S13.E10: Mac Finds His Pride

[Ray Adverb]

Quote

Frank tries to recruit Mac for the gang's kickass float for the Gay Pride Parade.

[Galileo908]

What the hell did I just watch?

Frank's face kept getting more and more horrifying as the episode went on, it got tough for me to look at the screen. 

When Frank was getting someone to replace Mac, I knew he was bringing in Cricket.

Dennis was conveniently claustrophobic this week. Sure...

[Lantern7]

What. The. Hell.

I mean, it was beautiful, and Glenn Rob went all out for it. I mean, even if there was a dance double, that was unbelievable. And you don't expect interpretive dance on this series without a punchline, where the script punches Mac in the face for showing emotion. Aside from his dad bailing, it didn't. I mean, I'm guessing the last act tonight will be forgotten at the start of next season, Mac will still be a one-dimensional meathead, and Frank's epiphany will go down the drain.

Speaking of Frank  . . . I was expecting his nasal injury to lead to a punchline, or that he'd crash the float. Nothing. Weird.

Before I forget to say it: "YOU HAD ONE JOB, FRANK!"

ETA for @jcin617 . . . that might have been all Glenn Rob. But with something that coordinated, that intricate, that beautiful . . . yeah, I would expect a ringer in a few spots.

ETA2: I got my first names mixed up. Sorry. ?‍♂️

Edited November 8, 2018 by Lantern7

[jcin617]

I didn’t notice a dance double, but still... uh, that moved me way more than I thought it would.   It took me a long time to come out too, although not through interpretive dance.   

Also if we’re to assume Mac helped choreograph that, he’s missing a calling.

Edited November 8, 2018 by jcin617

[Amarsir]

Well that was an interesting show. I wonder why it was on in the It's Always Sunny timeslot.

They clearly worked very hard in every way except getting the cast together in a single scene. And I don't blame Rob for wanting to give Mac a serious plot. But overall it didn't work for me. Frank being weird pulled attention from the serious stuff but wasn't nearly funny enough to carry the episode. 

I think if they had to do something like this, Charlie would have been a better partner than Frank. He's much better at putting serious emotions in a ridiculous setting and is more likely to pal around with Mac too. No offense to Danny DeVito, but Frank's just not the guy who would get Mac to go for it.

[Hero]

Did not like this episode. This season felt really disjointed. 

Rob's body is gorgeous. 

[Ray Adverb]

8 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

What. The. Hell.

@jcin617I mean, it was beautiful, and Glenn went all out for it.

I think you mean Rob.  Glenn Howerton plays Dennis.  Rob McElhenney is the one who plays Mac.

 

I liked this episode.  It was kind of heartwarming without being saccharine.  I like that Frank is tolerant of homosexuality, but is still really confused by it.  It was odd to see Mac being serious.  Frank almost seems homophobic in the literal sense of the word, in that he's kind of scared of homosexuality in the same way an arachnophobe might be afraid of spiders.

 

I liked the visitation scene where Mac finally got some of the approval from his Dad that he wanted for so long, even if it was from a lie of omission.

 

The dance scene was pretty amazing.  The flexibility of a good ballerina always amazes me.  How does a human bend limbs like that?

 

I especially liked that it wasn't another lazy bottle episode.

 

"If it's a girl, you flush that thing out and try again!!"

[jcin617]

How It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Pulled Off Mac’s Jaw-dropping Dance

Per the article, the dancing was all Rob.   It also raises some interesting points to consider such as the fact that Mac has been in such great shape all season in no small part due to his rehearsal of this dance for months.     I also missed that Mac was crying in the middle of the performance when his dad got up and left, and that the long pause when he was crying in the middle was not part of the dance, until his partner picked him up and got him moving again.

[Lantern7]

29 minutes ago, Ray Adverb said:

I think you mean Rob.  Glenn Howerton plays Dennis.  Rob McElhenney is the one who plays Mac.

Fuck! I knew that. I just didn’t know when I was posting. I’m gonna make corrections and blame the final act’s emotion for screwing with my head.

[Ubiquitous]

I should have walked away like Mac's dad.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Yikes, that first bar Mac and Frank went to. It was like the 50 Shades version of a leather bar.

Good casting on Mac's father. Have he ever appeared on the show before?

Holy crap, Mac/Rob has a killer body. That dance performance was amazing.

[Ray Adverb]

31 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Good casting on Mac's father. Have he ever appeared on the show before?

Yes, he's been on several times.  His name is Luther MacDonald.  There is a running gag about Mac being desperate for a traditional emotional connection with his father, but never getting it.  It's one of my favorite gags.

[doesntworkonwood]

Hasn't the show all but outright said Luther is gay too? 

Weird episode, I wasn't a fan. But to be fair I've never 'got' interpretive dance. 

[HunterHunted]

9 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Yikes, that first bar Mac and Frank went to. It was like the 50 Shades version of a leather bar.

So I take it you've never been to an Eagle leather bar, especially in the late 90s and early aughts.

Quote

Holy crap, Mac/Rob has a killer body. That dance performance was amazing.

His body is sickening and the dance made me weep.

You can tell that the performance was all Rob because he can't dance and doesn't move like a dancer. There was no doubling. However, his performance and the emotion he was able to convey was amazing.

https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/its-always-sunny-mac-dance-season-13-finale.html

Edited November 9, 2018 by HunterHunted

[Joimiaroxeu]

Quote

So I take it you've never been to an Eagle leather bar,

Nope, I have not. Stiil, I imagine the show didn't want to spend a lot on enhancing the production values of that scene. It came across to me like someone's low-rent idea of a leather bar. Kind of like how the 50 Shades books were someone's low-rent idea of BDSM.

This episode is certainly generating conversation around the interwebs. Maybe it'll get some Emmy buzz.

[Lantern7]

7 hours ago, doesntworkonwood said:

Hasn't the show all but outright said Luther is gay too?

I think it's a case of "prison gay." Gotta establish dominance 24/7. Also, look at his wife. Actually, no, just glance at her. Like that hillbilly Hanna Barbera bear in terms of being understandable.

Is Luther a psychopath? Sociopath? Is it possible to be both? I mean, he is capable of murder if he hasn't already . . . and he named his only child "Ronald McDonald." That's not so much another level of horible as in another building. Or something. You know what I mean, right? Mac becoming a meathead with family issues and body dysmorphia is the least he could have wound up with.

[Galileo908]

21 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

and he named his only child "Ronald McDonald."

And BRAGGED about it.

[ganesh]

I wouldn't be able to get through 5 seconds of these scenes without losing it with Devito pulling all those sight gags with his nose. 

[HunterHunted]

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Nope, I have not. Stiil, I imagine the show didn't want to spend a lot on enhancing the production values of that scene. It came across to me like someone's low-rent idea of a leather bar. Kind of like how the 50 Shades books were someone's low-rent idea of BDSM.

I haven't been to a ton of them, the things that didn't ring true was that there's not usually that much heavy equipment. Will you see gags, harnesses, collars, hoods, whips, chaps, jocks, spanking, whipping, boot worship, and sex? Yes. But big old pieces of equipment weren't usually there. You'll also see more people and a fair amount of dancing too. Though it's been more than a decade since I've been to one. I'm not into kink, but I've had friends who were really into it. I would tag along if they wanted to go to a new scene, but were a little unsure about going alone. R.I.P. my beloved Pittsburgh Eagle, which was a multilevel experience. Though it really did need better DJs.

[ganesh]

Who was the dance partner? She was ripped!

I thought this episode was very good. 

I think Frank had to be the one with Mac because he really is the father figure giving Mac permission to be himself. I don't think it would have worked with any of the others.

[Dewey Decimate]

Danny DeVito is pretty amazing at the physical comedy. The door slamming into him on the rebound and then him (predictably albeit) lunging a face-plant into the floor the second time had me sickened and cracking up. I assumed the "V" rating for violence was for the fucked-up evolution of his face from bad to worse. Well, until we had to see Cricket's undulating torso covered in cigarette burns, dog bites, and god knows what else. Awesome and gag-worthy.

And then there was the last scene. I think it's worth the overused excess of periods: What. The Fuck. Not in a bad way, but just What. The. Fuck?? I was torn among:

1) Holy Ryan Reynolds, Batman! I knew Rob's body was ripped, but oh my gracious. Paired with the rain and his stunning, lithe dance partner, MERCY! He is a new inductee into the spank bank, right at the top.

2) Is this gonna be a bookend to the reunion dance episode and end in a cut to him awkwardly flailing around by himself, or the prisoners gang-rushing the stage in a ridiculous melee? Should I be prepared to laugh? I'm half-smiling, nervously....

3) But then by the end I'm tearing up a little at the audience giving them a standing ovation. Oh man, did IASIP go for a deep, meaningful episode? It was a little sappy, but I was feeling it.

Any way I slice it, I'm still confused (and wracking my brain to find another show that took a complete - and I mean COMPLETE, not just some flashback/time-travel or all-musical episode - 180 turn like that), but I did like it a lot.

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

I wouldn't be able to get through 5 seconds of these scenes without losing it with Devito pulling all those sight gags with his nose. 

What was the point of that running gag? "Well, we want to show Mac come out of his cocoon . . .and yet, Danny really wants to go all-out being gross for the finale. Screw it, let's do both!"

[DrSpaceman73]

Did not like this one. 

The dance at the end was certainly artistically beautiful to watch, but it does not fit in at all with anything we have ever seen on the show.  I too was expecting this to be like the ending to the High School Reunion, but it was not.  All real. 

Not only that though, the whole episode left much to be desired.  Once again the gang barely is there, basically its Mac and Frank and no one else.   We got like two minutes of Charlie and Dee just to say they appeared and for not much else. 

The whole season has been a disappointment, easily my least favorite of them all. 

Now I really wonder

1.  How much Glenn worked on this season as far as writing/producing?

2.  How much the whole show is dependent on him, not just the acting but also the writing?

This reminded me of the Mad Men ending where Bertram Cooper dies and sings his song at the end.  I know everyone else LOVED that one as well, I hated it, for the same reason as this one.  Completely out of sync with the tone of the entire rest of the series. 

So the dance, artistically, yes, great.

The episode and the season, a major disappointment after waiting so long for the show to be back

Oh well, still have Hulu reruns to watch

[JenE4]

On 11/8/2018 at 7:49 AM, jcin617 said:

How It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Pulled Off Mac’s Jaw-dropping Dance

Per the article, the dancing was all Rob.   It also raises some interesting points to consider such as the fact that Mac has been in such great shape all season in no small part due to his rehearsal of this dance for months.     I also missed that Mac was crying in the middle of the performance when his dad got up and left, and that the long pause when he was crying in the middle was not part of the dance, until his partner picked him up and got him moving again.

Thank you for posting this article! Longtime PTV poster and have always watched Sunny, but I think this is the first time I felt compelled to come to the Sunny board. Rob’s performance was absolutely brilliant, amazing, and moving. Watching it the first time was emotional but I almost was afraid to let myself go in the experience because I kept waiting for “the gag.” Watching it again (video in the article above), I weeped.

I think all these years I’ve just underestimated Rob because he’s not a “breakout star” like Charlie Day and everyone else. Obviously as creator/writer Rob is brilliant. And a few seasons back, okay gaining weight for the gag showed some dedication—and, oh wow, going the other extreme physically this year he’s over-the-top ripped. But the dedication to learning this emotional interpretive modern dance is just unreal.

It’s interesting how a show that’s so anti-PC found a way to toe the line (somewhat) in today’s climate this season. This season really saw the evolution of the gang—to a point. Mac, Dennis, Dee, and Charlie at all different points this season would exclaim it’s 2018, you can’t say that anymore, etc. The gang being the gang always found a way to screw it up, but they at least acknowledged and TRIED to do/say the right thing in their own misguided way. Frank was the one holdout that balked at the “PC crap.” This episode really worked for me because not only did Mac have an awakening, but Frank did, too. He spent the whole episode complaining about getting stuck with the job of getting Mac on the float because he doesn’t understand this gay stuff—and I don’t understand you, Mac, in general. And we end on Frank’s epiphany, as well—Oh, my god. I get it. I get it. That’s a really big deal that Mac and Frank both had emotional epiphanies. Even though the gang wasn’t all together this episode, I feel like it could be a series finale. (I have no knowledge one way or the other.) Yet, because the gang is all off on different projects, this season was really cobbled together. Rob—as the only one without other job prospects (that I know of)— just catapulted himself as a star with this performance. Plus, I feel like they tackled all of the big issues of the day—this is as progressive as they’re each going to get...and probably could get and still be the same kind of provacative show. 

ETA: Another reason this could be a series finale is the way Mac was rejected by his father, yet accepted by Frank all in the same moment. Frank obviously is Dennis and Dee’s father, yet was most like a father-figure (BFF) to Charlie. As Frank kept reiterating this episode, I never got you, Mac. Implying we’re part of this circle, but you’re the one person i’ve always had distance with. Mac has spent his whole life craving his father’s love and acceptance. He’s been self-loathing his whole life—maybe if he’s a better Catholic or stronger or tougher or not gay... Once he finally accepted HIMSELF, Frank could finally SEE him, accept him, get him. Frank can give him that fatherly love he craves. Not that he’s all that great with Dennis and Dee (but a lot of that is D&D not really wanting that—calling him Frank instead of Dad) but he is a good “father” to Charlie—and this gang is family. I kind of don’t want them to ruin this moment by coming back for another season—even though i’ve always liked the show. They can’t top this. And, god damnit, Rob pulled the long—13 years long—con on me! As I said above, I always thought he was the weakest character. It’s kind of funny that if he was the creator, he gave the better material to everyone else all these years. I really didn’t see it coming that it was HIS story all along.

Edited November 9, 2018 by JenE4

[larapu2000]

I thought the dance was a way to make Mac's sexual orientation something other than the punchline it's been through the years.  They took being gay seriously and treated it seriously,  even as a comedy.  It wasn't the funniest episode, but it was definitely the most moving.  

[Ubiquitous]

On ‎11‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 11:22 PM, Lantern7 said:

What was the point of that running gag? "Well, we want to show Mac come out of his cocoon . . .and yet, Danny really wants to go all-out being gross for the finale. Screw it, let's do both!"

Didn't Frank say something about not bottling it up like, like he did for his bleeding nose?

I reminded me of how I feel during allergy season.

[AllyB]

On 11/9/2018 at 2:19 PM, JenE4 said:

Frank obviously is Dennis and Dee’s father, yet was most like a father-figure (BFF) to Charlie.

Frank raised Dennis and Dee but he found out that he's not biologically their father as his wife cheated on him with Stephen Collins' (ugh!!!!!!) character. And it's been implied that he is in fact Charlie's father as he and Charlie's mother had sex around the time she got pregnant with Charlie and Frank paid for an abortion that didn't take.

Got to say that I absolutely loved the ending. It was weird and unexpected but I think that after 13 seasons, the show gets to do things like this. To turn everything on it's head and just give the audience something completely out of left field. It was amazing. The emotion, the dancing, everything it conveyed. I've never gotten interpretive dance but I got that. I was moved on every level.

Though I do worry about Rob as what he does to his body with the forced weight gain for S7 and now the intensive diet and training feels like it can't be good for him. (And, maybe it's just my own insecurity but, the dance was so physically charged I hope Kaitlin was cool with it. I know they are both professionals but I'd have a hard time watching a husband I loved being that intense with another woman.)

[mothmonsterman]

I think this episode totally worked. When Mac came out he has become more and more of a progressive, open-minded person. He has always talked about his feelings, and wanted people to know what was inside. To me, this episode finally showing his dad the pain and confusion he has had in his life is in line with the story.

The dance scene made me cry, and I never thought I would cry at a Sunny episode. 

Well done, Sunny, well done. 

[Rdh1314]

I LOVE this show....I'm old (56) and didn't really like this episode very much.  My 24 year old son had me watch it with him again, and I understood it better and appreciated it more.  Can't help it though...it just wasn't one of the really funny ones for me.  And Danny just looked too disgusting to me in a not funny way.

[DrSpaceman73]

I think you can appreciate the episode while still not being a fan of it or not finding it one of the better ones of the series, at least in terms of comedy. 

[Rdh1314]

15 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I think you can appreciate the episode while still not being a fan of it or not finding it one of the better ones of the series, at least in terms of comedy. 

Oh, absolutely!  Even though it wasn't a "funny" one to me, I have even more respect for the talent these people have.