, societal issues. Being politically incorrect or offensive or morally and socially perverse are of no care to this show.
Good. If that weren't true, then Philadelphia wouldn't be one of the funniest shows on television today.
Like most comedies, the show has a fairly simple premise: it's about a group of friends who run a bar in The City. They are Mac (creator and Philly native Rob McElhenny), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Charlie (Charlie Day) and Dee (Kaitlin Olson). And, they aren't particularly good people. In fact, they're pretty awful.
Half of this problem was explained when Dennis and Dee's father, Frank (America's craziest little person, Danny DeVito), joined the cast in season two. He's just as bad, just as selfish and just as soulless as his kids and their friends.
A lot of positivity, I know.
Topics like gun control, slavery, incest and pedophilia are fair game. Child abuse? Bulimia? The Israeli/Palestinian conflict? You bet.
For sure, some people will not make it past the opening credits. Titles like "Charlie Got Molested" should be enough to offend and result in channel changing. Of course, others will laugh and stay tuned. It just depends upon you're taste in comedy. Philadelphia pokes fun at serious issues. Thus, it's decidedly not for folk easily agitated, ticked off or who'll miss the overall humor.
The jokes, you see, are crass but not sophomoric. The show's not that lowbrow or that childish or that simple. Rather, the molestation, serial killer, gun control and welfare jokes are woven carefully into the plot at the expense of the characters. We wind up laughing at them, not with them. They are ridiculous and we are normal, sitting on our couches and entertained by their ineptitude.
It's a good deal.
The show started out as a short home video that McElhenny, Howerton and Day made for somewhere between $85 and $200. It got passed around and eventually made its way to the top of the US cable network FX. They thought it was funny and gave the guys very little money to make seven episodes for the first season.
While the show performed fairly well and was received positively by critics, it needed a boost in order to get a second season.
Enter DeVito. Best known for his supporting roles in Taxi and L.A. Confidential, he isn't a huge name. But, he's a big enough name to promote Philadelphia on talk shows and morning radio programs and that's what the show was missing. And with DeVito on board, the second season found the show in a comfortable and fairly popular state. It wasn't breaking any viewing records - not even by cable standards - but it performed well enough to earn episode orders that will take the show past a sixth season.
With the fourth season due out in the US later this month, the show is as popular as ever. The audience, which is mainly made up of college kids and people under 35, has helped Philadelphia to change the notion of what a television sitcom can do.
Like shows on broadcast networks, it relies heavily on advertising dollars to stay on the air. But, when you routinely bring up and make fun of taboo issues, it's a fair expectation that some activist groups are going to complain causing advertisers to bolt. This hasn't been the case.
People, it seems, get it. An episode about abortion is not just an excuse to make fun of abortion. It isn't the "let's see who we can piss off next" contest that Family Guy has become. It is a show that takes these ridiculous situations and throws truly terribly selfish and condescending people into the middle of it. And with that, you get comedy gold.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is downright hysterical. It will make you laugh, even if you think that what you are laughing at shouldn't be joked about. When a show does that, you know you have something too good to pass up.
Airs on YES Stars 1 from Saturday through Tuesday at various times.
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