Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Complete Season 6 Blu-ray Movie Review

Hey-O! The Gang is back.

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater September 16, 2011

Just about the same time that Fox cruelly decided not to renew Arrested Development for a fourth season—leaving the field for dysfunctional family comedy wide open—sister cable network FX premiered It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a new show that would revel in a similar brand of absurdist sit-com shenanigans. Obviously, nothing could or can ever replace the particular genius of Arrested Development—which was probably too smart and different for its own good—but over the past six years, It’s Always Sunny has gradually carved out its own cult niche with a shovel made of irreverent comedy gold. The show also gets frequent Seinfeld comparisons—even the network refers to it as “Seinfeld on crack”—but this just gives a frame of reference. Yes, Sunny, like Seinfeld, is about a group of self-centered friends who find themselves in the most ridiculous, non sequitur-ish situations, but the similarities end there. If Seinfeld was a show about “nothing,” It’s Always Sunny is a show about nothings. That is, nobodies. Losers. Social misfits who fail miserably—and hilariously—at life.

Charlie's "Butt Dance."

If you’ve never seen the show—and this is a situation you should try to rectify as soon as possible—it follows the generally misanthropic exploits of “The Gang,” five socially clueless semi-lunatics who run Paddy’s, a run-down Irish pub in Philly’s scruffy, industrial south end. (Where Seinfeld was about well-to-do New Yorkers, Sunny is strictly blue collar.) The core of The Gang is comprised of three best friends who’ve been pals since high school and co-own the bar. Dennis (Glenn Howerton) is an extreme narcissist and ladies man who’s hung up on his appearance and is prone to “popping off” his shirt for no apparent reason other than to show off his abs. Wannabe tough guy Mac—show creator Rob McElhenney—has tribal tattoos, frequently goes sleeveless, and likes to do roundhouse kicks, even though he can never really pull them off. And Charlie (Charlie Day), the bar’s janitor and rat-killer, is a maybe-illiterate simpleton who’s gullible and quick to angry outbursts. The sole female of the group—although she’s not technically part of The Gang—is never-was “actress” Deandra “Sweet Dee” Reynolds (Kaitlin Olson), the pub’s bird-like bartender, the frequent target of the guys’ ridicule, and Dennis’ twin sister. Also padding about the premises is the twins’ legal father, Frank (Danny DeVito), a cauliflower-shaped slob who fraternizes with the city’s seedier residents and lives with Charlie—possibly his biological son—in an impossibly squalid apartment. Together, the five form a shabby, makeshift family, constantly at odds with one another.

Season five opened with an episode about the mortgage crisis, so it seems fitting that the sixth season would start with a harebrained take on another current event controversy. In “Mac Fights Gay Marriage,” Mac learns that his one-time transsexual girlfriend from season three, Carmen (Brittany Daniel), is now post-op and married to a man—a situation he sees as morally wrong, but only because he can’t have her himself. While he tries to disprove the validity of their union with Bible verses, the rest of The Gang find their own skewed reasons to get married. Dennis gets hitched at the courthouse to his high school sweetheart Maureen Ponderosa—who now wears bedazzled cat-themed sweaters and has a foul-smelling dead tooth—and Dee hooks up with Maureen’s philandering brother, Bill, a cocaine and prostitute addict. Best of all, Charlie and Frank decide to tie the knot so they can save money on chiropractor visits. Obviously, none of these relationships last past the second episode, “Dennis Gets Divorced.” This is followed by what might be the best outing of the season, “The Gang Buys a Boat.” Yes, a vessel is bought—a “P. Diddy-style shrimp boat”—and while Frank, Charlie, and Dee ineptly work on renovating it, Mac and Dennis focus on “living the life,” wearing Sperry Topsiders, going to BYOB yacht parties, and discussing how taking a woman out on the high seas, where she has no chance of escape, is a surefire way to get her to sleep with you. You know, because of “the implication,” as Dennis creepily puts it, his warped mind unable to see that terrifying someone into sexual submission is pretty much rape. You might feel guilty for laughing at first—in spite of its name, It’s Always Sunny plumbs some dark comedic depths—but these reprobates always get exactly what’s coming to ‘em.

Rather than burning out like most sit-coms, I actually feel like It’s Always Sunny has gotten more consistently funny over the past few seasons. The chemistry is better. The tone is established. The characters share more history, which makes for more clever in-jokes for fans who’ve been around since the beginning. Season six is filled with laugh-out-loud moments, but several episodes stand out as particularly brilliant. In the Rashomon-like “Who Got Dee Pregnant?,” The Gang trades wildly conflicting stories about the booze-fueled Halloween party where Dee’s baby was supposedly conceived. (Was Frank dressed as Spiderman, for instance, or Man-Spider?) Immediately following is another highlight, “The Gang Gets a New Member,” where SNL’s Jason Sudeikis plays Shmity, a former pal who was kicked out of The Gang ten years prior— actually, he was pushed out of a moving car at Charlie’s insistence—but who gets re-invited back into the fold. The episode is especially great because we see The Gang anew through the eyes of the comparatively normal Shmity, and realize just how bizarre and insular the guys actually are, from Dennis ordering everyone’s food at lunch because he has the most “refined palate” to the strange ritual they perform to re-induct Shmity into The Gang, which involves Gregorian chant set to electronic beats and Mac trying—and repeatedly failing—to roundhouse kick a bell to start things off. Also, look out for Charlie’s “Butt Dance.” The craziest episode, though, is “Dee Reynolds: Shaping America’s Youth,” in which Dee—now working as a substitute drama teacher—takes her class to the pub to watch a screening of “Lethal Weapon 5,” a fan-film where Mac and Dennis take turns playing the Mel Gibson and Danny Glover roles. Between Mac in blackface, Frank as a Native American villain—who gets an extended softcore sex scene—and Dennis getting shocked in the abs with a tazer while hanging from a pipe, it’s an Always Sunny experience you won’t soon forget.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Complete Season 6 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Previous seasons of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia were shot on standard definition video, which confused some Blu-ray buyers, who picked up season five and the Christmas special only to find they had been upscaled. Season six, however, is the real deal, each episode shot natively in high definition and presented here via a 1080p/AVC encode. The picture quality difference between last year's season set and this year's is simply astounding. Gone is the fuzziness, the blown-out highlights, the rampant aliasing, the hazy blacks, and the complete lack of fine detail, replaced by a strong high definition image that's mostly free from distractions. There's still some softness in the picture occasionally, but the newfound sense of clarity is striking; we can finally make out textures on the actors' faces and clothing and the details of the bar in Paddy's. It's a big improvement. Color also looks more vibrant, with richer hues and better contrast across the board. The picture still isn't perfect—there are a few instances of aliasing and mild flicker, and noise tends to spike during darker scenes—but It's Always Sunny has never looked better than this.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Complete Season 6 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The show's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 presentation does everything it needs to do, which isn't much. It's Always Sunny, like most sit-coms, is almost entirely dialogue driven, and the characters' yelling, screaming, and squabbling is always clean, centered, and easy to understand. That's about the best you can ask for this kind of show. The rear channels are rarely used for anything other than the intentionally cheesy sound track, which, incidentally, sound great. There are a few limited directional and ambient effects, but nothing noteworthy. In fact, a 2.0 track would've easily sufficed here. The disc comes with optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles in easy to read lettering.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Complete Season 6 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries: There are only four commentary tracks this time around—all feature Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton—but, no surprise here, they're all funny and worthwhile. I can't get enough of Charlie Day.
• The Sunny Flip Cup Trivia Challenge: This is the first remote control-based trivia game on a Blu-ray I've ever played that's actually been fun. The gist of it is that you play through three levels of multiple choice trivia, but as you progress the words start to blur, wobble, and otherwise get harder to read, simulating—of course—your increasing state of drunkenness. In between trivia rounds you'll play one of four games, also remote controlled. "Frank & Charlie's Bitchin' Sewerboat Treasure Hunt!" is a kind of simple side-scroller, "Don't Wake Maureen" is a variation on a Simon-like memory game, "Sweet Dee's Dance Off" is a DDR-like rhythm game, and "Charlie's Slap Shot" challenges you to hit a hockey puck through a goal.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 14:46): Once again, there's some great stuff here that didn't make the cut.
• Blooper Reel (1080p, 6:50): I'm generally wary of blooper reels that are over five minutes long, but this one delivers.
• Lethal Weapon 5 - Extended Cut (14:31): Yes and yes. Here we get to see the full version of The Gang's Lethal Weapon fan film, with optional commentary by Mac, Charlie, and Dennis in character.
• Dennis and Dee's Podcasts (1080i, 12:41): The twins ineptly ramble on about border patrol, serial killers, and terrorists.
• Legal Advice with Jack Kelly (SD, 3:23): The Gang's weirdo lawyer hosts his own call-in public access show.
• More from FX - Wilfred Pilot Episode (1080p, 23:14)
• BD-Live Exclusive - Dennis and Dee's Podcast (720p, 3:12): In an additional "podcast" sequence, Dennis and Dee talk about "The Biggest Loser."

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Complete Season 6 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Gang is back and as funny as ever in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season six, which has a high concentration of stand-out episodes. This is also the first season of the show to be shot in high definition, so it actually looks great on Blu-ray, opposed to season five and the Christmas special, which were both upscaled. Best off all, this season set includes some great special features, from audio commentaries and the extended cut of "Lethal Weapon 5" to a trivia game that's actually entertaining. Recommended!