It’s Always Sunny On Campus

How an outrageous and irreverent sitcom made a clueless college student a happier and better person.

For as long as I’ve been alive, I was never much of a TV junkie. Why would I be one if I live in a country that boasts Honey Boo Boo and The Kardashians as its most beloved TV stars? Understandably, I spent a lot more time with movies.

Also, most of the good quality shows weren’t entirely appropriate for kids, and I found that to be unfair.

Mommy and daddy get Breaking Bad and us chirrens get Hannah Montana?

As a result, I would tune into Nickelodeon for an hour or so and that was pretty much it.

That all changed when I came to college.

For years I heard about It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and how funny it is, but had never seen it for myself since I was only 11 when it debuted (and Always Sunny’s absolutely not appropriate for that age). So one day, I discovered that the dorms at my college have an underground DVD rental place, and I perused awhile until I found the first two seasons of Always Sunny and checked them out on a whim, knowing next to nothing about the show except that it had Danny DeVito and (obviously) it was set in Philly.

I didn’t expect much, but in the course of a half-hour, I saw Danny DeVito and bunch of thirty-something losers fake being crippled just to gain the sympathy of others. I ended up laughing myself into a coma over something I never would have found funny hitherto.

Long story short, I ended up finishing an entire season in one night.

I’ll never understand what attracted me to a show about five self-obsessed jerks who own a dingy Irish pub in South Philly and their hilarious misadventures, but it happened. I spent my month long Christmas vacation binge watching all eight seasons on DVD, and I can easily say it’s my new favorite show. It’s impossible in this day and age to find a show that isn’t dripping with political correctness (here’s looking at you, Glee), so Always Sunny found me at just the right time. It’s rife with racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, and just about every kind of humor that makes Family Guy look like Dora the Explorer and would make a Tumblr social justice warrior seethe with rage… and I enjoy every single minute of it. Yes, I find sadistic pleasure in watching Dennis and Mac (two of the five main characters) make a “Jihad Tape”.

But how? How can a girl with a clear sense of right and wrong enjoy a show like that?

Easy. Not only is it funny as hell, but for me, it puts an interesting twist on having a role model. The characters on the show are the absolute antitheses of what I aspire to be in life. They are rude, crude, narcissistic, (pardon my French) all-around assholes who lead squalid and debauched lives. I don’t ever want to end up like any of them, but for some reason, they make being bad influences look so funny.

Personally, I’ve always found the concept of having a role model stupid and a damper on your individuality, so having an anti-role model, so to speak? Now we’re talking!

On second thought, wouldn’t that make The Gang my role models, just in a very ironic way? They show me how to live by showing me not how to live.

“Who is your role model, Carly?”
“I don’t have one. I just watch Always Sunny so I have an idea of who isn’t.”

Even more so, they remind me that I could have it so much worse without making me feel bad. I detest watching those TV specials like “Help the Orphans in Haiti with Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney” or “Stand Up to Cancer with The Living Half of The Who” because they remind me how good I have it in a way that’s painful to watch. Nothing crushes my soul like seeing a Haitian orphan cry or hearing emotional speeches about cancer.

Always Sunny, on the other hand, reminds me how much better I have it in a way that doesn’t make me sad. Admittedly, I do feel a bit guilty for laughing at others’ misfortunes, but when I watch the show, I look on the bright side.

“Hey, I flunked my philosophy exam, but at least I don’t have to compromise my integrity like these guys.”

Above all, as an aimless college gal, Always Sunny is a bit of a spirit guide for me:

Follow your dreams. Otherwise, you’ll end up like The Gang.
Would you rather be a film blogger or the owner of Paddy’s Pub?
That’s what I thought. Now do your homework.

One tempting final thought: name one other show that has an episode where an illiterate man writes a nonsensical musical to woo the girl of his dreams. I want you to try.