DVD Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas Brings the Dysfunction

It's not your father's Christmas special.
"A Very Sunny Christmas" DVD special for the series "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia"
"A Very Sunny Christmas" DVD special for the series "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" - 20th Century Fox
Sacha Howells

It's hard to believe that It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, about a gang of boozing, blackhearted narcissists running a south side bar, is still on the air. But despite the Nazi uniforms, the retard jokes, and the vomit, Sunny is in its fifth season, a certified hit for FX and ready for the sitcom rite of passage: the Christmas special.

With Mac and Charlie on a quest for the Christmas spirit, Dee and Dennis set out to show Frank what a terrible person he is by showing him Christmases past, present, and future. It's hardly the first show to recycle A Christmas Carol, but probably the first to involve a naked Danny DeVito being birthed out of a couch at an office party. (The DVD's uncensored, so you get a lot more of Louie DePalma than you ever did on Taxi.)

Meanwhile, Mac and Charlie relive their twisted childhood traditions -- naturally, prostitution and home invasion play major roles -- and attack a department store Santa. Throw in juvenile delinquency and the most gruesome Rankin-Bass parody you'll ever see, and this is a surefire antidote to the talking puppies in Santa Buddies.

The extras are spare, just three short deleted scenes of the kids who play young Charlie and young Mac, a seven-minute making-of documentary with director Fred Savage (yep, that Fred Savage), and a silly three-minute Christmas sing-along that basically involves playing around with really dated editing software.

But after all that eggnog and the 18-hour Miracle on 34th Street marathon, you'll be ready for a break. And in the end, of course, the gang finds the Christmas spirit. As long as throwing rocks at trains counts.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: A Very Sunny Christmas is available now from 20th Century Fox.


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