It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Best Charlie Moments - Collider
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia centers on Mac (Rob McElhenney), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Frank (Danny DeVito), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), and Charlie (Charlie Day), a degenerate group of misfits, and their ludicrous antics. All the characters are quirky and hilarious, but there is something uniquely lovable about Day's Charlie. Whether he's bashing rats, huffing glue, or singing a ditty, he's sure to provide laughs aplenty. That's why we're going to take a look at some of his best moments from each season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Season 1, Episode 6: "The Gang Finds A Dead Guy"
Charlie is assigned to clean up the Paddy's booth that a dead guy was found in, and comes back donning a garbage bag, face mask, and rubber gloves. The comedy magic of the scene comes when the dead guy's granddaughter walks in: the rest of the gang consoles the woman, when suddenly from the background the garbage-bagged Charlie announces, "I'm sorry for your loss." The emotionless statement, along with the deadpan look on Day's face, would be enough to garner belly-laughs. But Charlie's rubber-gloved hands held up to the level of his face really rub salt in the wound.
Season 2, Episode 9: "Charlie Goes America All Over Everybody's Ass"
Charlie is upset at Mac and Dennis for letting the McPoyle brothers into Paddy's, and shouts, "Let me kick down a little thing to you that our founding fathers kicked down to me: it goes 'don't tread on me.' And right now you guys are treading all over me!" Dee then refuses to join his anti-smoking rally, and Charlie balls his fist in rage before breaking out into patriotic song. The lyrics of the song, though hilarious, are not the only thing that make the scene so memorable. Day clearly has trouble performing the song without letting a bit of a smile peek through. He was probably unable to get through a lot of the takes without laughing, so they had to stick with this take because despite the smirk on Day's face, the performance is stellar.
Season 3, Episode 2: "The Gang Gets Invincible"
Charlie, as Greenman, dances with the McPoyle family while tripping on acid that Frank slipped in his drink. Mac and Dennis come over looking for Frank, and after they find him, Charlie asks how long they've been standing there, and "when the hell" he put Greenman on. Day's gyrations really convince you that he's tripping on acid, and the tight, neon-green suit that is "Greenman" only adds to the hilarity. When Charlie forgets what's going on, he sounds like he has no idea how he got there or when he became Greenman.There are many memorable moments when Charlie is on some mind-bending drug, and this is one of the best.
Season 4, Episode 10: "Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack"
Day's hilariously apt portrayal of a madman puts this moment on the list. Mac and Charlie go down to the mailroom of the corporate office they've recently started "working" at, when Charlie begins a mad rant about the nonexistence of a Pepe Silvia, whose mail keeps coming back to him. He insists that "this office is a goddamn ghost town," and Mac assures him that these people do exist and have been talking about their missing mail. Day has a cigarette in his mouth, dark circles under his eyes, speaks quickly in a husky tone, and remains hunched throughout the scene. These physical elements of the performance make Day's portrayal of a raving detective wonderfully farcical.
Season 5, Episode 5: "The Waitress Is Getting Married"
This moment gives us more insight into the delightful bizarrity that is Charlie's brain. Mac and Dennis go over to Charlie's apartment to set up an internet dating profile for him. When Mac and Dennis ask Charlie questions about himself to include in the profile bio, Charlie replies with asinine responses like "ghouls" and "magnets." The ease with which Day plays Charlie as a lovable weirdo in this scene, and the way he answers the questions as the first things that come to his mind, are why it's his best moment in the season. Charlie "is who he is," as he puts it in this scene, and we love him for it.
Season 6, Episode 13: "It's a Very Sunny Christmas"
Though the amount of blood and violence in this scene make it difficult to watch at times, it's Charlie's behavior leading up to the mayhem that puts this moment on the list. After recently learning that the Santas who visited his house as a kid were there to have sex with his mom, Charlie is put in an immediate stupor by the sight of Santa Claus at the mall. He walks over to the Santa, plops himself on his lap, and repeatedly asks the question, "Did you f*** my mom, Santa Clause?" What makes this scene memorable is Day's ability to pull off a dazed anger. He stops mid-sentence when he sees Santa, and goes over to him as though he is on autopilot. Once on Santa's lap, his questioning is so fervent and blazing, that we immediately fear for Santa's wellbeing, even if we are laughing hysterically at the same time.
Season 7, Episode 10: "How Mac Got Fat"
Charlie and Dennis get high in the back office, and Charlie starts dancing –AKA making flailing hand gestures – to a psychedelic track. It's no surprise that Day convincingly portrays Charlie as being high out of his mind, but it's the weirdness of the "dance moves" that really make it special. It's the kind of scene that you mimic to your friends who wonder what the hell you're doing. Day's moves are so outlandish, yet portrayed with an almost arrogant coolness, that Charlie seems genuinely proud of the performance he is putting on for Dennis. And we fans eat it up just like Charlie "eats'' those eyeballs.
Season 8, Episode 8: "Charlie Rules the World"
It's hard to choose one moment from this episode, because it's full of Charlie magic. The best satirical part of the episode, though, is after Dee and Charlie's video game characters have "consummated" to become king and queen of their realm. Acting like an old-fashioned husband, Charlie is impatient with Dee every time she tries to speak to him about the game. This is one of Charlie's best moments because it's not a version of him we see all that often: he's on top of the (video game) world, he's overly confident, and has been corrupted by power. Though Charlie does have a handful of "evil" moments, he's usually the least morally corrupt of the gang (which isn't saying much). So when we see him take control and treat Dee with such disdain, it's refreshing and hilarious, because Day is so good at playing cocky when the episode calls for it.
Season 9, Episode 3: "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award"
Of the many musical Charlie moments, this one might take the cake. In the beginning of the episode, the gang rejects a ditty Charlie wrote to represent Paddy's Pub. When he returns later, it's clear that Charlie was upset by this rejection, and performs a vengeful spider song while high on paint. The funniest thing about this scene is the irony of how good the production of the song, and Day's performance, actually are compared to the absurdity of the lyrics. The piano chords are genuinely moving, and Day has a great vibrato that takes it to an almost professional level.
Season 10, Episode 1: "The Gang Beats Boggs"
At the end of this episode, Charlie is blackout drunk on a baseball diamond in LA after participating in the inflight Wade Boggs drinking challenge, and he has to hit a pitch from Mac to win. Despite his stumbling, Charlie hits the ball out of the park, then asks Mac, "What do now?" Day is just as good at acting drunk as he is at acting high, and this is one of the best scenes to prove it. His knees are wobbling and his body is off-kilter like such an inebriated man's would be. He even pulls off a somewhat distant look in his eyes, and real-sounding word slurs. There are a lot of good drunk Charlie moments, but this one really "hits" home.
Season 11, Episode 3: "The Gang Hits the Slopes"
After accidentally walking in on model Tatiana naked in the jacuzzi, Charlie apologizes and swears he's not a "peeping Tom". Instead of shooing Charlie away, Tatiana beckons him to join her. A steamy sex montage follows, with Charlie donning a look of ecstatic shock throughout. This moment is golden because we usually think of Charlie as the unappealing goober who has a creepy obsession with The Waitress. But here on the mountain, where "the rules are different," a gorgeous model wants to sleep with Charlie. The juxtaposition of the sexual shots with Day's unbelieving expression are incredibly comical, and reach their peak when we see him skillfully and confidently playing the saxophone naked in front of the fire.
Season 12, Episode 8: "The Gang Tends Bar"
Charlie makes a card for Frank's tapeworm, Jerry, and gives it to Frank along with some chocolates. Frank excitedly takes the card and shoves the chocolates in his mouth, when Charlie sinisterly informs him that the chocolates are "chalk-full of bye-bye Jerry pills." This scene makes it on the list because it's another glimpse at evil Charlie. Whenever Day gets to depict a vindictive or malevolent Charlie, it's a delight to see because he does it so well. When Charlie tells Frank that the chocolates are meant to get rid of the tapeworm, Day delivers the speech with such triumphant malice that we can't help but celebrate with him.
Season 13, Episode 8: "Charlie's Home Alone"
"Charlie's Home Alone" is one of those Charlie-centric episodes that make it difficult to pin down one highlight, but it has to be when Charlie eats a rat to help the Eagles win the Superbowl. The casual quality Day gives to eating the rat, though off-putting, takes the comedy of the scene further than the simple act of someone eating a live rodent. After Charlie violently throws the rat up, he appears dead for a moment. What makes this scene so priceless is Day's commitment to such a barbaric action, and how dramatically he acts out the gasp for air that brings him back to life.
Season 14, Episode 10: "Waiting For Big Mo"
As Dennis and Charlie guard the gang's laser tag base, Dennis points out that Charlie eats bouncy balls, to which Charlie responds that he's just testing them to see how they pass. Dennis says that that's eating them, and Charlie gets quiet, looks down, and weakly says "no." This is a great Charlie moment because we get a clear glimpse at his hyper-present inner child. It's not the first time that we see or hear about Charlie eating things he shouldn't be, but Day's ashamed, almost embarrassed response to the accusation is so like a little kid getting caught, that we are reminded why Charlie often seems like the innocent one of the group.
Season 15, Episode 4: "The Gang Replaces Dee With a Monkey"
Charlie, Mac, and Dennis are at Paddy's talking about where they might go for a vacation. Charlie says he's getting more comfortable with travel lately – since it's usually hard for him to leave Philadelphia – and asks Mac and Dennis if they knew that Pittsburgh was in Pennsylvania. Then he expresses confusion as to how there can be two cities in one state, and says that Pennsylvania is Philadelphia. Day's convincing bewilderment, and the way his frustration builds up because he can't understand the concept of two separate cities being in Philadelphia, make this scene Charlie's best from Season 15.
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