20th Century Fox | 2009 | 43 mins. | Not rated
For the uninitiated, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia follows The Gang, a group of five alcoholic, unethical underachievers who run Paddy’s Pub, a rundown bar in the city of Brotherly Love. Mac (Rob McElhenney), is a co-owner of Paddy’s, and would be considered the most active participant in the day-to-day management of the bar; Dennis Reynolds (Glen Howerton), co-owner of Paddy’s is selfish and narcissistic and vain; Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) yet another co-owner, is an angry person and prone to semi-violent outbursts; Deandra “Sweet Dee” Reynolds (Kaitlin Olson) is Dennis’ twin sister and the main bartender at Paddy’s; Frank Reynolds (Danny Devito) is he legal father of twins Dennis and Dee and the roommate and alleged biological father of Charlie. While there are other assorted characters that come in and out of Paddy’s, that’s the main crew of misfits and malcontents.
An extension of the series, the 43-minute Christmas episode follows two stories. First, Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Charlie (Charlie Day) think back on their past holiday traditions, only to realize how messed-up they were. Mac realizes that members of his family have been breaking into other people’s homes to get Christmas gifts; Charlie realizes that the Santa’s who showed up at the house each Christmas morning were giving his mother a little more than holiday greetings. Needless to say, the boys try to come up with some new traditions.
In the second story, Dennis and Dee are fed up with their father always ruing Christmas for them. To that end, they team up with Frank’s old business partner to teach him a lesson about the spirit of the season. As only Frank could do, he always bought the best presents for himself. This year, when Frank pulls up in his new Lamborghini—Dennis’ dream car—the two siblings put on their version of A Christmas Carol. With the former business partner portraying the Ghost of Christmas Past, they take dear old dad on a journey through his present—a holiday party where they hope Frank’s one-time employees will gossip horribly about him—and to his future, a cold, lonely grave, marked with a headstone that reads, “He Was A Dick To His Kids.” Of course, all of this goes horribly awry.
This episode was helped by regular Sunny director Fred Savage—yes, that Fred Savage—who clearly enjoyed the increased runtime and budget. He uses this straight-to-video release as a platform to highlight the comedic talent of the actors and elevate the already risqué humor of the show. “F-bombs” fly freely and we are treated to a nude and sweaty Danny DeVito being birthed out of leather couch—it makes sense in the context of the show, but you have been warned.
A Very Sunny Christmas was clearly produced for the fans. If you don’t watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, you’ll probably want to give this one a pass. Crass, crude and lewd, this is not your mother’s holiday special. If you like crude, black humor and have never seen Sunny, give this disc a try, you just might find yourself chuckling.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas comes to Blu-ray in an upscaled 1080p format, so don’t expect too much. The image is very soft. Textures are muddled, and fine detail is non-existent. The image is drab, lacks depth, and is prone to a bland haziness. Black levels are soupy and grayish, and contrast is flat and lifeless. Far from clean, artifacts and noise clutter the frame throughout, and both aliasing and ringing are readily apparent. I don’t have access to the DVD, but if you can save a few dollars you might want to pick up the standard definition version instead.
The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is only marginally better than the video quality. Dialogue is clear and easily understood throughout the episode, but that’s where its power ends. With the exception of when Frank rolls up in his Lamborghini—with a throaty roar—this track is thin. There’s not much low-end here, and the music comes off as much too harsh. The music bleeds into the rear channels, but that’s it in terms of immersion.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas has a few substandard special features:
• Producers’ Blu-ray Introduction (SD, 00:55) Actor Rob McElhenney and Writer/Producer David Hornsby give a disclaimer about how the program wasn’t filmed in high definition and was simply scaled up for the Blu-ray release.
• Young Charlie & Young Mac – Deleted Scenes (SD, 2:48) Here we see young Charlie and Mac throwing rocks, discussing how women have “a second butt-hole in the front,” and bemoaning the onset of puberty.
• Behind the Scenes (SD, 7:24) Director Fred Savage gives us a look at the making of the claymation sequence; also get plenty of on-set footage and shenanigans from the cast.
• Sunny Sing-A-Long (SD, 3:13) The Gang stands around a piano and sings perennial Christmas favorites, but this quickly descends into a yuletide nightmare, replete with cheesy 1980s video effects.
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