Friday, August 5, 2011

"The Gang Sells Out"/"Frank Sets Sweet Dee On Fire"



Helicopter pads, secret tunnels, monorail systems and corporate drones. These are the things the three IASIP boys are arguing over in their usual long-winded conversations. Then the camera pans and shows that they have been arguing like this for god knows how long IN FRONT of a corporate drone. This is why people continue to watch this show.
In “The Gang Sells Out,” the gang is trying to sell the Paddy’s bar to a corporate “fat cat” for the immense amount of money. This leaves Charlie, Dee, and Dennis jobless, and they are forced to pick up work at another local restaurant where they abuse their positions and the manager.
Oh, did I mention their manager is the Waitress?! Yes, these episodes finally brought back the hilarity of the Dennis-Charlie-Waitress love triangle. We still don’t know her actual name (neither does Dennis) and I’m starting to think we never will. Dennis uses his charm to his advantage to land a job as the bartender and pick up chicks, Dee is double-dropping “like a bastard” and Charlie is doing whatever he can to win the Waitress’ heart.
Meanwhile, Frank gets his old do-wop gang back together to hang out in front of the bookstore in hopes of scaring the corporate fat cat out of buying it for his new restaurant—clad in leather jackets of course.
This episode proves that the best Sunny episodes involve people outside the gang, because then the audience gets a side-by-side comparison of normal people versus…whatever these characters are. We love seeing the gang do horrible shit to each other, but it is even better to see them get a reaction out of others. 

In “Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire,” the gang gets hooked on public access and becomes obsessed with becoming more famous than the man dancing in his underwear. Dee wants to get famous for being drunk and disorderly, and Mac wants to be a hero.
Perhaps the most entertaining part of this episode was when Charlie, Mac, and Frank visit the nursing home to uncover bad treatment (aka ass-rapes). An over the top close up of Mac’s face and an old woman telling him her least favorite part of the home is “the blacks” leads Frank to believe their only choice is set the place on fire.
Instead, they trick Sweet Dee into saving a litter of kittens from a building, and then Frank sets it on fire. They trick Dee again into saving a box of kittens in a well and once again, Frank sets her on fire. Too bad she keeps ruining it though by dropping the box once she is ablaze.
It’s always interesting getting a glimpse into the gang’s messed up minds, because clearly anything involving kittens and fire makes you a hero. The scariest part of this episode was realizing we all have something in common with these messed-up people, because who else can’t take their eyes off public access T.V.?!
The woozy camera work from Charlie, the excessive nervous sweating from Mac and the close-ups of his make-up orange face just made me look forward to the upcoming season seven. Even though I’m partial to Dennis, seeing Mac gain 50 pounds (a result from his addiction to Big Macs) is something I’m not going to miss.
Stray Observations:
·      “You sold me a shit ton of shares for half a sandwich.”
·      “I don’t think so Charlie. You make me uncomfortable and you smell bad.”
·      Charlie is hired as the Assistant Sanitation Apprentice, in charge of sugar crisis’, fires, and vomit.
·      “Shits always goin’ down in China Town boys! Keep your eyes peeled for drifting.”
·      Mac has an all too convincing hand gesture involving a conveyor belt, a box full of kittens, and a chopping blade.
·      Dennis and Dee take ecstasy and dance in diapers with underwear guy and finally end up on public access.

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