“People… need a time to laugh. It’s up to us to bonk ourselves on the head and slip on a banana peel so the average guy can say, ‘I may be bad, honey, but I’m not as much of an idiot as that guy on the screen.’” This quote by famous comedian, Chris Farley, though obviously meant as a simple joke, does have a deeper meaning that rings very true. Comedy is very linked to, and often dependent on, the expense of the characters or comics we watch. Chalk it up to the malignancy of human nature or the childish tendencies inside us all, but watching people struggle can be just plain funny. This essence of a comedy reliant on blunders is most clearly seen in movies and skits involving physical slapstick humor, but it also applies to broader comedy in a much more subtle way. I believe there are two keys to constructing good comedy that stem from people’s innate relishing at expense, and nearly every form of comedy has at least one, and usually both, of these ploys in place. The first is the outward portrayal of anger, and the second is the more subtle but just as omnipresent presentation of stupidity. Comedy is much more funny when the characters don’t know they’re in a comedy, and anger and stupidity are essential to this ignorance. Watching characters bumble through emotionally charged arguments and make stupid mistakes makes allows viewers to really relate to them while also taking joy in the nonsense that is unravelling before their eyes. One such show that has mastered these tactics to formulate a timeless storyline that has held for over a decade is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This sitcom follows five friends who own a bar is south Philly and their ridiculous day to day lives that involve destructive behavior, dead-end plans, and enough anger and stupidity for the entire city. Sunny has asserted itself as a timeless, masterful comedy that builds its ingenious humor around a thoughtful combination of absurdness and reality that serves to engage its audience and punish its characters in hilarious ways.
Sunny can be broadly summed up in its blending of wildly unrealistic scenarios with relatable perspectives and dialogue. Most every episode features a crazy and unexpected turn of events while sticking to a general script; the pattern the show follows is some type of scheme formulated by the gang (which refers to the five friends) with some alterior motive or motives in mind, the likes of which are usually immoral and illogical. The gang tends to act on impulse, sticking fervently to an idea for a day or so and then suddenly moving on to the next. The specifics of these strategies range from selling gasoline door to door to consulting a therapist to determine who should have to clean the dishes. In this way, the show takes everyday quarrels and conflicts, like problems with money or division of labor, and puts a spin on them in which drastic measures are taken to fulfill rather trivial pursuits. This strategy features relatable dialogue in which the characters are portrayed as very self-centered and irrational, much like people in the world really are. Many of the conversations in the show revolve around everyday topics that do not further the story and serve rather to construct the unique personalities of each character and frame a comedic group dynamic. In this way, the show’s audience is engaged by even the most simple scenes and events as they are made to see some of themselves in the struggles of the characters. Sunny then uses this engagement to take its viewers down a convoluted, senseless path as the characters bicker and hurt themselves and each other, and this is where the absurdity comes in. Nothing ever goes as planned in this show, and, more often than not, a horrendous and strange outcome is reached in place of a remotely predictable one. Things always get worse for the characters, and they usually succeed in aggravating whatever initial conflict they were dealing with even further. Episodes often end with the characters giving up or foolishly believing that things have been resolved, and the five friends will inevitably return to their bar to resume their stationary and shallow lives. These aspects of relatability and outrageousness combine to engage the audience with a satirical take on the flaws of all people while giving viewers the expense and randomness that is central to all comedy.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a comedic work of art that is so simple and yet so convoluted. The show features simple and predictable characters that like to drink, yell, and have their way. The program also features shallow dialogue in which resolutions are rarely reached, making for an aura of relatability and makes the audience laugh even as nothing really happens. On the other hand, Sunny features events and outcomes that surpass even the wildest dreams of most sitcom writers, touching on encounters with serial killers, drug-induced hallucinations, and much more. Though this unpredictability, a plethora of anger, bad decisions, and uncertainty is afforded that few programs can match. It is this deft combination of stupidity that makes Sunny so smart.