A Great Charlie Day Episode Of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Was Inspired By This Crime Noir Film
Everyone has their favorite member of the gang on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," but downtrodden, illiterate janitor Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) is easily the heart of the crew. He's a stalker who once gave a man a box of live hornets as a "gift," so he's not exactly the best guy in the world, but he's still somehow the least terrible person in the gang and tends to engage in the silliest escapades. Every so often, we're even treated to a Charlie-centric episode, like the absolutely incredible "Birdman"-inspired outing "Charlie Work" from season 10 or his time as a scientific study participant in "Flowers for Charlie" in season 9.
Eventually, in season 14, we got another truly hilarious Charlie episode in the shape of "The Janitor Always Mops Twice." There have been a few times where the series has deviated from its standard format to play around with movie or TV tropes and spoof various things — like riffing on documentary TV in "Dennis Reynolds: Making a Murderer" or the show's ludicrous "Lethal Weapon" sequel episodes — but for "The Janitor Always Mops Twice," the gang had a full-blown film noir fantasy in black, white, and red.
The Janitor Always Mops Twice is loosely based on The Postman Always Rings Twice
In "The Janitor Always Mops Twice," Charlie and the rest of the gang are thrust into a film noir story where Charlie tries to solve the mystery of who "diarrhea-poisoned" his friend and roommate, Frank (Danny DeVito). The gang seem to be playing roles, as they break character now and again to great comedic effect, but this version of Charlie has only just met The Waitress, and the two have a bit of a romance that results in her revealing she was the poisoner and schemer behind it all, poisoning Charlie in the end. While The Waitress loathes Charlie and mostly avoids him at all costs, it's a lot of fun watching real-life spouses Day and Ellis get a chance to have a little onscreen romance, even if it does go horribly wrong.
The episode is loosely inspired by the 1946 film noir "The Postman Always Rings Twice," directed by Tay Garnett and based on the novel of the same name by James M. Cain. (The novel was previously adapted as both a 1939 French film and a 1943 Italian film, and it was later adapted in 1981 with Jack Nicholson in the leading role!) The 1943 "The Postman Always Rings Twice" is one of the best noir movies of all time, with lots of twists and turns and an incredible femme fatale played by Lana Turner. While the plot isn't exactly the same as "Postman," which follows a woman who wants to kill her husband with the help of her lover, this "Always Sunny" episode is clearly riffing on certain moments and performances, with Ellis giving Turner a slightly more comedic run for her money. ("Postman" also doesn't feature any splashes of red, which feels more like a nod to Robert Rodriguez's movie adaptation of the comic series "Sin City," but again, it's all part of the noir playbook.)
It's always funny when the Sunny gang spoofs cinema
The creative team behind "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" are all big movie fans, including the episode's writer, Megan Ganz. Fans might recognize her from stints writing on both "Community' and "Modern Family," or for helping to co-create "Mythic Quest" with "Always Sunny" creator Rob McElhenney, and it's clear she loves old noir movies enough to riff on all of the various tropes and nuances. Mac (McElhenney) and Dennis (Glenn Howerton), for example, get to act the part of gangsters, complete with period-appropriate accents that are far better than anything they attempted in the colonial-era "Always Sunny" episode "The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell." It's really fun to see everyone get in on the noir theme, and giving Ellis a real starring role when she's usually relegated to only a scene or two is great because she's hilarious.
"The Janitor Always Mops Twice" works well as a stand-alone episode, as it doesn't really tie into any of the gang's other escapades or reference any other episodes outside of Charlie being at the bottom of the gang's social structure. It's always fun when the gang riffs on cinema, whether it's the "Die Hard" reference in "The Gang Gets Held Hostage" or, as mentioned earlier, their assorted "Lethal Weapon" sequels (problematic elements notwithstanding). Here's hoping they get a chance to play in another cinematic sandbox when "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" returns for season 17 on July 9, 2025.