Even taking out vulgar or adult-only jokes that wouldn’t fly in the workplace, It’s Always Sunny offers a ton of unforgettable, hilarious lines.
It's hard to find another American sitcom quite like It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. This is true for the show and the writing team. Always Sunny was created by Rob McElhenney with development by Glenn Howerton, who play Mac and Dennis, respectively. Along with Charlie Day, who also plays Charlie in-universe, the trio make up the primary team of writers for Always Sunny.
Described as a group of best friends who care little for one another, Always Sunny is shot in the actors' own apartments. AlwaysSunny's specific brand of humor was first conceived as a short film by McElhenney and Howerton. Even removing vulgar or adult-only jokes that wouldn't fly in the workplace, Always Sunny offers a ton of unforgettable, hilarious lines.
Frank is at the center of many of the gang's hijinks in It's Always Sunny. In "Frank's Pretty Woman," he and Charlie scheme to convince a woman that Charlie is rich. Frank acts as his chauffeur. Charlie is supposed to use blood capsules to convince the woman he's ill so she'll go on a date with Frank.
It's convoluted and sounds like it won't work, like many of the gang's ideas. This scheme births one of the most memorable lines from It's Always Sunny. After Charlie swallows far too many fake blood capsules, he gets sick all over his date. Frank turns from the driver's seat, egg in hand, and offers her a nice egg in the most trying of times.
"The Gang Misses the Boat" is an insight into how each member of the gang might act if they weren't under one another's influence. In Dennis' case, this causes him to act even more narcissistic and unhinged than usual. He takes all of his pent-up aggression out on a poor father who's looking to buy a starter car for his teenage daughter.
This results in one of his most memorable blow-ups in It's Always Sunny. Dennis rants about how he's an untethered golden god whose rage knows no bounds. The fact that it's a Range Rover (nearly completely submerged in water) that has him so upset only adds to the hilarity of the scene.
"The Gang Runs for Office" is an episode fondly remembered by fans, as Dennis reads the speech Charlie wrote for him. The quote finishes, "If you vote me, I'm hot. Taxes, they'll be lower. Sun. The Democratic vote for me is right thing to do, Philadelphia, so do."
Dennis' reactions during this scene are equally as humorous as the quote itself. What makes this scene even better, it was improvised on-the-spot entirely by Howerton himself.
"Frank sets Sweet Dee on Fire" sees Dee and Charlie lose their jobs at Paddy's, forced to find work elsewhere. Charlie is complaining to the other members of the gang about his situation when they tell him to go get another job.
He replies with a short, hilarious speech that rings true to many of It's Always Sunny's viewers. He expresses frustration at others sarcastically, implying that it's incredibly easy to pick up employment. Especially for someone like Charlie, who doesn't have the best set of marketable skills to try to seek new employment with.
"A Very Sunny Christmas Part 2" is home to quite a few iconic moments for It's Always Sunny. Fans get a deep-dive look into Charlie and Mac's holidays past. Audiences watch as the pair come to terms with their own childhood trauma, which leads to one of Charlie's best scenes.
Frank gets an unforgettable moment during Its Always Sunny's Christmas special. It comes up while he, Dee, and Dennis go to dig up their late mother's grave. He expresses his personal opinion on being buried in a hilarious way. Asking to be thrown into the trash is a nice tie-in to the "Trash Man" joke he's made previously.
In "The Gang Goes Jihad," Charlie gets Dee and Dennis' assistance in removing the casts from his legs after he was in a car accident. He's questioned as to why he doesn't go to a doctor to receive professional assistance, to which Charlie responds sarcastically with this iconic quote.
It's also, sadly, very relatable for many viewers with the current state of the American healthcare system. This only serves to make the quote more memorable.
Some of Mac's best lines come from when he's interacting with Charlie. At the start of "The Great Recession," Charlie shows the rest of the gang how he disposes of trash – by burning it in the furnace.
He goes on a tangent about how his burning garbage is good for the environment and that it eventually creates the stars in the sky. Mac's response – that it doesn't sound correct, but he doesn't know enough to prove him wrong – is hilariously unforgettable.
In "Charlie Kelly – King of the Rats," the gang attempts to do something nice for Charlie for his birthday. It's rare for the premise to be sweet in It's Always Sunny. Frank tells the rest of the gang they need to throw Charlie a surprise party because he hasn't been seeming himself lately.
While the others have to get decorations to fancy up the bar with, Dee's job is distracting Charlie. She tells him that she wants to take him out for a spa day. Charlie responds with an unforgettable line, only made possible thanks to the character's illiteracy.
In "The Gang Tries Desperately To Win An Award," the gang claims that they're completely unbothered by never having won an award. Despite this, they try to figure out what they can change in order to do so. They visit an award-winning rival bar and try to emulate the friendly banter of the employees there.
This includes setting Mac and Dee up in a staged will-they-won't-they relationship for the customers to watch. However, they interact toxically, with screaming and physical violence. Dennis' reaction is memorably well-performed.
One of the best episode concepts in It's Always Sunny is "The Gang Gets Analyzed." The gang just wants someone to tell them who's responsible for doing the dishes, but they end up being psychoanalyzed, and the results are expectedly hilarious.
While there are a near-endless number of quotable lines from The Gang Gets Analyzed, one of the best has to be while Frank is recounting repressed childhood memories. What makes this scene hit especially hard isn't the lines themselves, but the over-dramatized delivery done by DeVito as well as the reactions of the poor onlooking psychologist.
Hannah has always had a passion for writing, having done creative writing as a personal passion since 2012, and is thrilled to be a content writer for CBR. When she isn’t writing for work or for fun, she can usually be found playing games, cosplaying, singing or petting her cats. You can connect with her here: [email protected].
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