Rob McElhenney Movies

Welcome back for another round of over-the-top outrageous humor at Paddy's Pub with TV's least wholesome barflies in the third season (2007) of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The FX original comedy chronicles the dysfunctional lives of a group of dive bar owners -- Mac (Rob McElhenney), Charlie (Charlie Day), Dennis (Glenn Howerton), Dee (Kaitlin Olson), and their twisted father figure, Frank (Danny DeVito) -- as they relentlessly scheme to get ahead by leaving no politically incorrect issue unexamined. The gang plows recklessly through such themes as racism, sweatshop labor, dumpster babies, sex offenders, the homeless, serial killers, transgender lifestyles, international terrorism, drug dealers, organized crime, vigilante justice, and the mentally challenged. This 15-episode set comes packed with irreverent bonus features including behind-the-scenes making-of featurette, character profiles, select episode cast commentaries, and TV spots.

This weekly, half-hour "slacker-com" began life as an independent project cooked up by three experienced Hollywood writers who were tired of scrounging around for jobs and decided to create their own opportunity. With little more than a single digital camera and a budget of 200 dollars, Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton taped the pilot episode for a series about three overaged slackers, friends since high school, who ran a spectacularly unprofitable Irish bar in Philadelphia. The trio then shopped their pilot around to various networks and cable outlets, finally landing a weekly, half-hour slot on the FX cable service. Most of the humor in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia arose from the inflated egos and low-watt IQs of the three male protagonists, Mac (McElhenney), Charlie (Day), and Dennis (Howerton), as they endeavored to maintain their blue-collar values and machismo in the face of such sociopolitical challenges as racism, homophobia, abortion, and feminism. Added to the cast for the series proper was Kaitlin Olson as Dennis' sister, Dee, the most sensible of the bunch, albeit perennially unlucky in matters of the heart. Original debuting over FX in tandem with another low-budget sitcom, Starved, on August 4, 2005, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was given a brief "over-the-air" tryout on FX's sister network Fox in June 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sweet Home Alabama screenwriter C. Jay Cox directs the independent romance Latter Days. Christian (Wesley A. Ramsey) is a young gay party boy who lives in Southern California. When a group of good-looking Mormon missionary guys move into his apartment complex, he's determined to pick one up. He ends up falling for sweet, innocent Mormon Aaron Davis (Steve Sandvoss), who's secretly struggling with his sexuality. Aaron slowly falls for Christian, even though he thinks he's shallow. The romance causes problems in both worlds. Christian tries to develop a conscience and ends up meeting Keith (Erik Palladino), a man dying of AIDS. Aaron has the difficult job of coming out to his mom (Mary Kay Place) and to his fellow missionaries. He comes against harsh criticism from the blatantly homophobic Ryder (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Latter Days won awards at the Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and L.A. Outfest. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

A policeman plays Good Samaritan to a visitor from Ireland, only to discover that he has a potentially deadly secret. Belfast-born Frankie McGuire (Brad Pitt) saw his father gunned down by enemy soldiers at the age of eight, and when he grew up he joined the Irish Republican Army, determined that one day his father's death would be avenged. An especially ruthless "volunteer," Frankie is responsible for the death of 13 British soldiers and 11 policemen. After a particularly bloody battle, Frankie sails to the United States in a ragged tugboat he has restored; with a huge bundle of cash, Frankie intends to buy a stock of Stinger missiles from an underground arms dealer in America, Billy Burke (Treat Williams). Upon arrival in New York, Frankie is met by a judge who is sympathetic to the IRA's cause and who arranges a place for him to stay. Using the name Rory Devaney, Frankie moves into the home of Tom O'Meara (Harrison Ford), a scrupulously honest cop. Tom is already in the midst of a personal crisis; his friend and partner Edwin Diaz (Ruben Blades) recently shot a man that he knew was unarmed in the line of duty, and while Edwin wants Tom to help him cover up the matter, Tom's conscience will not allow it. When Tom begins to realize that "Rory" is not simply a man running from the violence of his homeland, he's torn between his sympathy for Frankie's tragic childhood and his desire to see justice served and prevent needless death in Ireland. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi