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Posted in: FX, Review, TV | Tagged: always sunny, episode 5, FXX, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Review, season 16
Always Sunny S16E05 Review: The Gang, Cranston, Paul Are Premium Blend
Malcolm in the Middle stars Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul (too easy) joined It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for a slice of self-deprecation.
In the interest of full disclosure? FXX's Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson & Danny DeVito-starring It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia pretty much had us sold on tonight's episode when we learned that Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul would be making an appearance. My favorite drama of all time (the Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul universe) and my favorite sitcom of all time – sharing the same screen together? And that was before we learned what the premise was going to be about. In "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab" (directed by Megan Ganz and written by McElhenney, Howerton & Day), Mac (McElhenney) and Dennis (Howerton) are looking to pitch the Dos Hermanos duo on their own liquor. For some background, McElhenney, Howerton & Day have teamed up in real life on Four Walls Whiskey, and Cranston & Paul really are the ones behind the mezcal. That means we have McElhenney, Howerton, Day, Cranston & Paul going the self-deprecating meta route to have some twisting the knife on celebrities who slap their names on a bottle, and suddenly they're in the alcohol business. It's a satire… that's also an ad… that was also a deeper examination of just how intoxicating fame and the power to influence others with it can be. And once again, "Always Sunny" proves that you can go deep without sacrificing the laughs – and being twistedly brilliant while sticking the landing.
Always Sunny S16E05 "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab"
"It's a total sellout… a cash-grab.": Mac, who was pretty much throwing down the gauntlet of their own hypocrisy, and I'm so here for it. And how quickly Mac, Dennis & Charlie decided to come up with a plan to create their own without any thought at all was a great follow-up.
Okay… seriously. How wonderful is it that they only know Cranston & Paul from Malcolm in the Middle – and that they think Paul is an angry older "Malcolm" (Frankie Muniz)? Or how Paul & Cranston have the same kind of controlling relationship as Dennis & Mac (with those little moments between Cranston & Mac kinda sweet in a hysterically sad little way).
"Malcolm's not in the middle – he's on top!" LOL
I'm not a big fan of anyone physically threatening Charlie – even if he did throw up in the dude's limo (and Charlie's affirmation about being Cranston & Paul's limo driver was a nice flashback to "The Gang Gets Stranded in the Woods").
Now Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty was clearly a gratuitous appearance – and we loved it!
I need ten minutes of alt-reality Cranston & Paul arguing with one another – and more of what Cranston was close to doing to feed his gambling habit ("sucking off tourists" is forever scarred on my brain).
And what better way to end things than to have Cranston slip into Heisenberg mode to reveal to Cranston who's really pulling the strings when it comes to Dos Hombres? If you're looking for one last glimpse into what made Breaking Bad so great, go back and watch this very scene. And then the flip back into Cranston mode – as if he was just acting – was a great slice of sociopathic passive aggressiveness.
My one slight against the episode? I would've liked a better secondary storyline for Frank (DeVito) and Dee (Olson) – they made the best of a situation that otherwise felt like it was more there to pad out the episode than support it.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 16 Episode 5 "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab"
8/10
FXX's Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson & Danny DeVito-starring It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia S16E05 "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab" (directed by Megan Ganz and written by McElhenney, Howerton & Day), Mac (McElhenney) and Dennis (Howerton) are looking to pitch the Dos Hermanos duo on their own liquor. For some background, McElhenney, Howerton & Day have teamed up in real life on Four Walls Whiskey, and Cranston & Paul really are the ones behind the mezcal. That means we have McElhenney, Howerton, Day, Cranston & Paul going the self-deprecating meta route to have some twisting the knife on celebrities who slap their names on a bottle, and suddenly they're in the alcohol business. It's a satire... that's also an ad... that was also a deeper examination of just how intoxicating fame and the power to influence others with it can be. And once again, "Always Sunny" proves that you can go deep without sacrificing the laughs - and being twistedly brilliant while sticking the landing.
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