5x04 The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention

[4.8/10] Normally one of the things I like about IASIP is how crisp the editing is. Jokes that might not otherwise land work really well because the show’s editors know right when to cut to optimize the cadence of a scene for maximum hilarity. This was pretty much the exact opposite of that. Scenes dragged and dragged. Jokes that might have been funny were just hung out to dry. And the result is one of the show’s dullest episodes so far.

The bit with Dennis, Dee, and Charlie trying to arrange for an intervention for Frank was mainly a dud. There’s some amusing shtick with Charlie being upset at how he and Frank don’t play “nightcrawlers” anymore, but in general, it’s just a bunch of rambling humor without much of a punchline, and the therapist they bring in isn’t a good enough straight man to help the humor land.

The bit with Frank and Mac trying to bang Dee and Dennis’s aunt and cousin was even worse, with the show taking refuge in vulgarity without having anything clever or amusing to build on top of it.

The big climactic intervention was also an underwhelming end. While everyone yelling “intervention” at one another was good for a chuckle, this was the worst offender in terms of scenes that just kept going and going without any rhythm or momentum.

Overall, weak as hell.