Matthew Reine
Well it’s that wonderful time of year again! Thanksgiving ‘14 is in the books so now the Christmas season is in full swing. Since CXF got a taste of the holiday spirit already from David Hunter’s thought provoking article on Home Alone, I feel it’s appropriate to celebrate my own favorite Christmas themed films and programming. So for the next three weeks, I’m going to review some of those very yuletide classics that are near and dear to my heart.
Sure, there have been popular films that take place during Christmas time such as Die Hard and Lethal Weapon but I’m talking stuff that fully encapsulated the spirit of the holiday. So, without any further ado it’s…
A Very Sunny Christmas!
I’ve never mentioned it on this website before but one of my favorite television series currently airing is FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The complete randomness of it coupled with well-written characters, excellent continuity, and raunchy humor is fantastic. Plus, any show that features Danny Devito is a can’t miss.
The series portrays four friends – Charlie, Mac, and twins, Dennis and Deandra (or Dee for short) running an Irish pub named Paddy’s in… guess… Philadelphia. Devito comes in at the beginning of season two as Dennis and Dee’s adoptive father, Frank, a shady businessman who winds up owning a share of the pub and becomes part of their crew. The bar never seems to receive a lot of business which prompts these five bored individuals to get entangled in all kind of wacky situations and crazy schemes either for their personal gain or for the bar’s fortune. These stunts often have them going too far and hurting and/or alienating those around them. A lot of people label the show as an extremely accelerated version of Seinfeld. Now as the show prepares to enter it’s 10th season, it shows no signs of going off the air anytime soon.
We often see plenty of hilarious recurring themes among the characters such as Charlie’s dyslexia and poor hygiene, Mac’s machoness and obsession with being physically fit, Dennis’ vanity, Dee constantly being the subject of mockery, and Frank’s sliminess. All which make the X-rated comedy a treat every week.
Once the DVD set of their fifth season was released in 2009, it included a bonus episode to coincide with the holiday season entitled A Very Sunny Christmas. I had been watching Sunny for less than a year before my friend brought the fifth season and held a viewing party at his house of this episode. It was everything I hoped for and more!
In the one hour special, the gang suffer through all types of holiday hijinx. From the top:
Frank buys Dennis and Dee’s most wanted Christmas gifts, a lavish sports car and an expensive handbag, for himself just to be a jerk, a tradition he’s supposedly kept since their youth. The duo then track down Frank’s former business partner, Eugene, whom he embezzled millions of dollars from, to gain revenge. Trying to recreate the legendary tale, A Christmas Carol, this plan included a ridiculous gag where the siblings trap Frank inside a couch but once he breaks free due to lack of oxygen, the audience is treated to the naked behind of Danny Devito. And you thought Big Fish was the only thing to subject you to such an image.
Meanwhile, Mac and Charlie both get startling revelations about their holiday growing up. Charlie figures out that his mother was sleeping with multiple men dressed as Santa Claus every Christmas morning in order to provide presents for him. This makes Charlie resentful at the appearance of St. Nick and even attacks a mall Santa in an emotional breakdown. This scene is the wildest thing in this entire special. Charlie re-enacting Devito’s ironic role of The Penguin in Batman Returns by biting the flesh of jolly Santa and blood oozing from his mouth. Everyone panicking around them was insane but on-pr with the usual mischief the gang usual find themselves in.
Mac comes to realize that he and his Dad would sneak into houses of innocent families on Christmas morning and rob them of their presents in what his father told him was a tradition in the entire neighborhood. Mac tries to buy a gift for the children of one of the people he stole presents from as a kid in an attempt to make peace but once they show up to his house to sing carols, they’re met with bottles being thrown at them.
After Frank fakes his death, there’s a sweet claymation sequence featuring the cast where Frank’s murdered.
This vision helps Frank realize that he was being selfish and gives Dennis and Dee their respective gifts at Paddy’s but is met by Eugene who robs everyone, leaving the gang with nothing. They eventually celebrate the crummy experience by throwing stones at oncoming trains.
All in all, the gang finds themselves alone without any possessions on the holiday bringing them right back to where they were before. This special was absolutely hysterical and didn’t miss a single beat with the rest of the series. It had everything Sunny fans wanted and more. Charlie was fantastic as usual as the delusional, oblivious nutcase while Danny Devito really turned his character up to 11 delivering as usual. While at the time, it was a DVD exclusive, it has since aired on FX starting in 2010. I recommend it to all!
You won’t want to miss next week’s article!
