If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It. Retrospective: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – “The Gang Broke Dee”

Season 9, Episode 1

Airdate: Wednesday, September 4, 2013, 10 pm ET/PT on FXX

Rating: ★★★★★

One of the things It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Sunny) does best is mock everything in sight – from themselves to neighborhood bars that try to compete with Paddy’s, political situations, current affairs, etc. “The Gang Broke Dee” does just that when it showcases one of the most evil pranks the Gang can play on Sweet Dee (Kaitlin Olson) who, after years of being harassed by her so-called friends and family, has given up on life. While I think the opening of the episode is just plain mean, the ending is downright nasty. But episodes like that are what we all love about Sunny.

Poor Dee certainly doesn’t look her best, does she?

For a beautiful woman, I can’t believe how disgusting Dee looks and acts in the first five minutes of the episode. She’s guzzling whiskey out of the bottle, smoking, shoveling Frank’s (Danny Devito) “trash cake” down her throat, and her hair is dirty and unkempt. To make matters worse, the rest of the Gang— Mac (Rob McElhenney), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Charlie (Charlie Day, and Frank—try to make cruel jokes at Dee’s expense. Soon, the Gang realizes Dee’s depression is their fault so they do their best to get her out of her funk. How do they do that, you might ask? Well, Dennis tries to hook Dee up with some less than desirable men (Can you say “ugh?”), and Mac, Charlie and Frank get her a gig at a comedy club where surprisingly, she succeeds with a stand-up routine based on her slovenliness and her vagina! “I can’t even keep crabs in this vagina. They’re all like clickety-clackety, clickety-clackety, clickety-clackety, clackety-click…I gotta get outta here! Evacuate vagina…clickety clackety clickety clackety!” [Insert awesome sound effects.]

Snyder (Ken Davitian) is a short, overweight talent agent whose tactics are questionable but after he gets Dee another gig, she sleeps with him, much to Dennis’ disgust. I don’t blame Dennis; the man is repulsive. The shot of Snyder sitting on Dee’s sofa in his too-tight boxers eating Chinese food from the carton is downright revolting! And the way Dee describes to Dennis what she likes about Snyder is laughable, at best, but I love the sound effects she makes. As usual, Dennis thinks he has all the answers and of course, he’s wrong. Isn’t he always, and isn’t that what we love about him? Him and his high falutin’ ways…

Dennis is repulsed by the vulgarity in both Dee’s and Landslide’s routines.

Dee’s next comedy gig is opening for Landslide (Lavell Crawford), a comedian whose routines are based on his never-ending “diarrhea.” Charlie, Frank, Mac, and Dennis with Walt (Steve Lewis), his new “select” in tow, are there to support Dee. Well, everyone but Dennis, that is. He’s there to introduce Dee to Walt after she bombs on stage. But that doesn’t happen because Dee hits it out of the park. As is expected in an episode of Sunny, Dee lets her success go to her head and in typical diva fashion, lets everyone but Dennis and Walt backstage.

As time rolls on, Dee becomes famous, even more so than Landslide, and Michael Rotenberg (Peter Jacobson, House), a seemingly successful talent agent, approaches her about going to L.A. to be on the Conan show. Dee can’t believe her good fortune and immediately agrees to Rotenberg’s proposition. Dee would have been wise to follow the old adage, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”

In case you haven’t seen “The Gang Broke Dee” yet, I don’t want to tell you what happens after Dee’s plane ride to L.A. Let’s just say the conclusion to this season premiere is epic and so typically Sunny, you won’t believe it. Olson absolutely shines in this episode, stealing every scene she’s in. From the sound effects she makes to the way she delivers the stand-up routines, Olson is spot on and at her very best.

If this episode is an indication of what’s to come this season, we’re all in an unbelievable laughfest. That doesn’t surprise me, though, as the premiere was written by McElhenney, Howerton, and Day, and their episodes are always the funniest. As I said in my teaser line in the title of this retro, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Thankfully, FXX did just that.

Tune in to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Wednesdays at 10 pm ET/PT, only on FX’s new network, FXX. Tweet me @SeasideTV and let me know what you thought of “The Gang Broke Dee.” Did you think it was as funny as I did?

Follow the show on Twitter @alwaysunny and use the hashtag #SunnyFXX. Tweet with cast menbers @rmcelhenney, @GlennHowerton, @Kaitlin_Olson, and @DannyDevito.

Like Sunny on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alwayssunny.

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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!