By A Very Sunny Christmas, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s direct-to-video release Christmas special, was an instant classic at my house. The two-episode length, uncensored installment of the dark comedy series is a welcome installment to the mythos, giving us a deeper insight into several characters, homage-ing the classic stop-motion Christmas specials of yore, and providing one of the most memorable scenes involving a mall Santa Claus of all time.
The FX network is far more lax with censorship than most channels, but even they balk at letting an F-bomb fly. Since A Very Sunny Christmas was released DTV, they have considerably more freedom to push the envelope further than usual. But the real question is can the guys from Paddy’s make good use of their free reign and deliver a timeless Christmas classic-to-be or will they come up short with nothing to show for it but 42 minutes of the F-word and a tiny, naked man being birthed from a leather couch?
A Very Sunny Christmas, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s direct-to-video release Christmas special, was an instant classic at my house. The two-episode length, uncensored installment of the dark comedy series is a welcome installment to the mythos, giving us a deeper insight into several characters, homage-ing the classic stop-motion Christmas specials of yore, and providing one of the most memorable scenes involving a mall Santa Claus of all time.
The FX network is far more lax with censorship than most channels, but even they balk at letting an F-bomb fly. Since A Very Sunny Christmas was released DTV, they have considerably more freedom to push the envelope further than usual. But the real question is can the guys from Paddy’s make good use of their free reign and deliver a timeless Christmas classic-to-be or will they come up short with nothing to show for it but 42 minutes of the F-word and a tiny, naked man being birthed from a leather couch? {{page_break}}
Christmas is all about being with family, time-honored traditions, and knowing it’s far better to give than to receive. Naturally, the gang from Paddy’s Pub manages to bastardize everything about the holiday that so many hold dear. Like a usual episode, it’s split into several sub-plots. The first sees Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Charlie (Charlie Day), who actually care about Christmas, discover that maybe their childhood memories of Christmas were more nostalgia than fact, leading them on an odyssey of rediscovery and (surprisingly) attempted atonement. The other subplot follows Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Dee (Kaitlin Olson) as they attempt to show their father Frank (Danny DeVito) the error of his ways. Both stories play out in the ludicrous fashion that Sunny fans are used to, but the ability to go beyond the constraints of television helps make for an even more ludicrous turn of events than usual.
The Mac and Charlie subplot of A Very Sunny Christmas does a lot of things right. The casting for little Mac (Preston Bailey of Dexter fame) and little Charlie (Robbie Tucker) was spot on and while I usually hate when a movie or show uses devices they don’t normally use, the use of flashbacks here was absolutely fitting. The scene where Charlie encounters the mall Santa Clause had me in such hysterics, I’ve nearly asphyxiated with laughter all four times I’ve watched it and their quest to earn Mac the forgiveness of a wronged childhood acquaintance provides a nice way to bring the whole gang together as they arrive at the climax of the special. Mac’s very, very skewed view of the world and Charlie’s childlike frame of mind have always been my favorite parts of the series, and A Very Sunny Christmas is no exception. The subplot involving Dee and Dennis’s attempts to get revenge on their father for so many ruined Christmases, while entertaining, is the weaker of the two subplots. However, it does provide us with an incredible stop-motion segment/musical number that will go down as both a memorable homage to Christmas classics like Rudolph and a dark example of what might happen to Frank if he doesn’t change his Scrooge-like ways. In the end, the Gang hasn’t changed for the better, but one or two of them may be a little more damaged than they were before.
A Very Sunny Christmas is the perfect holiday treat for any fan of the show, and funny enough for a casual viewer to enjoy. As far as Christmas specials go, it’s no A Christmas Story, but it stands on its own and I know I won’t be the only one looking forward to the holidays so I can pop this in and laugh my jolly ass off. Oh, and Christopher Lloyd makes an uncredited but memorable appearance, so keep an eye out for that.
8.20 – Great. (Movies that score between 8.00 and 8.50 are great representations of their genre that everyone should see in theaters on opening night.)
Big laughs, an impressive stop-motion scene, and a brutally funny (literally) exchange with Santa Claus make this Christmas special one to remember. Unlike some shows that have a tacky Christmas episode that doesn’t ring true to the characters, A Very Sunny Christmas is an honest installment to the show’s mythos and never comes off as trying too hard.
Geoff Henao:
Overall Score: 7.00 – Good. If you’ve never seen an episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, A Very Sunny Christmas is a good place to start because it’s a straight-to-DVD special that you can buy or check out without having to commit to a full season. If you’re tired of the cliche Christmas specials full of morals and wisdom, then A Very Sunny Christmas might be exactly what you’re looking for. You can read his review here.
Siobhan Watters:
Overall Score: 8.05 – Great. While It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia isn't for everyone, the Direct-to-DVD A Very Sunny Christmas special is pure gold for fans of the series. Operating on classic holiday flashback fare, the Gang from Paddy's Pub never could do it just like everyone else, instead delivering a laugh-out-loud tale of retribution, wrapped in absurdity. You can read her review here.