The Gang returns to FXX for their 11th season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and as the season premiere indicates Mac (creator/executive producer Rob McElhenney), Dennis (executive producer Glenn Howerton), Charlie (executive producer Charlie Day), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), and Frank (Danny DeVito) continue their narcissistic, dimwitted, doomed adventures at the expense of each other. This isn’t a show for everyone because the main characters are frequently horrible people who frequently do horrible things, but those who like their comedy dark should enjoy it.
“Chardee MacDennis 2: Electric Boogaloo” is a follow-up to the Season 7 episode, “Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games,” although one need not have seen it to follow what happens. The Gang plays the game again in order to pitch it to Andy (Andy Buckley), an executive from Mattel. First, they created a poorly produced sales video that offered no information about the game other than it being better than every other game. Andy wants to play it to get a better sense of it, so they break into pairs, which disappoints Frank because he is stuck with Andy, who has no idea what he’s signed up for.
Chardee MacDennis, which only the team of siblings Dennis and Dee has ever won, has three different levels and, naturally with the Gang, the ingestion of a lot of alcohol, which is not always done orally. Level 1 tests the mind with trivia, puzzles, and artistry; Level 2 tests the body with physical challenges, pain, and endurance; and Level 3 tests the soul through emotional battery and public humiliation, though long-time viewers might wonder what soul these characters have left. Frank wants to show Andy Level 4, but the gang states there isn’t one. At least, there didn’t used to be.
Written by McElhenney and Day, “Chardee MacDennis 2: Electric Boogaloo” finds the Gang involved in the typical outrageous high jinks fans have grown accustomed to and been delighted by. The game gets quite grim due to some of Frank’s actions, and the script delivers a clever plot twist to resolve the story. This episode is a good entry point for those new to IASIP as it captures the essence of the characters and the series.
