It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 7, Episode 4 – “Sweet Dee Gets Audited”
Air Date: Thursday, October 6, 2011, 10:00 pm ET/PT on FX
Rating:
Dee (Kaitlin Olson) is confronted by IRS Agent Susan (Kim Hawthorne)
I am so disappointed. After laughing uproariously during the first three episodes of Sunny’s Season 7, I barely squeaked out a ‘Hah’ while watching “Sweet Dee Gets Audited.” Instead of the usual sharp, witty writing, there is only idiotic ridiculousness.
Dee (Kaitlin Olson) is claiming “little Barney,” the baby she popped out as a surrogate last season, on her tax return and now the IRS is auditing her. While Dee tries to fool IRS Agent Susan (Kim Hawthorne) into believing she has the baby, Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Mac (Rob McElhenny), and Charlie (Charlie Day) try to devise a plan Frank (Danny DeVito) will agree to in an effort to resolve their problems without the usual yelling and screaming. They decide to institute a democratic manner of handling their issues but, of course, with four guys voting, it’s certain there’s always going to be a tie which only Dee can break.
Observations and Thoughts:
The whole idea behind their plan stems from Frank making all the decisions, which of course are usually in his favor. In “Sweet Dee Gets Audited,” there are a lot of concerns that need to be addressed, not the least of which is whether to have thick or thin limes in the drinks. Why do they let Frank make all the decisions? Is it because he is Dee and Dennis’ father, or because he owns Paddy’s?
Dennis, Mac and Charlie decide every time one of them says “Reason will prevail,” the other two will repeat the phrase. It might be funny once, even twice, but saying it three times as Dennis explains how their democratic plan will work isn’t that laughable. Actually, it’s annoying.
Frank and Charlie listen to Mac and Dennis as they discuss the size of limes
Charlie and Mac finding some random baby to take to Dee’s to satisfy Susan’s curiosity in exchange for her vote on the limes is absurd. Especially when they try to pass off the little guy as two crucifixes and a tape of a baby crying wrapped in a blanket.
The very idea of the baby dying and the Gang setting up a funeral in the same day is totally unbelievable. The only thing even remotely funny is Susan buying the idea. Total mockery of the IRS.
I didn’t find Frank and Dennis’ promotion of their fake “Wolf Cola” during the funeral funny at all. Who does that in the middle of such a sad, solemn affair?
Charlie gets angry, opens baby Barney’s coffin and the dead dog from the alleyway falls out. Definitely. Not. Funny! There is nothing funny about dead dogs even though Frank says he did it to give the dog the proper burial Charlie wants.
The two lines I do find funny:
- Dee, in a very gangsta voice as she rides her scooter into Paddy’s: “What up bitches?”
- Mac to Frank: “We don’t want you making any major bar decisions alone anymore because you’re sleazy and we don’t trust you.”
I don’t know, maybe I was having a bad day when I watched “Sweet Dee Gets Audited” (I had an advance screener) because I found the entire episode to be nonsensical. But I don’t think so. It’s one of those episodes that insults your intelligence. Like the majority of commercials we see on TV, the episode doesn’t appeal to my inner funny bone. I’m sorry the writers stooped to this foolishness. I can only hope this episode is an anomaly and the show will return to its usual brilliance next week.
What do you think? Let’s discuss!
Tune in to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Thursdays at 10:00 pm ET/PT only on FX.
All photos courtesy of Patrick McElhenny / © 2011 FX Networks, LLC. All rights reserved.
LIKE Sunny on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/alwayssunny and follow the show on Twitter @FXNetworks using the hashtag #sunnyfx.
Linda
Latest posts by Linda (Posts)
- News/Video: The Fifth and Final Season of FXX’s You’re the Worst Premieres Jan. 9 - December 27, 2018
- News: Award-Winning Science Channel Series How The Universe Works Returns to Shed More Light on the Cosmos - December 20, 2018
- News/Video: Showtime® Sets Season Four Premiere Date for Hit Drama Billions on Sunday, March 17 at 9 PM ET/PT - December 19, 2018
- HBO’s Comedy Series High Maintenance, Created By Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair, Returns for Third Season on New Night, Sunday, Jan. 20 - December 19, 2018
4 comments
Skip to comment form
Hi Herp,
It’s good to have a differing opinion. That’s what democracy is all about – just like in “Sweet Dee Gets Audited!” I think you may have misunderstood my comment, “Total mockery of the IRS.” I loved that. Perhaps I should have used an exclamation point at the end of the sentence to convey that.
I usually love the Gang’s money-making schemes. I don’t think a funeral is the place for that though. Perhaps it’s because I’ve buried too many people and dogs in my lifetime. Had they used a different setting for this scheme, I might have laughed a little more.
Anyway, I appreciate that you took the time to write me. Keep those comments coming!
Hi Vic, thanks for your comment. I don’t necessarily think the entire season so far hasn’t been funny. Quite the opposite, actually. I greatly enjoyed the first three episodes – it was “Sweet Dee Gets Audited” that didn’t touch my funny bone at all. From what I’ve seen of this coming week’s episode, the show appears to be back on track. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
Are you kidding me? You’re a big fan of the series, yet you’re questioning “Who does that” at some of their antics? Um, this whole show is based off the fact that the main characters are very far removed from what normal people do and feel. I’m not trying to say this was a fantastic episode, but none of your critiques sound reasonable to me. OF COURSE Dee would try to scam on her taxes. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you how many episodes they’ve done trying money making scams, and the whole Wolf Cola thing ties into it. And the shot at the IRS fits well with the mockery of the democratic process that’s prevalent throughout the whole episode. Was it great? No. But was it because the guys were off their game when writing it? Not remotely.
true. this season seems to be the beginning of a downward spiral for what i once considered a very hilarious series. I don’t know what’s going on, but they need to regroup and figure things out. I hope they do a christmas/thanksgiving special that is the complete opposite of what i just saw with the “sweet dee gets audited episode’–and by that i mean funny. every series is allowed a few bad episodes, even bsg had them, but to have them all in one season is madness. i really hope they pick it up. i’d hate to see them continue in the direction they are going.