This Filipino went crazy on me. She scratched me like a velociraptor. – Frank
There used to be this really sweet diving pool in Philly where people of any economic class could go and enjoy the fact that it was all deep end. Then Jamie Nelson had to go and drown in it, shutting the pool down. To be fair to Jamie, while his skateboarding prowess was undeniable, he was never a strong swimmer. In the years that followed, the facility fell into disarray with garbage spread out far along the length of the now-drained pool.
What better place for Mac and Charlie to spend a hot summer afternoon?
They didn’t originally plan to attempt to overhaul the dive pool. Their first thought is to take a dip in a prestigious swim club, but they are turned away at the door due to the club’s full capacity. But they know “capacity” isn’t the problem. It’s their standing in life. They reside on the low-class side of things – the pool in the high.
They approach Frank to get some start-up capital to rehab the dive pool, but he passes and they are forced to fix it up on their own. Charlie climbs down an old mattress to start throwing trash up over the side, but when it comes time to toss the mattress itself out, he needs Mac to come down and help, which he does… trapping them both inside as the walls are unscalable.
Meanwhile, Dennis and Dee feel that despite their current economic hardships, they were born in the upper class and thus still remain in the upper class. When the pool club manager disagrees, they reluctantly go to the public pool, which turns out to be an almost post-apocalyptic wasteland of lower-class people and behavior, at least in their opinion. Well, mine too. Not to be elitist, but any pool that all but forces participants to wear their shoes in the water due to broken glass is pretty scummy.
But to a “fringe” class member like Frank, it’s utopia. It’s the kind of place where you can trade a bite of a hot dog for a towel, where you can play greased watermelon, where rock fights fill the air like unlit fireworks. Yes, to Frank, the public pool is the place to be…</p>
Until a Filipino woman goes crazy and scratches him like a velociraptor.
And just like that, the utopia is gone.
Feel free to shed a tear before continuing.
Mac and Charlie have their own problems in the bottom of the empty dive pool. Knowing they can’t call the police for fear of being charged with trespassing, they order a pizza in order to ask the delivery guy for help. When he shows up, they have him toss down a hose to pull them up, but when he realizes they don’t have any money he leaves. Mac attempts to climb the hose himself, but it breaks and the pool starts to slowly fill with water.
Dennis and Dee try one more crack at the pool club, hoping to convince a member to sponsor them. The end result is a massive failure and when Dennis tries to dive in the pool anyway, he is tackled by an attendant. With nowhere else to turn, they go with Frank to the dive pool and find Mac and Charlie in their desperate situation. A verbal brawl about class ensues and Frank breaks it up with an idea. There’s one way for them all to cool off, Philly style: busting open a fire hydrant.
“Mac and Charlie: White Trash” didn’t really wrap up as neatly as some episodes, but the scenes of the Gang dancing around in the hydrant was a nice little moment. Sometimes feelings of nostalgia can make up for a scattered narrative. That was the pleasing case tonight
A few more thoughts about “Mac and Charlie: White Trash”:
- Loved the callback to Dennis’ frayed jean shorts from “The Gang Gets Extreme: Home Makeover Edition.”
- Dee shooting snot rockets is very low class.
- Charlie uses a burner cell phone like an Avon Barksdale drug dealer.
- During Mac and Charlie’s stick figure memorial to Jamie Nelson, Charlie busts out an amazing voodoo accent. I didn’t even know that was a thing!
- “Don’t do airplane noises, just give him the beer.” – Mac
- “It is unbelievable that you would use the word capacity with us.” – Dennis
- “I borrowed fringe-style from that guy over there. I gave him a bit of my hot dog, he’s letting me use his towel.” – Frank
- “Stride, stride, stride, stride, execute!” – Mac
- “Oh my god, who’s in attendance? How many people?” – Charlie
Some stats and info about It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, “Mac and Charlie: White Trash”
TV SHOW – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 6, Episode 5
AIRED ON – October 14th, 2010
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FX, FXX, Hulu
GENRE – Comedy, Office Culture
CREATED BY – Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton
CAST – Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson, Danny DeVito
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.