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Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas
A not-so-great executed good idea The “A Christmas Carol” theme in the direct-to-DVD special “Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas” makes saying that this production did not meet my great expectations appropriate. The adult-oriented FX sitcom on which the special is based is one of my favorite shows, but the special is merely a good episode of that program. I am bothered as well that the storyline begins at 4:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, crams an unbelievable amount of activity in a few hours, and pushes the sunset in Philadelphia back several hours. “Sunny” depicts the misadventures of four 30-something selfish, greedy, and dim-witted long-time friends who bought a pub to have a bar in which they could hang out. They are joined by the very crude and even more selfish Frank, who is the father of siblings Dee and Dennis, who owns a portion of the bar. The wonderfully troll-like Danny DeVito plays Frank. The special consists of two largely separate Christmas-themed storylines. The “Carol” plot has Dee and Dennis making a typically thoroughly inept attempt to use the Dickens story as a means to show Frank the error of his ways. Rather than saving Frank’s soul, their objective is to punish him for his cruelty regarding their Christmas gifts throughout their lives and to get him to give them expensive gifts. The idea is good, and there are a few funny moments. However, with the exception of an amusing short Rankin/Bass inspired claymation segment, there is nothing special about this plot. At the least, I would have expected the siblings to have kidnapped Gabe Kaplan or another B-list ‘70s star and forced him to play the ghost of Christmas past. The second storyline has Mac and Charlie, who round out the quartet of losers, become disillusioned regarding their childhood Christmases. A scene in which a line of increasingly pathetic Santas who are the johns of his mother show up at the home of young Charlie is very funny, but this is simply not different than something that a typical episode would show. The special does deserve praise for a good surprise ending that is consistent with the theme of the show. This final scene adds a wonderfully cynical twist to a happy ending that is very reminiscent of traditional Christmas specials. The special features include a “making of” segment that includes amusing moments regarding filming a Christmas special in July and a set of deleted scenes that show young Charlie and young Mac. The third feature was my favorite; it was a great parody of heart-warming sing-a-longs of Christmas carols. In typical “Sunny” fashion, the gang tries to appear sincere and serene but come across as creepy. I would have liked Charlie’s green man character to have participated in this presentation. Anyone who would like to share their thoughts regarding this special is encouraged to e-mail me at tvdvdguy@gmail.com. TV on DVD Reviews:  |
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John Stahl is a freelance legal writer who is also a fan of classic and cult television programs. He can be reached at tvdvdguy@gmail.com.
Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas
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