Aluminum Monster, Ronny the Rat, Dirt Grub and a Golden God. Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "High School Reunion" #sunnyfx

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – S7, E12 – “High School Reunion”

Air Date: Thursday, December 8, 2011, 10:00 pm ET/PT only on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

Aluminum Monster, Ronny the Rat, Dirt Grub and a Golden God. Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "High School Reunion" #sunnyfx 1

Dee, Mac, Charlie and Dennis prepare to smash their beer bottles as Frank watches

It’s that time of life again—you know, when you attend your high school reunion in the hopes no one will remember the stupid things you used to do and say? Well, that’s what the Gang hopes, anyway. Frank’s (Danny DeVito) going because he just wants to tag along, as usual; Dee (Kaitlin Olson) wants to show off her back sans the brace she used to wear; Dennis (Glenn Howerton) can’t wait to see the “minions” who treated him like a “golden God;” Mac (Rob McElhenney) wants to show everyone he’s an adult now instead of the class clown/drug dealer he used to be; and Charlie…well, Charlie (Charlie Day) really hasn’t changed much since high school. But the way they act when they get to the school is more like something you’d expect from a tailgating party, as they shout “Reunion! Reunion! Reunion!” and then smash their beer bottles to the ground. Have things really changed all that much?

Highlights and Observations:

Aluminum Monster, Ronny the Rat, Dirt Grub and a Golden God. Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "High School Reunion" #sunnyfx 2

Dee shows off her back without her old brace

Dee’s performance of Sir Mix-a-lot’s “Baby Got Back” is both funny and ridiculous. She can’t wait to show off her fully recovered back, but her song choice is all wrong—as Dennis conveniently points out.

The guard (Eion O’Shea) at the door won’t let Frank in because he’s neither faculty nor alumni. That never stopped Frank before, and you know it’s not going to stop him now. He sneaks by the guard and grabs Nikki Potnick’s name tag. The problem with that? Nikki’s a girl!

The jocular way Mac walks down the hall to the sign-in desk tickles my fancy. He acts like he’s hot shit and not the cut-up he used to be. But old habits die hard as we see later on in the episode.

Dennis grabs name tags for Dee and Charlie because they sneak in. Charlie’s trying to avoid Brad Fisher (Nick Wechsler) because of the joke he pulled on him in high school. Mac doesn’t want to wear his name tag, however, because “nobody calls me that anymore.” But Dennis quite convincingly insists Mac put it on and the anticipation for Mac to reveal his name tag reminds me of the old Heinz ketchup commercial. You don’t get the same drooling feeling in your mouth though; instead, a big fat HAH! pops out of my mouth when I see his tag—“Ronald McDonald”—and every time I hear it after that, I snort!

Dee sees Adriano Calvanese (Sasha Roiz), the guy responsible for coining Charlie’s nickname, “Dirt Grub,” and hers, “Aluminum Monster.” She comes up with a plan to get in Adriano’s good graces so she can seek revenge for herself and Charlie. What works at first doesn’t stay that way for long, but it does make for some very funny dialogue perfectly delivered by Olson. I also have to give Roiz kudos for his excellent performance as the absolutely smarmy douche bag.

Ronald McDonald isn’t the only nickname Mac had in high school. He snitched on the high school drug dealer, thus leading the way for him to take over. Dee outs Mac’s real nickname, “Ronny the Rat,” to Adriano. Oh the things we do just to be part of the ‘in crowd.’ Dee should know they always come back to bite you in the ass.

Poor Dennis—all he wants is to have his “loyal subjects” come to him. Instead he gets his ex-wife Maureen (Catherine Reitman), who’s sporting a diamond-encrusted tooth; Frank, who he doesn’t want to be seen with, and Tim Murphy (Ian Reed Kesler), “the asshole who slept with my prom date,” as he explains to Frank. Hmm, I wonder if he actually was all that popular in high school, or perhaps it’s just a figment of his imagination.

Funny lines:

Adriano to Dee about Mac: “Looks like the rat ate too much cheese!”

***

Dee explains her plan for revenge to Charlie: “I’m gonna sew myself into their inner circle…I’m gonna lure them in with my good looks, and then, as far as I can remember, all you gotta do to get in with that crowd is to be really cruel to people. So I’m gonna gain their trust and when the moment’s right, I’m gonna strike… I’m doing it for us, Charlie.” (Yeah, right.)

***

Dee saying goodbye to Mac and Charlie after Adriano invites her to sit at his table: “See ya later Dirt Grub and Ronny the Rat. Hope you suck each other’s rotten peckers until you get mouth cancer.”

***

Adriano: “To think I was going to let you jack me off.”

Dee: “Wait! You were?”

“High School Reunion” ends with Father Mauro, who used to be called Cricket (David Hornsby) in high school, being caught stealing everyone’s jewelry and Dee being called out for giving Cricket ringworm. As everyone leaves the table, except Dennis and Dee, I can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen next.

Tune in next week for the season finale of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia—“High School Reunion, Part 2”—Thursday, December 15 at 10:00 pm ET/PT only on FX.

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Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!