A work of art, beautifully shot but most importantly very, very funny. This kind of episode is what keeps Sunny fresh after so many years (and it's unsurprising that it was written by a Community writer).
"The universal poison antidote..."
I get why they make these kind of episodes, but it's just not my cup of tea.
Still love that after 14 seasons the show can come up with these kind of episodes!
This episode is pretty amazing, I laughed out loud several times. The meta-jokes are also funny and they kinda remind me community, like @sa_nick said, but I don't share his opinion that the gang should not be doing these kind of episodes. If this is a once in a while thing it can work pretty well.
at first I wasn't sure if I was into this kind of episode but I think eventually it won me over lmao "dancing the porcelain rumba" is the funniest way ever to say someone shat themselves :sob:
also like I've said in previous episodes, I LOVE when they do an exclusive title card/intro for an episode!!
I like the noir theme and that Waitress and Cricket came back. All around funny.
Megan Ganz wrote the hell out of this noirish satire. It would have worked great at her old gig on Community but this felt like a wasted episode of Always Sunny. It's just not what I expect (or want) to see the gang doing.
I loved how this episode was written. So many good noir moments, and clever dialog. Every character played their part perfectly, right down to dee coming in at the end as the cop.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2019-11-03T19:50:57Z
[8.5/10] Leave it to Community alum Megan Ganz to know how to do the perfect genre homage in the confines of boundary-pushing sitcom. I wouldn’t have guessed that the IASIP crew would fit well into a noir setting, but holy hell if this wasn’t a pitch-perfect melding of the two.
Making Charlie the focus is a deft choice, as Charlie Dey is more than up to the tongue-twisting noir voiceover dialogue, and is clearly having fun with it. Ganz picks up the patterns of hard-boiled detective stories perfectly, both in the twists in the tale and in the overextended metaphors and wordplay that characterizes the conversations.
It’s also a hell of an episode visually. There’s a handful of creative shots that go beyond the show’s usual cinematography and help capture the noir vibe. The show even takes care to make fun of the way that characters in those films are always saying things without actually looking at one another. And the use of the color red despite the black and white is great, adding visual pop to a number of sequences and tying nicely into the major plot.
And hey, I like the major plot a great deal as a nice mix between a standard noir mystery and the sort of bizarre shenanigans the gang usually gets up to. The whole maraschino cherries and red 40 thing is a neat way to bring Charlie into the mix and make the femme fatale the one behind the whole thing. Ganz parcels out the reveals nicely, and the plot feels the right kind of twisty and convoluted for the homage.
Plus the performers all do great work here. Again, Charlie Dey really shines in the central role, and knows how to go between being real Charlie and noir Charlie perfectly. Marie Elizabeth Ellis works just as well as the femme fatale. And everything from Dennis and Mac as the hired muscle to Dee protesting that she’s not a goon clicks really well.
On the whole, this has the perfect sort of combination of sensibilities that I used to love on Community, and it’s nice to see Ganz bringing that flair to a cast just as up to the change of scenery.