Danny DeVito has played some wacky characters in his day. Take the Penguin for example, the eccentric villain of Gotham. However, it wasn’t until a little later in his career where he really got the chance to let his so-called freak flag fly.
Danny DeVito joined the cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia in the second season. As the rest of the cast were all unknown actors, DeVito was brought in as the star power, but he turned out to be much more than that. He boarded the series as Frank Reynolds, a rich businessman who has had a mid-life crisis of sorts. Initially starting out as the man who funds the gang’s crazy schemes, he soon became the zaniest member of the group. So, here’s our pick of his 5 most absurd Always Sunny moments.
5. Frank Has Gun Fever
You’ve probably lost count how many times Frank has pulled out his gun in Always Sunny. As a rich man that can buy anything he wants, he equips himself with a basic handgun that he uses for anything from shooting it in the air randomly, to opening canned foods, and even eating food off of it. It got so bad that the gang even staged an intervention for him to help him see how his gun use was getting out of control. However, he took things up a notch in the episode “Gun Fever Too: Still Hot” when he went live on air to promote the use of guns. Of course, he had money to gain here as he had just invested in a Philadelphia firearms store. But his timing was way off, convincing people to buy guns at a time when gun crime was rife. In fact, he even pulled out two pistols live on air.
4. Frank Crushes Christmas Dreams
While Frank is certainly a wayward person, Danny DeVito portrays him with such a nuanced sense of charm that it’s hard to not root for him. One thing we learn early on about Frank is that he cares much more about money than he does his own children Dennis (Glenn Howertown) and Dee (Kaitlin Olson). Frank does a lot of things that would easily make him a prime contender for “Worst TV Father,” but his yearly Christmas tradition is by the far the most brutal. Instead of sitting around the tree and giving thoughtful gifts nicely wrapped, he finds out what Dennis and Dee really desire and then purchases those things for himself. Then, to make matters worse, he purposefully ruins the gifts he gave himself, whether it’s by rigging a Lamborghini door with a clothes hanger or stashing chocolate and cheese appetizers in a pricey handbag. And to make matters worse, he has done this ever since they were children.
3. Frank Hijacks a Boat
Fairly often, the Paddy’s Pub crew set out on an adventure together only to turn on each other and go their separate ways. And if there’s one thing that is pretty universal about rich people, it’s that most of them will go to extreme lengths to win, and Frank Reynolds is certainly no exception. In the episode “Thunder Gun Express“, the gang are all revved up to see the new entry in their favourite action franchise. However, on their way to the movie theater, they find the entire city is gridlocked due to a Presidential visit. While Charlie (Charlie Day) and Dee scour the city’s sewers, and Dennis gets stuck in traffic when the gang all desert him, Mac (Rob McElhenney) attempts to steal a bike and crashes it. But Frank ups the ante and steals an entire boat full of people. Of course, he gets arrested but takes thing up an even further notch by calling in a bomb threat to the movie theater so nobody can see the film.
2. The Sucker Punch
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia rarely skits movies, but when it does, it becomes nearly as iconic as the original movie. Riffing off of Clint Eastwood‘s legendary boxing movie Million Dollar Baby, this episode sees Frank try to settle a score with old boxing rival Bobby Thunderson by pitting Dee against his daughter Brianna in a bout. Frank pushes Dee to her limits, but it isn’t good enough so he pressures her into taking steroids, and she becomes a feral beast as a result. After the steroids go to her head, she gets into a massive fight with Charlie and misses the match. But Frank isn’t one to back down and heads to the gym for a rematch with Bobby. Being the sneaky guy that he is, Frank swings before the count, knocking Bobby out and sending him crashing into Brianna who falls onto a stool and breaks her neck. Only, there’s no Million Dollar Baby moment here; no guilt, no shame, Frank just runs away.
1. Frank Marries His Own Daughter
There’s no doubt about it, Danny DeVito is not afraid to go to weird places as Frank Reynolds. The gang have done some weird things in their time, but this was possibly the weirdest, and also straight-up illegal. It is revealed at some point that Frank isn’t actually Dennis and Dee’s real father, however, he is still the man that raised them, and they do share the same last name. So, when Frank got wind of the fact that he wouldn’t be in his ex-wife’s will, he pretended to be Dee’s fiancée. Things got really weird when Dee’s real dad Bruce Mathis pushed them to prove themselves as a couple and they get close to having sex. Thankfully, they did not. But this is surely the weirdest Frank moment in Always Sunny, and potentially the weirdest moment of any storyline in the show’s history.
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