"Dee Made a Smut Film" is the fourth episode of the eleventh season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Synopsis[]
Dee lands a bit role in a pornographic film, and Dennis' uses her to direct a film adaptation of his memoir. Meanwhile Frank, Charlie, and Mac explore the art world, and are eager to prove that art is meaningless.
Recap[]
Dee gathers the Gang together in her apartment as she orders a movie that she has recently starred in, much to the disbelief and skepticism of the guys. They are amazed as the scene opens and they realize Dee actually is in the film, starring alongside actor Richard Grieco. Their amazement quickly turns to confusion, and it is revealed that the movie is actually a smut film as Grieco receives oral sex from a woman. They ask her where she ordered the movie from, and when she replies "Cinemax", the guys burst out in laughter, while Dee is quick with denial and claims that it's merely a foreign art house film.
Back at the bar, Frank, Mac and Dennis are in the middle of a discussion about what constitutes art. Mac becomes vigilant on proving that “the whole art world is bullshit these days,” and that even someone like Charlie, who is crudely doodling and eating chalk next to him, could be considered an artist. Dennis sees Dee’s film as an indication society at large has become sexually open enough, and the world is finally ready for a film adaptation of his erotic memoirs, à la 50 Shades of Gray.
Mac sets in motion his plan by bring Charlie (who is emulating Richard Grieco and using out-of-date slang) and Frank to an art gallery. He frames one of Charlie's doodles in a frame and places it on the wall before speaking loudly around a group of people about what an interesting piece it is, only for it be taken down and thrown in the garbage by what turns out to be the gallery's owner. As Mac digs it out of the trash and demands an explanation for why Charlie's doodles are not art, yet the same poorly-composed painting next to it is, she explains to him that art is all about context, and the context of the painting is that its artist grew up during the Holocaust. During this explanation, Frank finds himself captivated by the painting and enters a deep trance as we're shown a brief montage of World War Two imagery. Mac now sets out to prove the gallery owner wrong.
At the same time, Dennis finds himself at the Philadelphia Film Society, and walks into a woman's office while reading an explicit passage from his memoir. She immediately picks up that his intent lies in filming an adaptation of his memoir and is disinterested, as he explains it would be just like 50 Shades of Gray. She comments that that novel was written by a woman, and in order to gain her favor, Dennis claims that his memoir was also written by a woman, and would be directed by a woman, who turns out to be Dee.
Mac's revised plan includes staging a gallery event at Paddy's under the guise of the artist being Rickety Cricket, but it actually being Charlie's art. He has Cricket dictate scenes from his life to Charlie for him to draw, including a "dog three-way", and then sets Frank on a recon mission to get the gallery owner to come to the bar's art exhibit. Frank claims he can do it as he used to hang out with artists in the seventies when Mac explicitly warns him not to go overboard with it. The next scene cuts to Frank at the gallery, dressed exactly like Andy Warhol and talking with a slightly higher, emphatic voice. He acts like a stereotypical artist as he randomly declares various pieces to be garbage, while praising an air conditioner as brilliant. Frank again finds himself captivated by the Holocaust painting, and when he returns to tell the news to Mac, he has bought both the air conditioner and the painting.
Meanwhile, Dennis walks into Dee's apartment and catches her in the middle of figuring out an editing software. He pitches the idea to her about directing his movie, obviously irritated that he must enlist her help, while she happily declares she's always wanted to direct. The first scene takes place in Dee's apartment, set up to look like a librarian's office, with Richard Grieco playing Dennis. Shooting is a messy disaster, and Dee asks Dennis what event this scene is based on. He reveals that he had sex with his high school's hot, young librarian. Dee remembers that she was nearly 50 and "looked like Rick Moranis", but is more concerned with the fact that Dennis was 14, and was technically raped. He denies this by saying that it was mutual and that men cannot be raped, while Dennis becomes frustrated with Grieco and takes his place in the movie instead.
Back at the bar, the exhibit is underway with Cricket poising as the artist when Frank arrives in his Warhol costume, having bought both the painting and the air conditioner. Soon after the gallery owner arrives and Mac overbearingly tries to get her to admit Charlie's drawings are art. At the same time, Dee wheels out a TV and announces she has finished editing Dennis' movie, much to Dennis' opposition. What is shown is none of the actual footage, and is merely crudely cut together images of a younger Dennis that eventually pokes fun at the fact he was raped. After asking her if it's art, the gallery owner skirts around declaring it so, and that art is only worth what people perceive it to be, which is why Frank bought the cheap painting for 30+ thousand dollars. Dennis then launches into a a speech about how art is subjectively determined by specific people, before tacking on at the end that he wasn't raped. They all remember Ms. Klinsky, when Cricket deadpans "Even I wouldn't do her." The screen cuts to black.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Charlie Day as Charlie Kelly
- Glenn Howerton as Dennis Reynolds
- Rob McElhenney as Mac
- Kaitlin Olson as Dee Reynolds
- Danny DeVito as Frank Reynolds
Guest Starring[]
- David Hornsby as Cricket
- Richard Grieco as Richard Greico
- Brittney Alger as Cindy
- Jordana Capra as Film Society Woman
- Mary Holland as Blair (Gallery Owner)
Trivia[]
- Dee's acting reel contains, in addition to her scene from the smut film she was in, part of her Invigaron video from "Mac and Dennis Buy a Timeshare" and her ill-fated turn as an extra in "Mac and Charlie Write a Movie".
- Cindy, the "new age tail" Frank was chasing after in "Ass Kickers United: Mac and Charlie Join a Cult" returns in this episode.
- Oddly enough, Charlie is right about chalk and Tums being much the same thing: both are made from calcium carbonate. However, Tums and similar antacids are actually made to be eaten, unlike chalk.
- The word "comedienne" is misspelled in Dee's acting reel (as "Comedianne")
- We first see Dennis' "erotic memoir" in the episode "Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life." Frank has previously financed two of Dennis' film projects: Lethal Weapon 5 ("Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth"), and Lethal Weapon 6 ("The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6".) In both cases, he insisted on a graphic sex scene featuring himself, hence Dennis' reluctance to get him to finance another project.
- Dennis' rape is mentioned again in the Season 12 epiosde "PTSDee." He continues to deny that he was raped, or that the experience has traumatized him in any way.
- The name that Frank uses for his "high society art type" character, Ango Gablogian, may be a reference to Larry Gagosian, who owns the Gagosian Galleries chain of art galleries, and is generally considered to be one of the most influential figures in contemporary art. Frank's white wig and general demeanor also makes him resemble -- vaguely -- famed pop artist Andy Warhol. The last name also calls to mind another one of Frank's characters, Dr. Mantis Toboggan.
Quotes[]
- Dennis: But if one thing has become abundantly clear to me today, and it should be to all of you as well. It's that I wasn't raped. Had a good time she and I. Yeah. It was a... it was a two-way road. The whole thing was... mutual. And the woman in no way looked like Rick Moranis.
- Charlie: She totally did. I remember her. Remember her?
- Mac: Yeah.
- Rickety Cricket: Real dog. I wouldn't even sleep with her.
Images[]
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| 1. "Chardee MacDennis 2: Electric Boogaloo" 2. "Frank Falls Out the Window" |