Featured TV on DVD Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season Seven

October 25, 2012

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Season Seven - Buy from Amazon: DVD or Blu-ray

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia started in 2005 and is about five ... I was going to use the term friends, but that isn't right. They clearly hate each other, but they hate others more. I've only had a chance to review one previous DVD release, which I did like. Is the show still running strong? Or after seven years, are these characters starting to wear out their welcome.

The Show

The season begins with Frank in love with a new woman, Roxy, who happens to be a crack whore. He wants to propose, but no one else thinks it's a good idea. Dee decides to give her the Pretty Woman treatment and clean her up, while Charlie thinks Frank can do better. Finally Dennis tries to help Mac (Rob McElhenney) get healthy after gaining a lot of weight. In The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore, Dee and Dennis try to relive their childhood memories with a vacation to the Jersey Shore and the rest of the gang think it's a really bad idea, but they come along anyway. In Frank Reynold's Little Beauties, Frank invests in a beauty pageant, but the whole investment could go broke after the MC did something improper with one of the contestants. Now Frank has to make it look legitimate, or he's in serious trouble. It wouldn't be too serious a problem, except it's a Child Pageant. If you like this show because it is crass, this will be one of your favorite episodes of the season. If you hate this show because it is crass... You won't make it through this episode. You probably didn't make it through the first two, but this one will definitely put you over the edge. Sweet Dee Gets Audited is about Dee getting audited. Meanwhile, the gang decides Frank should no longer be a dictator at Paddy's Pub and that they should get a vote on how things are run. Jon Polito plays Gino, Frank's Brother. He's there to fight with Frank over a woman, Shadynasty, who they were in love with in the 1960s. It's not a bad episode, but it is heavy on the plot and lighter on the humor than most others. In The Storm of the Century, the guys are trying to prepare for a category five hurricane that is about to hit Philadelphia... by buying a 3D TV so they can watch the busty weathergirl. The gang is bored, so they play Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games, a game they invented years ago. It's too out there and doesn't come together well.

The second disc starts with The ANTI-Social Network, in which the gang go to a fancier bar, but when they are shushed, they decide to stalk the shusher to get revenge. Some of them stalk the guy through cyberspace, the others do it the old fashioned way. They also try to use social media to drum up business for Paddy's by making a viral video. The Gang Gets Trapped starts with the gang trapped in a stranger's house. It takes a while to figure out why they are there, so I won't spoil anything, but it is a very good episode. In How Mac Got Fat, Mac goes to the confession and tells the priest how he got fat. He blames his friends. The gang tries to get to the hottest movie of the year, in Thunder Gun Express, but their plans go awry, because they didn't count on the Obama rally to cause so many problems getting to the theater. The season ends with The High School Reunion, where the gang goes face-to-face with the chasm between what they think of themselves and reality.

The Extras

On the first disc, there's an audio commentary track to The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore. Disc two has audio commentary tracks on three more episodes, The ANTI-Social Network, The Gang Gets Trapped, and the second part to The High School Reunion. There is also a 10-minute gag reel and a seven-minute tour of Philadelphia by Artemis, a recurring character on the show.

I don't have the Blu-ray to compare, but it does cost 33% more, which is on the high end of the acceptable range.

The Verdict

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is as crass as ever in Season Seven and as long as you like that type of humor, it's a hit. There are only two or three episodes that are not up the usual level of quality. The extras on the DVD and Blu-ray make it worth picking up, even if the price is a little on the high end.


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