“That’s how you patronize someone right there.” – Charlie
“The Gang Buys a Boat” seems like a sequel of sorts to the previous season’s “The Gang Hits the Road.” Both episodes are built around the concept of the Gang having a something of an adventure that goes unfulfilled. In “Road,” the trip to the Grand Canyon never happens as a series of mishaps prevents the Gang from ever leaving Philly. In “Boat,” the plan to live the high life (Steve Winwood-style) on the high seas is wrought with problems as preparing the boat for departure eventually leads to it sinking into the Delaware River. The irony, of course, is that these episodes about unaccomplished accomplishments are both exceptionally satisfying.
Mac, Dennis, and Charlie pool their Dick Towel money and Charlie’s life savings (which I can’t imagine is very much) to purchase a crusty, old houseboat in the hopes that it can be fixed up to provide at least the illusion of living in luxury. Mac and Dennis have Charlie, Frank, and Dee handle the restoration aspects while they go about acquiring all the necessary boating accessories (wax, varnish, outfits).
Dennis has his own plans as well. He hopes to invite some women out into the open ocean where they will be all but forced to have sex with him because of “the implications.” What are those implications, you ask? Well, without actually saying the exact words, Dennis all but means he’ll murder the women otherwise. Mac seems pretty (and rightfully) disgusted by this, though it should be noted that he latches onto the concept pretty quickly when he has his own chance to take advantage of a woman in the same way.
Charlie and Frank, meanwhile, have the idea that they can make some money off the boat by using it to catch shrimp, Delaware River catfish, and tasty, tasty barnacles. When Frank accidentally tosses the keys into the river, Charlie dives in after it and finds a variety of treasure including a horse tooth and a bullet, which causes him to obviously assume a Revolutionary Era horse massacre occurred on the bottom of the river.
Dee is put in charge of remodeling the interior but is far more concerned with dancing her P. Diddy boat dance. When Mac points out she dances like a wacky, inflatable, arm-flailing tube man, she doesn’t buy it. But when he actually buys one, she has to admit he has some pretty influential moves.
Mac and Dennis see that the boat restoration project is in surprisingly good hands, so they hit up a party taking place on another boat in the harbor. At first they think the grizzled, diabetes-ridden men are planning to take advantage of them because of Dennis’ aforementioned “implications,” but then some actual women show up and the advantage-taking tables turn. But when they try and take their women back to their own boat, Mac and Dennis are horrified to find that the boat has caught fire and sunk at the hands of Charlie’s stupidity. The final shot is nothing more than the boat sinking as the wacky, inflatable, arm-flailing tube man drowns not unlike DiCaprio in Titanic.
“The Gang Buys a Boat” won’t go down as one of the all-time best Sunny episodes, but it is a strong rebound from the somewhat disappointing two-part season premiere.
Just a bit more about “The Gang Buys a Boat”:
- “Can we talk shrimp for a minute?”
- “You are a really good listener and I didn’t peg you for one when I walked in here because of the pinky ring.”
- “That seems really dark.”
- “Are you going to hurt these women?”
- DMX and boating go hand in hand like DMX and not having a career anymore.
- I loved all the back and forth about who was patronizing whom. That’s classic Sunny dialogue, right there.
- “What he’s saying is really stupid, but it’s sincere.”
- “We can’t be spending money on CDs I already own.”
- “Yes, we’re the tasty treats!”
Some stats and info about It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, ” The Gang Buys a Boat”
TV SHOW – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 6, Episode 3
AIRED ON – September 30th, 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.