Mac and Dennis: Mac and Dennis have known one other since high school. Dennis claims that in high school, Mac was a drug dealer with no friends while he was highly well-liked (“Underage Drinking: A National Concern”).
Dennis claims to have been a popular student in high school, but later it is revealed that he spent much of his time with Mac and Charlie, hiding out under the bleachers and behind dumpsters (“The High School Reunion, Part 2: The Gang’s Revenge”). Even though they were buddies, Mac slept with Dennis’ prom date and covered it up by telling Dennis that Tim Murphy did instead.
Years later, in “The High School Reunion, Part 2: The Gang’s Revenge,” Dennis learns the truth. As of season four (“Mac and Charlie Die (Part 1)”), Dennis and Mac had been together for almost ten years, which means they moved in together shortly after Dennis graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (“The Gang Sells Out”).
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: “Mac And Dennis Break Up”
The best episode of Sunny this year, “Mac and Dennis Break Up,” was also its quietest, with no major set pieces, guest stars, green man appearances, or even a sequence set in a bar. This episode may not be the funniest of Sunny’s, but it ranks among his greatest in terms of jokes per minute.
All of the comedy came from the interplay between the actors, and this group can make even a shrug or a glance humorous in the appropriate setting. Further, I love it when the show gives us a glimpse of Charlie and Frank’s relationship during an episode. Dennis and Mac wanted to borrow a large bowl from Dee to cook popcorn for their movie night, and this request put into action the plot rather than any grand scheme.
You have no bowl, so what are you doing here?” To be fair, her question is valid. Anyone who claims to be a fan of Predator should own a popcorn bowl. Dennis and Mac tease Dee about her latest acquisition, a cat, as further evidence of her decline into spinsterhood and their usual teasing about how she looks like a bird. Dee retorts with a snarky comment about Dennis and Mac’s relationship, and voila: an episode is born.
This episode did the bromance gag right not once but twice, with Mac and Dennis and Charlie and Frank. It also examined the delicate nature of the bromance by pairing bros in each couple off with each other, of course with disastrous results, and I’m sure I’m not the only one getting sick of the whole “bromance” trend that is sweeping its way through Hollywood.
There was a breakup scene, as there must be in every bromance when Mac furiously confronted Dennis about the time the latter spent at the video store renting Predator and then returning with Transporter 2. Given Mac’s penchant for mind-blowing antics, I find it hard to believe that he hasn’t seen the original Transporter and is, therefore, anxious about keeping up with the plot.
But the beefcake video salesperson who suggested the switch to Dennis worries him. It seems like you can’t quit harping on about him! He sighs. Dennis objects, “I asked for a movie recommendation.” Mac responds, “Well, you got one,” barely stifling the words “you slut.” On the one hand, Dennis is correct that watching any movie, even a masterpiece such as Predator, 30 times in two months is overkill.
Mac’s constant droning on about the importance of bulking up is annoying. However, it’s not precisely cricket if you say you’re going to the store to rent Predator and instead return with Transporter 2. Jason Statham is a lovely gentleman, but still. Who knew Mac was such a fussbudget? I think these scenes were the best in the episode on almost any Sunny scene involving the goings-on in Charlie’s apartment.
Frank cleans his toenails with a steak knife, injuring himself: “I need some trash to bug up the cut!” Mac’s suggestion to use a sock rather than trash delights Frank but ranks Charlie. Mac and Dennis Break Up
Charlie thinks Dennis is too needy and immediately gets way more into trying to extract Dee’s cat from the wall, where it is hiding. Frank can’t stand Mac’s fussiness, which makes him “put on airs,” like not eating cat food and throwing away his knife. Dee suffers the most, however, as suddenly everyone shows up at her house and smashes the walls when we all know that Dee just needs to be alone.
Fantastic information was uncovered, such as the fact that Charlie’s recent appearance may have attracted cats due to his wild hair and that Mac believes apple skins are “loaded with toxins,” prompting two great individual gags: Dennis pleading with Dee to peel his apple for him and Mac claiming that cats don’t obey the laws of nature and can flatten themselves out.
On Mac’s orders, Frank spits apple gore all over the place, and Mac believes that smoking reduces the number of bacteria on apples. Dee, however, will never get out of a jam and ends the episode stuck in a wall, where she belongs. She needs a sidekick! I bet this is the most low-concept episode of Sunny we get all year, but as long as they can find a way to focus on the ensemble’s chemistry like this, no matter the plot, I’ll always be satisfied.
Inconclusive Evidence: With the site still active, who has purchased a Dicktowel? To visit Dee, Charlie brought a bag of Cheetos with him on his journey. Dennis and Mac’s fears were justified when they saw the woman’s large breasts. Frank and Charlie’s nasty twosome thrusting was the best of several characters’ strange dances when near each other.
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