It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Review: Just Say Yes

At 3:30 on a Saturday afternoon, our favorite Gang of narcissistic misanthropes is keeping us on our toes by heading away from their comfort zone and toward Atlantic City, where Frank is the keynote speaker at an animal rights charity event. This week’s episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia delivers a cold open outside the familiar confines of Philly (a first for the show) and instead takes place on the Gang’s journey toward the boardwalk empire. Frank has donated an undisclosed, albeit clearly impressive, amount of money to the PSPCA in order to gain access to their event and unleash a coup with his leather suit and pro-food chain tirade (“animals should be food, rugs and trophies,” he declares). Mac is gearing up for a game of catch with his idol, Chase Utley of Philadelphia Phillies fame, while Dee has her eye on Utley’s teammate, Ryan Howard. Although both sluggers will be attending the fundraiser, Mac and Dee’s respective intentions will likely go unrequited – Mac’s “creepy letters” to Utley and Dee’s current physical condition (“you’re pregnant as shit!” Frank delicately reminds her) may prove off-putting to their favorite Phillies. As Mac announces his newfound dedication to preserving the sanctity of nature and animal rights (Utley, apparently, is a self-proclaimed animal lover), a squirrel darts in front of the car. Mac scrambles to grab the wheel from Frank and ends up steering the car directly into a ditch – in the middle of the woods. While Frank has no problem unloading beaucoup bucks in the name of telling off “liberal nutjobs,” he bristles at the thought of forking over a couple of dollars to a “toll jockey.” Hence, his avoidance of the expressway and subsequent makeshift route via dirt roads in the forest. Thanks to this multitude of neurotically charged events, the Gang has officially achieved the titular status of being “stranded in the woods.”

The Gang gets out of the car to assess the damage and releases a tied-up, hooded Charlie from the trunk. Having been told he was being taken on an “adventure” to Atlantic City (the faux-kidnapping setup was apparently meant to add mystique and prevent travel anxiety), Charlie expresses heated skepticism once he evaluates his surroundings. “This is why I don’t leave Philly!” he cries. “You leave Philly, and bad shit happens!” As he makes note of his woodland environment, his paranoia only escalates. “I mean, trees?! Everywhere, trees!? What the hell is this place!?!” Dennis assures him this is all “part of the adventure,” and they head off to search for cell phone reception and/or roadside assistance. Dee, Frank and Mac, meanwhile, stay with the car for their own individual reasons; Dee’s “baby on board” and Frank’s chafing leather suit, however, prove more rational ones than Mac’s need to oil his baseball glove.

Dennis proceeds to explain his life philosophy to a frazzled Charlie. Despite his characteristic fastidiousness (“Would you consider me a methodical person?” Dennis asks Charlie. “Oh, yeah, like a serial killer!” Charlie enthusiastically agrees), Dennis says he tends to seize opportunity when presented with a rare situation outside his control. “Just say yes,” Dennis urges Charlie, citing his brand-new hickey as proof of spontaneity that paid off. “Is that a lesion?!” Charlie panics. I would have considered myself convinced Charlie was given the best lines this week had Dennis not preceded his hickey reveal with another type of revelation. As Dennis adjusts his shirt collar, Charlie incredulously asks him if he’s wearing makeup. “Oh, I’m always wearing a bit of foundation,” Dennis coolly replies. So far, Dennis and Charlie have proved themselves a duo of comedy gold and I’m surprised they aren’t paired more often. Dennis’ dark, American Psycho-esque entitled diligence mixed with Charlie’s zany misconception of reality is a tough act to top.

Indeed, the secondary storyline involving Dee, Mac and Frank’s increasing hunger is the lesser of the two as their quest for food ranges from mildly amusing to downright pathetic. The Gang had decided to starve themselves in preparation for the casino buffet (Mac’s also hoping for a more “gaunt, angular” look to accentuate his cheekbones and impress Utley), and their unexpected delay is causing their stomachs to rumble. While Dee and Mac ponder the possibility of feasting on a dead crow (eventually  eschewing the idea, deciding crows are “trash birds” – even the Gang has standards), Frank’s out “hunting wabbits” in no time. “I don’t question what you do anymore,” Dee had told him earlier in the episode. Since the fact Frank packed a pistol to bring to a charity event didn’t faze me in the slightest, I guess her statement echoes my sentiments as well. When he comes face to face with a flop-eared foe, however, Frank can’t muster himself to shoot it. Instead, he engages in a battle of will that evolves to a moment of enlightenment. “Why are you looking at me like that?!” Frank asks the rabbit. As the two initiate a fixed-gaze staring marathon, Frank experiences an unspoken connection with the rabbit and becomes convinced his cotton-tailed target has somehow hijacked his soul.

While Mac decides his newfound respect for animals trumps his hunger, Dee decides to look for a more sophisticated member of the food chain to prey on the crow so she can trap it and secure a meal for both her and the baby. Mac finds a slack-jawed Frank in nirvana with the rabbit and agrees, “Dude! He’s staring right at you!” A crazed Dee then leaps into frame with a blanket to capture the rabbit and infuriate a cosmically altered Frank. Dee eventually regains her composure and decides to leave the rabbit unharmed. She even begins to show compassion as she cradles the rabbit in her arms while Mac leads an impromptu funeral for the dead crow. As Mac, Dee and Frank spend the night in the car with their new friend (dubbed Peter Peter Nickeleater by an increasingly infatuated Dee), Frank comes down with a hideous case of food poisoning and meekly confesses he dug up the crow carcass and munched on it during the night. Um, ew. The only think making less sense than watching these events unfold is reliving them via a written recap. Let’s get back to Charlie and Dennis, shall we?

As Dennis champions his theory of yes (wasn’t that the plot of a Jim Carrey movie from a couple years back?), Charlie spots a big rig on the side of the road. When he wonders aloud if anyone is inside, Dennis coyly asks, “What do we do in this situation, Charlie?” Charlie smiles with recognition. “We say YES!” he shouts. “We say yes,” Dennis affirms, with a smirk of self-satisfaction. The guys approach the truck and discover a driver at the wheel. Oh my God, it’s Tom Sizemore. As Byron, a trucker with a soft spot for tuxedoed young men, Sizemore provides perhaps the best guest-starring role on Sunny in recent memory, if not ever. Mistaking the guys as working “lot lizards,” a leering Byron conveniently offers them a ride to Atlantic City. Dennis and Charlie leap at the opportunity, managing to both ditch their friends and exercise profoundly bad judgment in a matter of seconds. Indeed, it doesn’t take long for Byron to turn on the charm, going from a self-proclaimed reformed man (“I’m married now,” he assures a weary Dennis and Charlie) to a bona-fide begging pervert (“I’d let you turn me into Swiss cheese,” he leers. Wow.) in a matter of miles. The guys try to convince Byron they’re not prostitutes, but bar owners who are on their way to a black-tie event, but Byron has his mind made up. Upon arrival in Atlantic City, he pulls in to a seedy motel and propositions they slip into a room and “split [him] like a coconut.” Luckily for Dennis and Charlie, Byron failed to lock his doors (a moment of negligence he openly regrets) and they narrowly escape, agreeing this is one random situation where the theory of yes need not apply.

The episode takes an un-Sunny turn as Dennis and Charlie make their way to the casino and proceed to have a truly unbelievable night. While Frank belches up rancid crow in the woods, Charlie yeses his way to $15,000 (!) at the roulette table and Frank’s place at the charity event’s podium. The icing on the cake is the PSPCA’s surprise that Frank’s donation enabled them to score personal introductions to Utley and Howard (both players make actual cameos and earn major street cred with me), and Charlie and Dennis end up spending the entire night with Mac and Dee’s objects of affection. The Phillies’ hilarious reaction to Dennis and Charlie’s near-supernatural imbibing skills runs the gamut from mildly mystified to full-on grossed out, as they witness the dynamic duo render themselves sloppy heaps of testosterone-laden losers. “You guys drink more than anyone I’ve ever seen,” says Utley, thinly disguising his disdain. Clueless, Dennis and Charlie give one another a congratulatory high-five and cap off the evening by blowing the rest of their cash on a private jet (!!) back to Philadelphia. En route, Dennis is inspired and gleefully sends Mac a picture of his close encounter with Utley. “No!” says Mac, initially excited to have found cell phone reception but furiously disheartened when he receives word where Charlie and Dennis have been. “Yes!” pops up Dennis’ text. Yes.

The episode ends on a pitch-perfect note (with the exception of Peter Peter Nickeleater’s unfortunate demise, being ironically captured by a bird of prey…okay, that’s actually pretty funny) as Dee, Frank and Mac come across a familiar-looking 18-wheeler cruising down the road. “You guys need a ride?” the driver asks. As Mac, still in his dapper tuxedo, approaches the passenger window, Byron’s lips curl into a slow, deliberate grin.

Despite the title of this week’s episode, the weakest points involved the characters and events that took place in the woods. Dennis and Charlie’s charity event escapades in Atlantic City stole the show and provided an opportunity for an unlikely duo to showcase their undeniable chemistry as a comedic team. I’d say “yes” to future episodes that focus on Charlie and Dennis wreaking havoc, and issue a resounding “no” toward any storyline that involves Frank and animals. Dee and Mac were given sadly little to work with, but judging from Dee’s increasingly rotund abdomen and the impending season finale, I suspect she’ll soon have a Very Special Episode focusing on an upcoming addition to the Sunny family. Poor child.

Season 6, Episode 10: “The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods” (originally aired December 2, 2010)

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Thursdays at 10pm on FX

Photographs courtesy of FX and IMDbPro