1x06 The Gang Finds a Dead Guy

[8.3/10] The best episode since the pilot, and one that was so well edited. Editing isn’t something you think a lot about (or at least, that I tend to think a lot about) but it’s so key for comedy. Knowing just when to cut or jump or preserve the pacing of a scene can make or break a joke, and this is one that had perfect timing for everything. From the smash cut to the title card after Mac says “that bitch is dead,” to the tight sequence between Dee having to be close to Pop Pop and then throwing up, to, god help me, Charlie bursting out of his apartment in a Nazi uniform eating a banana. The way these moments are parceled out is just great and it helps the jokes land with authority.

Each of the individual storylines is pretty damn good too. My favorite is probably Mac and Dennis trying to one-up each other on lying to the granddaughter of the guy who died at the bar in order to try to woo her. It’s a despicable thing, but the way they turn it into a contest, and just keep raising the bar in their awfulness is great comedy. Mac raining on Dennis’s sleazy parade by informing him that his granddad is a Nazi is the perfect capper.

There was a bonkers sort of audacious brilliance to Charlie finding, and again (oy vey) wearing it, that cracked me up. Him and Mac trying to sell it, only to get an aghast and bewildered reaction from the museum creator, was a tremendous scene.

I probably liked Sweet Dee’s story about fearing the elderly the least. There was some good “old people as horror movie monsters” direction and editing, and it was funny enough, it just wasn’t as good as the other two. Also, Pop Pop wasn’t my favorite character, so the bits with him kind of dragged.

But overall, this was as funny as the show’s been since its first installment, and the editing was a big reason why. Great stuff.