Classic Film Series We’d Like To See Always Sunny Parody

The Gang has a love for videography, from Project Badass and Dennis’s sex tapes to Dee’s YouTube sensation “Pathetic Girl 43.” Undoubtedly the most praise-worthy cinematic performance in Always Sunny history is season six’s “Dee Reynolds, Shaping America’s Youth,” in which the Gang holds a screening of its take on the long rumored Lethal Weapon 5 movie. With such incredible production values, it may in fact be the one time in the history of the show where the Gang actually completed something it set out to do. In essence, Lethal Weapon 5 is the Gang’s Citizen Kane.

Over the years, Always Sunny has made strides to diversify its storylines. “Lethal Weapon 5” was one that worked like gangbusters. Bringing something back that was an instant classic is a tricky thing in television. It could flat out fail miserably, or even worse, make the original seem less special. Only the greats can weather the pressure of making a follow-up masterpiece. Orson Welles, who wrote, directed and starred in Citizen Kane, followed up his first film credit with The Magnificent Ambersons, another picture widely considered to be amongst the best of all time.  Always Sunny followed up its masterpiece with a more than worthy sequel. Tonight’s “The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6,” as far as effort goes, earned all five of the stars it receives at the end of this article.

The premise of “Lethal Weapon 6” is that Dennis, Mac and Charlie are proud of their work and they see no reason why it shouldn’t be in theaters across the globe. Where Always Sunny’s first entry into cinema left us wanting more Murtaugh and Riggs, “Lethal Weapon 6” didn’t waste any time giving us a backstory or reason to watch it. From the outset, it lets us bite into the sweet nectar that is Danny DeVito playing an volatile action movie villain, the obligatory role switch between Mac and Dennis and more exceedingly racist blackface than everbefore.

The sequels to the original buddy cop series staring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover could only be the beginning. With Always Sunny willing to further explore all that Hollywood has to offer, it seems reasonable to suggest some possible films for the Gang to make its own.

The first series that comes to mind is already due for a few sequels. In case you haven’t heard, Star Wars is set to become a nine-movie saga. But before any major decisions on the next film are made, new Star Wars writer/director J.J. Abrams should consider the talents of the Always Sunny cast. Think of the underlying brother/sister sexual tension Dennis and Dee could play off of, as well as all the endless possibilities for role switching. Charlie and Frank would make for incredible Wookies and Mac could do all the silly karate moves he wants with a light saber. Granted the Gang isn’t exactly the wholesome “Disney’s Star Wars” bunch, so if Abrams can’t convince the Disney brass make it happen then we’ll have to settle for an Always Sunny remake here. Then again, Star Wars presents some unique challenges for the Always Sunny cast. The Gang doesn’t have a deep bench, so finding enough characters to satisfy even a basic Star Wars storyline could be difficult. Not to mention that it’s a little easier to stage the sets of Lethal Weapon than to bring the Millennium Falcon and the rest of outer space to Paddy’s Pub.

If the Gang wants to stick with the alien motif and do a more down to earth film series, look no further than Men in Black. You might ask yourself, do we really need a fourth Men in Black film? If Frank and Charlie are the slimy alien villains and Dennis does his best Tommy Lee Jones impression, then I say yes. If Mac has to go to the bathroom in the middle of a scene, maybe Saturday Night Live’s Jay Pharaoh can step in and do his beloved Will Smith impression.

Then again, the Gang could adherer to the old “write what you know” saying and return to the buddy cop genre by revisiting Beverly Hills Cop. The franchise, which starred Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold, nearly got a feature film reboot in 2009 and a TV series for CBS in 2013, but “America’s Most Watched Network” passed on the return of Axel Foley and Billy Rosewood. One of America’s newest TV networks, FXX, could stand to bring an Always Sunny version of Beverly Hills Cop to life. Eddie Murphy, along with plenty of critics, panned Beverly Hills Cop III, so we need Mac to pump some life into Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley for half of the movie.

Sports franchises aren’t out of the question either. The Gang has had aspirations of making the Eagles, running on the field during the World Series and scoring a goal at halftime of a Flyers game. Since the Gang has already done Mark Wahlberg’s Invincible as well as the Oscar winning flick Million Dollar Baby, it could be time for the Gang to give Rocky one final go. In “Hundred Dollar Baby,” Frank knocks out his old boxing buddy Bobby Thunderson before the bell sounds, whacking the gruff trainer into his daughter who subsequently breaks her neck on a chair. A legit matchup between Frank and Thunderson, recast as Rocky and a new adversary, could be the proper way to send out the Philadelphia legend, rather than end the saga with 2006’s Rocky Balboa.  I’m sure I missed a few obvious ones, but if you have a film series you want Always Sunny to parody, then let us know in our comment section! 

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