If Seinfeld was a show about nothing, then It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a show about five jackasses who can turn nothing into something ridiculous. I don’t care what the starting point of the episode is, by the time they reach the end it is so ridiculous that I don’t even care. I’m just laughing at how stupid they all are.
FX was kind enough to send me a pretty cool package containing rough cuts of the first four episodes of the fifth 13-episode season, starting tonight at 10pm on FX. Don’t forget, we’ve got two seasons already guaranteed beyond this one!
There were some genuine laugh-out-loud moments in every single one of them. You even get to learn about Charlie and Mac’s big-budget movie pitch, starring Dolph Lundgren, with the best tag-line in Hollywood.
In these first four episodes the gang takes on the mortgage crisis, surrogacy, and stage an intervention for one of their own. I won’t tell you which, but considering that all five are drunken leches, it could be anyone!
I remain so thrilled that they nabbed Danny DeVito for this show back in season two. Frank is one of the funniest and strongest comedic presences in television. And he’s up for anything, whether it’s rolling around in filth or flinging himself through a gate. He’s a master of physical comedy and timing, and yet he’s always the smartest person in the room.
On the opposite end you have Charlie, who foolishly tries to challenge a lawyer in legal matters and winds up booking a duel to the death.
The gang also sets out on their first ever road trip, heading to the Grand Canyon for Frank. Which goes about as well as you’d expect. We do find out that Charlie not only has never had a pear, but he can’t even figure out how to eat one. And then when he gets the chance, he still doesn’t get it.
These characters are basically cartoons of humanity, and damn it if it isn’t the funniest show on television. Or maybe it’s just my warped sense of humor. I don’t laugh out loud at anything as much as I do It’s Always Sunny.
Oh, and for those who can appreciate such things as I do, we do get Kaitlin Olson into a teeny bikini within these first four episodes. The usage of a pool is just one of the perks she feels she’s earned through the generosity of her womb-rental-service. And yes, she looks very … fit.
To say anything more is to ruin the fun in watching these sordid tales unfold. The characters are so fully fleshed out by now, that all the writers need to do is come up with the basic kernel of a premise and let the actors go crazy all over it. And crazy is definitely the right word.
Clacked by Jason Hughes 
on Sep 17, 2009 @ 19:00 EST5EDT
