How to Save Your Business Without Really Trying. Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank's Back in Business"

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, S8 E7 – “Frank’s Back in Business”

Air Date: Thursday, November 29, 2012, 10:00 pm ET/PT on FX

Rating: ★★★★★

How to Save Your Business Without Really Trying. Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank's Back in Business" 1

Frank tells Charlie what he wants him to do for the shareholders meeting.

Sunny is back in top form with this laugh-a-minute episode. When Frank (Danny DeVito) receives a call from his former business associates at Atwater Capital, he takes Charlie (Charlie Day) under his wing to help save the company. In the meantime, Mac (Rob McElhenney), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), and Dee (Kaitlin Olson) have fun using the identity of a man, Brian LeFevre, who leaves his wallet at Paddy’s. The best part of “Frank’s Back in Business” is how both storylines intertwine, and the twists at the end of the episode.

Observations and Thoughts:

Charlie exclaims, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – Boom, the found wallet is ours!” You know nothing good is going to come from using LeFevre’s identity but it makes for some very funny scenes. Inside LeFevre’s wallet are tickets to the Phillies game and of course, Dennis doesn’t think twice about using them. What they don’t know is LeFevre just happens to be the controlling shareholder of Frank’s company.

How to Save Your Business Without Really Trying. Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank's Back in Business" 2

Frank is having his workout clothes altered.

You would think Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Dee (Kaitlin Olson) had never seen batteries and coasters before because they go nuts over the “free shit” that’s available in the box at Citizen’s Bank Park where the Phillies are playing. Really, guys? These two remind me of my dear departed father—if something was free, he had to have it even if he didn’t really need it. At first, I was embarrassed by his behavior, but then I came to realize it stemmed from being raised during the Depression. So what’s Dee and Charlie’s excuse? Oh wait, they don’t need an excuse for such idiotic behavior!

Dennis realizes since the tickets are for box seats, more people are bound to show up, and sure enough they do. But the two men are executives from the Wheeler Group, the company trying to take over Atwater, and they’re there to woo LeFevre (who Dennis is pretending to be) to their side in the takeover. This leads to some uproarious scenes, including Mac as “Vick Vinegar,” Dee as LeFevre’s Canadian wife, Prudence (Just wait ‘til you hear Olson’s Canadian accent!), and Dennis trying to distract the men when they want to talk business.

In order to win LeFevre/Dennis over, the two executives arrange for a week of things LeFevre likes to do. This results in probably the most hilarious gag in “Frank’s Back in Business,” and quite possibly the whole series. All I’ll tell you is it involves a small Asian guy (Mark Daugherty) who initially appears half-naked, saying, “I’m all yours.” I practically peed my pants while watching this scene!

Back in the day, Frank was known as “The Warthog.” This cracks me up, not only because one of the Atwater execs (James Moses Black) describes Frank as a “Neanderthal,” but if you think about it, he resembles a warthog, and has a Neanderthal-like personality. The skeptic in me, however, doesn’t believe for one second that Frank wants to help save the company he founded in 1980. That’s not his style.

How to Save Your Business Without Really Trying. Review: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - "Frank's Back in Business" 3

Frank doesn’t look like a “warthog” here, does he?

I love the persona Frank takes on as a high-powered business executive. DeVito impressed me with this portrayal as I’m not used to seeing Frank like this. He actually sounds like he knows what he’s doing; you’d never know Frank is really a total screw-up. And both Frank and Charlie look quite debonair once they clean up. Who would have thought that was possible!

Additional Thoughts:

The way Frank fires the copy boy (Chad Jamian Williams) is perfect, switching from being overly friendly to the type of boss we all fear. But what really makes me chuckle is his body language and the noises that emanate from his closed mouth. Genius!

Beverage alert for the sushi dinner scene! I had liquid spewing out of my nose as Charlie, Frank, and the Asian businessmen keep bowing to each other.

I have to mention guest star Andrea Carlisle, but not for the reason you might think. I’m giving her props for not losing it during the sushi dinner. Plus, that woman has a helluva body, this coming from a heterosexual woman.

Memorable lines:

Dennis, in a sing-song voice: “Boom, I got your wallet! Boom, I got your credit cards! Boom, I got your money!”

Charlie, about the wallet: “What’re you gonna do if he comes looking for it?”

Dee: “Tell him to suck a boner.”

Frank: “If we’re gonna make this business work, we gotta cut the crust off this shit sandwich!”

Frank: “I want the sushi dinner to be the tits.”

Charlie: “Oh, ok, so you want it to be really expensive.”

Frank: “No! I want to eat sushi off some Jap broad’s tits!”

The video for “Fight Milk” that Mac and Charlie put together and play at the shareholders’ meeting is too outrageous for words, as is their explanation of why Charlie is holding a sawed off finger! Let me tell you, I couldn’t stop laughing, and I don’t think you’ll be able to either! But the finger is only one of the twists in “Frank’s Back in Business.” You’ll have to watch the episode for the other.

Tune in to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Thursdays at 10:00 pm ET/PT, only on FX.

LIKE Sunny on Facebook, and follow the show on Twitter @FXNetworks, using the hashtag #sunnyfx. You can also follow Frank @DannyDeVito, Mac @Robmcelhenney, Dee @kaitlin_olson, and Dennis @Glenn_Howerton. You can also submit questions to The Gang via the Sunny mailbag @SunnyMailbag.

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Linda

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!