English Paper - entertainment 2

So, remember how a few months back I wrote about 'Shawshank Redemption' then changed the paper? Well, here's the final paper =D I have a real/whiny journal to post in an hour, once it's typed and griped over.

---

Trying to define a ‘favorite’ anything for me is never easy. I have groups of favorites, not one single favorite movie, book or television show. Thinking through my groups of favorites and the longevity of things I have liked with how flighty I am in my decisions my favorite television show is and has been It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Sunny is a show about a group of friends who are all narcissistic and vain as they try various ways to make money and get laid.

Sunny was originally a movie idea from star, producer and sometimes writer Rob McElhenney and his friends Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day. McElhenney originally had the idea for Charlie’s character to one day tell their mutual friend, Glenn, that he had cancer, under the secrecy that he would not tell any of their other friends when he visits to simply pick up a bag of sugar. The skit ends with Glenn showing his compassion to Charlie in his time of pain and need, but still just wanting to get away with the sugar so he could drink his coffee and move on with his day.

The film, which they used as the pilot, was picked up by Fox for their cable station, FX and turned into a Thursday night sitcom. The trio of Rob, Glenn and Charlie are named Mac, Dennis and Charlie accordingly, and Sweet Dee, Dennis’ twin sister is added to the cast of characters. She also exhibits the self-centered and self-gratifying traits of the other four characters. Sunny moved from taking place in California to Philadelphia and the characters were changed from being actors looking for work to being the owners and employees at Paddy’s Pub.

Each episode of Sunny revolves around the self-gratifying aspects of each character’s personality and how their plans always backfire. In one episode from the first season the group decides to become the place for the high school students could go to drink watered down and overpriced beer. Dee starts hanging out with the popular kid while Dennis is taken by the ‘hot’ chick, and a girl chooses Charlie, Mac was never chosen because he tried too hard. By the end of the episode Dee, Dennis and Charlie are all invited to the prom and Mac decides to crash the prom in envy when it is revealed that the two students were using Dee and Dennis to make one another jealous. They go to the prom together and Charlie goes having never gone to the prom when he was in high school.

Sunny is fun to watch because of the extent of the ridiculous situations the characters get into. They’ve been injured, almost arrested, evicted from the bar and they never learn not to exhibit the more idiotic aspects of their personalities. These are people who say what every wants to say, and do what everyone wants to do. They’ve exploited gay men for money because it was misconstrued that the pub was a gay hang out. They pretended to be physically disabled for sex and at the end of the day that would just as quickly go back and repeat their actions, only smarter.

In the second season the main cast of Sunny was increased from 4 to 5 when fan of the show, Danny DeVito joined the cast as Dennis and Dee’s father who is looking to regain the vitality of being young, poor and trying to live it up and getting laid. Devito’s character, Frank, was rich but after separating from his wife he decided he needed to return to the freedom of being a young adult with the city ripe for the picking and for fun. The addition of DeVito to the cast for the show was not for the novelty of adding a big name to a little show, although that did help in some instances. DeVito’s presence in Sunny adds another creative spark, a character the others look up to one moment and are disgusted with the next.

Sunny is a show you can’t be offended by, because the characters are just so ignorant in their actions that you have to laugh at them. They never change but each character is steadfast in their morals and the reasoning behind even the worst things that they do to one another and those that may be around them. I enjoy the show because it’s a funny look at life and how these people don’t always intend to be as terrible as they can be.

---

Adios for now
:salute and bow:
Jasmine P.