It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 7

The seventh season is around the point where most comedies on TV start to lose their ability to really surprise you or affect you in meaningful ways, or at least stop making you laugh quite as much as they used to. I will say that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia definitely feels like a show that's been around for that long, and it's reaching the point where they're running out of new gags and new ideas and has to rely on calling back to classic guest characters and running jokes in more extreme ways to stay exciting. Despite that, it still might actually be the funniest show I watch. Other comedies are newer and fresher and smarter and inspire greater passion and affection in me, but I just don't laugh as hard at them as I do at Sunny. A lot of this season's biggest laughs were based largely on shock value; creating situations so unexpected and unusual to see on TV that the novelty was a major part of their success. But who cares how carefully thought out or crafted a joke is when it makes you laugh until you start crying?

Despite having a lot of success recently in movies and other projects, at least compared to the rest of the cast, Charlie Day doesn't really dominate screen time like some people were maybe expecting. It was actually a pretty low-key year for his character, though he had a few inspired moments, including a scene that made me laugh as hard as anything I can think of in my entire life. Dennis continues to deliver great, increasingly disturbing performances, gradually continuing to develop into a fully deranged, secretive monster. Frank was the focus of a flashback episode that despite including a fun appearance by Lance Reddick stands as one of the series' only truly bad episodes, but Danny DeVito is so fully in control of the character at this point that it's always a joy just to watch him react or eat something. Sweet Dee got a lot of mileage out of her increasingly creative and filthy mouth, and while they didn't quite capitalize on the whole "fat Mac" arc, they did get some good jokes out of it and he's still a solid character. The show's been renewed for two more years, and I'd be feeling at least a little anxious about that with most sitcoms, but they only have to put out 13 or so episodes per year and they really haven't shown many signs of slowing down. I'll be glad to continue spending time with these freakish, vile lunatics for a while more.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 6

I thought next week was going to be the Sunny season finale, but as it turns out they're just airing the Christmas episode they put out on DVD last year. I think it's pretty shady to tell people they can only watch an episode if they pay for it and then air it anyway a year later, but what can you do? At least they're showing it, and it is a pretty darn funny episode. And the twelve new episodes that made up this season were pretty consistently funny as well. There were a couple that clunked a bit, which is prone to happen once in a while with this show, but for the most part I was laughing as much as always. I don't think it quite matched season 5, but it still had a lot of good stuff. Dennis continued to be a highlight week to week, and bits like the gang's interpretation of what a fifth Lethal Weapon movie would be like were great ways to branch out the comedy a bit while still being Sunny.

The biggest thread running through the season was Sweet Dee's pregnancy, mirroring actress Kaitlin Olson's in real life. They were writing around it for a few episodes where she was obviously showing with loose outfits, but it became part of the show in the brilliant Halloween episode where the gang realizes she's pregnant and try to combine their hazy memories in a series of Rashomon-stlye conflicting flashbacks to a drunken party months earlier. The reveal of the real father was a sly callback to a couple of other stories the show's done, and I like how they had a moment of sentiment around the birth in an episode where they reveal that Dee has been berating and nagging all of her old boyfriends into having sex with her for a long time. The show had some good low-profile guests on this season like Jason Sudeikis, Dave Foley, Chad Coleman, and a couple of two-part stories that were integrated a bit more naturally, basically playing as mini-arcs of things like Dennis rushing into and out of marriage and Charlie temporarily taking his custodial talents elsewhere. I always like when a show as goofy as this one at least throws a few bones to the idea of the characters living in a world with continuity and character development, even if at the end of the day they're all the same idiots they were before. There's at least one more season coming, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

This was the second movie I saw in a row to win those five major Oscars I mentioned, and the second time one of those was a bit fishy. Louise Fletcher does a very good job playing the movie's strict authority figure Nurse Ratched, but it's hardly a lead role. Jack Nicholson's a much better fit for that kind of award, and gives probably the best performance of his that I've seen as McMurphy, a criminal who gets transferred to a mental institution, even though there might not be anything really wrong with him. I still don't quite get why he's one of his generations most beloved actors, because I feel like his whole manic persona is interesting but not particularly difficult for most good actors to pull off. But it's a good performance in the center of a movie filled with them.

Really, if nothing else, the film has a king's ransom of good actors plying their craft in one of the most easily respected ways: as an insane person. There's a variety of mental issues on display, and no one out of the group, famous or not, doesn't pull it off well. Some guys do a good job in their wheelhouse, like a very recognizable Christopher Lloyd, but a couple completely disappear into their parts and I was shocked to learn that they were in the movie after the fact. Brad Dourif is practically a teenager, also getting an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a troubled and suicidal young man, and Danny DeVito is also surprisingly invisible as Martini. Of course, Jack is the center of attention, as the movie is about how he shakes things up inside the ward after he gets admitted, and what impact if any he has on the men inside after he leaves. Another very good movie, and one that's nice to finally check off my list of shame.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 5

Looking back, Sunny wasn't quite as good last year as it had been previously. Still one of the funniest shows on TV, but not up to its own standards. I was glad to see that this year they made a nice recovery, bouncing back and being probably the best pure comedy to air. There are a couple troubling elements - there was a fair amount of overt product placement that did seem a little weird at times, and Charlie's illiteracy/general mental ineptitude is still funny, but starting to take over his whole character. In previous years I would hands down call him my favorite member of the gang, but this season definitely felt like it belonged to Dennis, especially the second half. Everything he did seemed to be pure gold, from explaining his system for winning over and then getting rid of girls to his concept for the ideal action movie to his foaming rage at and subsequent revenge against members of his former college fraternity.

It's hard to say what makes Sunny so good. There's something about just the way the characters talk with each other that's totally natural and off-the-wall hilarious at the same time. I still think episodes where the main characters all just let slip how much they really don't like each other are the best, with "Mac and Dennis Break Up" being a great example. In a lot of ways they hate each other, but they also desperately need each other just to survive. There's a collective dysfunction that makes them into a strange sort of family, and it's one of the best group dynamics in a TV comedy ever. And the Christmas special, while lame for being only viewable on its own DVD, is worth checking out to see what the show would be like if it were an R rated movie.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 4

Sunny's fourth season is just about as entertaining as any of the first three. Its unique sense of humor isn't as shocking and unpredictable as it used to be, but they still haven't run out of sensitive social issues to make fun of or meaningless things for the characters to go on ridiculous tirades about. I'm pretty convinced right now that Sunny is currently the funniest show on television. One element that I don't particularly remember from earlier episodes but showed up a lot this time was the petty shifting alliances, where a couple of the gang would exclude another for no real reason but it would get flipped around by the next week. We're guaranteed two more seasons at least, and I'm on board as long as they keep churning out solid comedy.

One thing that I'm glad didn't return from previous years is the McPoyles. They were funny once, but got old by a certain point during season 3, and I'm glad they were able to recognize things that weren't funny anymore and just stop using them. Charlie continues to be my favorite character, a common sentiment among fans, and has plenty of great moments, like his role as the wild card in "The Gang Solves the Gas Crisis", the conspiracy theorist mail room guy in "Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack" and mastermind of the most awkward play ever in the season finale "The Nightman Cometh". Everyone contributes though, and it's rare to go five minutes in an episode without every character saying something funny. It seems like the season went by so fast, and I await more eagerly.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 3

The third and longest season yet is more of the same, that being an edgy, humorous half hour of television. There are a couple of off episodes, which usually occur when the show shifts from being slightly out there to over-the-top silly. This can usually be connected with the McPoyle family. I don't find them funny at all, and season three featured them more than any other. The show is good when the main characters are just taking advantage of people around them and shouting at each other about inane things.

There were a lot of really good episodes along those lines though. The inside jokes and returning characters are becoming more ingrained into the fabric of the show, but they still are able to come up with new ideas and new topics to tackle. Abandoned babies, sexual predators, mental handicaps, nothing is off limits and it's usually funny. There's a running joke during the season where Dennis seems to always find a new reason each episode to take his shirt off, and lots of little things like that that make it entertaining on more than one level. I don't know how long they can keep it up, but I'm hoping it's a while longer.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 2

The second season keeps right in pace with the first, providing the same brand of cynical comedy. The big change is the addition of Danny DeVito as the father of Dennis and Dee. I was worried that he wouldn't quite fit in with the rest of the cast, but those fears were unfounded. He's way more recognizable than everyone else, but he handles the show's unique style just as well. He perfectly captures the crappy father who's now liberated by his divorce and trying to be one of the guys again. Part of the show's success is just the chemistry between the main characters, how they can quickly jump between teaming up and stabbing each other in the back, and DeVito keeps that going.

The second season again covers a wide variety of topics in very crass ways, like welfare, drugs, religion, and politics. There's actually a greater sense of continuity, as what happens in certain episodes can carry over later, which doesn't usually happen in sitcoms. Early on, the gang gets in trouble for something, and later episodes deal with them doing their community service and stuff like that. A whole story arc with the true nature of the gang's parentage comes to a head in the finale, and it's enjoyable stuff. The seasons aren't very long but they're damn funny.

Reno 911!: Miami

I like Reno 911! well enough, though I never go out of my way to watch it. It's funny, but never that important to really follow it closely, so it's the kind of show you enjoy when it's on but maybe you don't care about it that much. I remember seeing a trailer for the movie, but it came and went without me even being aware it did. When I had the opportunity to check it out, I did.

The movie is chock full of entertaining cameos and funny guest stars. The Rock's one minute of screen time is classic, and Paul Rudd and Patton Oswalt are great in their roles. Reno 911! is one of the better current examples of retroscripting, where the plot is known but almost all the dialogue is improvised by the actors. It makes for a slightly different style of humor that comes off as a bit more natural, while still being funny most of the time. They make good use of the movie format. There are a lot of over-the-top deaths in the movie with blood spraying everywhere, and it adds to the absurdity immensely. There's also liberal cursing and sexual humor, especially a great scene where Deputy Jones is running in horror from the sight of his coworkers doing some inappropriate things.

They do actually attempt to do a story with twists and a climax, and for the most part it works out all right. It's all done with a bit of a smirk, and it works out to a very funny movie that anyone who likes the show or characters, or even just the form of comedy, should probably enjoy.