Very Sunny Christmas

For millions of people Christmas is one of the most special times of the year. Many look forward to this holiday all year round starting their preparations weeks in advance of the big day. For many years the entertainment industry has responded to this overwhelming feeling with season flicks and special holiday themed episodes of television series. Just about every one of these episodes utilizes the themes of love, generosity and peaceful tidings endeavoring to show the healing spiritual healing power of the season. Almost every series comes up with a Christmas episode to up lift their audience but one has been aired that flies in the face of such traditions with an episode exemplifying the worse possible character traits possible. The series responsible for flaunting there norm is the dark comedy on the FX network; ‘It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia’. They have come up with a holiday special episode ‘A Very Sunny Christmas’ that may not be suitable for the entire family but it is completely hysterical. There is not a single frame in the entire production that promotes any of the qualities typically engendered in a special Christmas episode. If you have ever seen any episode of this series then you would have no expectations of anything positive coming from this show. No matter what is going on in your life unless you are a serial killer you will feel morally superior to the characters depicted here. If you have a rough time with your own families around this time of year just watch this before you have to go over to their house for dinner. After watching the despicable antics of this group of misfit your family will deem like they came out of a Norman Rockwell painting. This is not intended as a negative comment. This is extremely well crafted dark comedy that may not be for everyone but if you like your humor on the macabre side this is just what you have been looking for.

Normally the creators of a TV series strive to infuse their characters with qualities that the audience will identify with. In the case of this show these are all people that basically you love to hate. We have all known people like this in high school; slackers, party kids, sluts and losers. Well this series is based on the premise that a group of these kids grew up but never matured emotionally. They are all stuck in the emotionally level of petulant children. Collectively they have no concept of the needs of anyone other than themselves. Naturally Christmas for them is nothing close to anything you have previously experienced. The ‘gang’ as they are referred to in the episode titles, owns and operates a neighborhood Irish bar called ‘Paddy’s. Now this is not a nice, upscale establishment like ‘Cheers’; this is a low class dive of a joint sparsely serving people tossed out of every other bar around. The place is co-owned by Mac (Rob McElhenney) and his childhood best friend Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton). Both are emotionally stunted and are overly concerned with how others view them although that does little to allow them to think outside their own interests. Working at the bar is Dennis’ fraternal twin sister Deandra (Kaitlin Olson) usually referred to as ‘Sweet Dee’ or just Dee. Like the others she is a border line alcoholic and in school gained a reputation for being easy. She wants fame and fortune just doesn’t want to work for it. Low man at the bar is the childlike Charlie Day (Charlie Day). He is very easily influenced by the others into doing very stupid things. Lastly there if Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito), step father to the twins and biological father of Charlie. He has some degree of wealth all accumulated through highly suspicious and illegal endeavors.

The gang tries to rediscover the true meaning of Christmas after being disenchanted once again at the season. Dee and Dennis receive their annual taunting by Dee’s skin he gets an expensive hand bag a ruins it by using it for messy snack food. They decide to get back at Frank by finding a former business partner he financially ruined and use him in a misguided reenactment of ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Naturally it backfires and Frank remains unchanged, perhaps worse. Mac realizes that his family tradition of going to the homes of neighbors to find his presents under their trees was actually a scheme by his father to steal presents. Charlie fondly recalls a parade of men dressed in Santa outfits giving him little presents before going upstairs to give his mother ‘Christmas Cheer’ he realizes that his mother was a prostitute. They go on s quest to make things right but of course mess things up. This is a devilishly funny twist on the sugary holiday faire that will have you roaring out loud. Just as a little bit of trivia; the episode was directed by Fred Savage former child star of ‘The Wonder Years’.

Post 11/20/09