IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA: THE COMPLETE SEASON 7
(not rated)
MOVIE: **** (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5)
STARRING
Charlie Day as CHARLIE
Rob McElhenney as MAC
Glenn Howerton as DENNIS
Kaitlin Olson as SWEET DEE
Danny DeVito as FRANK
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Created by: Rob McElhenney
BY KEVIN CARR
Continuing the tradition of being one of the edgiest and funniest shows on FX, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” wrapped up its seventh season, which is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. Even without the special features, which are admittedly a bit thin in this release, the package is still brilliantly done and reaches new levels of inappropriateness.
This season, the biggest difference we see is Mac. Where Dee spent much of the previous season pregnant, Mac spends much of the season overweight. Actor Rob McElhenney may have been doing this somewhat as a joke for his real-life off-screen wife Kaitlin Olson, but he may have also been doing it as an excuse to eat without consequence. Whatever the case, the running gag of Mac getting fat actually works. While it becomes the butt of many jokes, it’s an honest joke and plays very funny.
While it’s hard to top previous episodes of getting hooked on crack or capitalizing on dumpster babies, season seven takes a real shot at it. The season premiere, “Frank’s Pretty Woman” features one of the most disturbing sequences in it since a naked Frank Reynolds was birthed from a leather couch during their Christmas episode a while back.
Like “South Park,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” takes aim at trending topics like toddler beauty contests, home invasions and Facebook. The show has definitely not lost its edge and actually stepped up the level of nastiness in this season.
Special features include commentaries on select episodes, plus an unexpectedly funny blooper reel as well as a dangerously drunken tour of Philadelphia with Artemis Pebdani (who plays the morally bankrupt Artemis in the series).