"The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis" is the first episode of the fifth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Synopsis[]
While Frank, Mac, and Dennis try their hand at real estate, Dee arranges to be a surrogate mother to a wealthy couple with a sweet house. Meanwhile, Charlie faces off with a lawyer on the intricacies of the judicial system.
Recap[]
11:30AM on a Tuesday
Frank convinces Charlie, Dennis and Mac to aid him in selling a recently purchased foreclosed home. Similarly, Dee wishes the gang to help her become a surrogate mother in order to earn 'easy' money, the gang concludes that they will aide Frank as the job is seemingly more profitable.
When Deandra meets the potential parents they ask her several questions about her past; Dee blatantly lies by denying having previous problems with alcohol or illegal substances as well as lying about several other aspects of her life. She fails to mention her heart attack when claiming that she has never had a health problem in her entire life. Dee tries to convince the couple of receiving reduced fees through a bulk purchase. An up on the octo-mom if you will.
As Charlie, Dennis, Frank and Mac prepare to renovate Frank's new home, they find home fully furnished with food on the stove. Moment's later, the previous home owners arrive and a minor conflict occurs; where the gang briefly mentions raping the mother and killing the family, although they conclude that would be inconvenient. They tell the family that they will return with the deed and paperwork.
Deandra tries to exploit her surrogacy by convincing the parents that she should be able to use their home in order to 'relax' and prepare for pregnancy.
Upon return to Frank's new house, they find that the locks have been changed and that a lawyer is present. The gang has had an experience with this lawyer before in "Dennis and Dee's Mom Is Dead." Upon conversation with the lawyer, Frank learns that the family has 90 days to vacate the home.
Dennis and Mac still try to sell the home as realtors in order to avoid using a realty agency, under Frank's concern that the family will ruin his new home. Dennis and Mac chose to stylize themselves as a "Good Realtor and Bad Realtor" combination named Hugh Honey and Vic Vinegar as Honey and Vinegar Realty.
The first couple to come to the "open house" are forcefully coerced into buying the house by "Vic" screaming at them to buy the house.
Dennis and Mac come to realize that their recent characters may also be capable of helping Dee earn more money. They visit Dee while she swims in the surrogate parents' pool. Dennis and Mac act as a homosexual couple and claim that they paid more money for Deandra's services. Suddenly, Frank arrives and tells the gang that he lost the home because he had injured the families' children while he had them do renovation work to their rooms. The buyers of Dee's surrogacy inform Dee that she is no longer a candidate as they find her immoral and unsuitable. The entire gang then decides to use the surrogate parents' pool in order to relieve their tension.
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 Stars[]
- Benjamin Koldyke as Sean
- Melanie Lynskey as Kate
- Brian Unger as The Attorney
- P.J. Byrne as Tad
- Ray Porter as Gerry
Co-Starring[]
- Jennifer Blanc as Claire
- Brighid Fleming as Suzie
- Caleb Guss as Henry
- Anna Vocino as Fay
Trivia[]
- This is the first episode to be broadcast in 16:9 widescreen format.
Jackknife!
- Kaitlin Olson usually does all of her own stunts, but not in this episode ("sweet jackknife").
- When Mac and Dennis are pretending to be a couple, they're talking about "trophy husband" and "power bottom" - it is a reference for their twinks and bears conversation from "The Gang Sells Out".
- Originally, Season 4 was to include an episode entitled "Frank Exploits the Mortgage Crisis." Due to Danny DeVito's limited availability at the time, the episode had to be held off until Season 5.
- Charlie was right about the "bird law". It is illegal in the United States to keep a hummingbird as a pet. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 makes it illegal to capture, possess, or kill many species of birds, including hummingbirds, without a permit. However, he was wrong about bird law with regard to gulls, as gulls are also protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
- Later, Dee will successfully implement her "baby scheme" with delivering the baby for Carmen and Nick. [6x12] She got her surrogate money in 07x04.
- Dee lies to the couple she is applying to be a surrogate mother for in multiple ways: she has been addicted to crack [2x4], cocaine [3x13] and to steroids [2x7], and she drinks heavily (multiple times throughout the series), and she is lying about not having any health problems, since she has had a heart attack by this point in the series. [4x10]
- Frank picks up an umbrella to use as a weapon against the family living in the house. This may be a reference to Danny DeVito's character "The Penguin" from the 1992 movie "Batman Returns".
- "Vic Vinegar" reappears as a "bodyguard" to a man whose identity Dennis has stolen in "Frank's Back in Business".
- The Surrogacy story arc is a heavy reference to the movie Juno - with Dee behaving towards the family like Juno did in the film, but without the couple responding in kind.
- Charlie will square off with The Lawyer on bird law again in the Season 11 episode "McPoyle vs. Ponderosa: The Trial of the Century".
Videos[]
| < Season 4 |
Season 5 | Season > 6 |
| 1. "The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis" 2. "The Gang Hits the Road" 3. "The Great Recession" 4. "The Gang Gives Frank an Intervention" 5. "The Waitress Is Getting Married" 6. "The World Series Defense" 7. "The Gang Wrestles for the Troops" 8. "Paddy's Pub: Home of the Original Kitten Mittens" 9. "Mac and Dennis Break Up" 10. "The D.E.N.N.I.S. System" 11. "Mac and Charlie Write a Movie" 12. "The Gang Reignites the Rivalry" 13. "A Very Sunny Christmas" |