Relatability goes a long way in tying a fan’s heart to a television character. Whether it’s the clothes they wear, the job they have, or the hurdles they face and fumble with, a lasting and lovable character should hold a mirror to the screen.
In a cast of characters whose defining attribute is their self-centeredness, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) finds a way to remain likable. Time and time again, he stands out amid the insanity as a sympathetic sap whose struggles strike very close to home. From existential crises to job hunting, Charlie is a mouthpiece for the masses.
Looking For A Job
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The hunt for employment is a universal aggravator. After he botches a negotiation to sell their bar and gets kicked out of the Gang’s scheme to correct the situation, Charlie launches into a sarcastic Dr. Suess-esque rant that cuts to the core of the universal distaste for job hunting.
When the Gang flippantly tells Charlie to “get a job,” he mockingly states he will just “strap on [his] job helmet and squeeze down into a job cannon and fire off into Jobland where jobs grow on jobbies.” Anyone that has ever made the search for employment sound easy almost certainly has this tirade memorized.
Telling His Critics Off
In a desperate (and very meta) gambit to win the respect and recognition they feel they deserve, the Gang stages a night of pageantry for local bar and restaurant critics. In one of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's many musical outings, Charlie writes a theme song for the bar. Although, after getting high on paint in the basement, the song sounded quite different.
In his "enlightened state," Charlie realizes he does not need anyone’s approval. He needs no one’s trophies or accolades. Charlie is the weird, flawed, but lovable person he is and enthusiastically tells the crowd of critics to go 'f' themselves. The only hope is that not everyone needs to get inebriated to have their epiphany.
All of ‘Charlie Work’
Feeling like the only competent person around is not a normal phenomenon for Charlie, but in the episode "Charlie Work," it is. As the Gang swirls around him amid one of their more ludicrous schemes, Charlie acts like a grown-up; and nearly loses his mind for his efforts.
Charlie struggles on his own to keep the bar semi-functioning and presentable for an inspector, swimming against the current of the surrounding fools. His manic behavior, angry muttering under his breath, and violent outbursts are all too recognizable to anyone who has ever worked in a group setting. Charlie puts the mechanics of collaboration on blast, and we are here for it.
Getting Drunk Alone
Born from one of the Gang's many questionable and outrageous schemes, a plan leads them to a Philadelphia Eagles open tryout where Charlie and Frank have opted to “pregame” the event, replete with burgers, margaritas, and lawn chairs. Charlie is all about kicking back, not breaking a sweat.
When Frank asks Charlie to help set up, Charlie declines, slinking back in his chair and declaring, "I’m relaxing. I’m getting blackout drunk. And you’re leaving me alone." Charlie is a man of simple tastes and simple pleasures. He knows his comfort zone, and he is leaning right into it. And sometimes, all anyone wants is some peace and quiet.
Refusing To See A Doctor
After being run over by Dennis and breaking both legs, Charlie opts to deal with the long-term care on his own. Notably, he has Dee and Dennis take a pair of gardening sheers and cut his casts off once he has healed.
When Dennis asks why he doesn’t just go to a doctor, Charlie quips, “Oh, look at me: the millionaire who goes to see doctors.” His criticisms of the healthcare industry aside, Charlie strikes to the heart of a universal irony: saving money and time at the risk of your own health. Sometimes it really is tempting to just “cut the cast off yourself.”
The Horrors of High School
Memories of high school are a fickle beast. Some are fond. Some are horrible. For the latter, Charlie cuts deep after his high school reunion turns into a reopening of old wounds and old roles.
Humiliated into reverting to his old high school ways, Charlie searches for things to huff in the bathroom, lamenting, “I’ll get sad. I’ll get high. People can laugh at me. I hate high school, man!” Charlie's woes are a sympathetic hand to all who had a tough time as a teenager. It is just one of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia's brutally honest and tragic moments and hits almost as hard as the chemical mixture that immediately knocks Charlie unconscious.
Rage Quitting, Mid-Performance.
Charlie’s dreams of becoming a musician are ones he guards closely. Pursuing them could put him in a vulnerable position and open him up to emotional barbs he would rather avoid. So, when Dennis manipulates Charlie into playing live for Paddy’s Pub, the meltdown is tremendous.
As Electric Dream Machine plays their half-baked "Day Man" rendition, the crowd turns on them. Unable to deal with failure, Charlie self-detonates and screams like a lunatic as he storms off stage. As extreme as his reaction is, the devastation is all too real for anyone that has taken a chance and was met with a hurdle. We have all screamed ourselves off-stage in some form or another.
Questioning His Worth Compared to Rats
Even compared to the Gang's ridiculous track record of debauchery, Charlie does the things no one else is willing to do. Killing rats, cleaning urinals, burning trash into stardust. But that work can be taxing, both physically and mentally. And sometimes the toll adds up to a moment of existential crisis.
After a particularly fruitful evening in the basement with his "rat stick," Charlie despondently emerges from below. Cradling his rat-covered instrument, sipping a beer, and looking emptily off into the distance, he questions whether a rat’s life is any more valuable than a human’s. It’s a state of absurd emptiness many people flow in and out of, and Charlie captures it, rodent blood and all.
Interviewing For A Job
Charlie’s relatable thoughts on the employment process are well documented (just take a visit to Job Land). But in an interview for a janitor position at a local high school, Charlie takes the universal angst and lays it bare.
Charlie is at once totally qualified and utterly unprepared for the interview, with a background in janitorial work but a resume consisting only of a photo of Caitlyn Jenner before she transitioned. Charlie simultaneously oversells himself and self-deprecates in a familiar charade of trying to say what the employer wants to hear.
Eating The Pain Away
The Gang seldom considers anyone's welfare, and pitting friend against friend is commonplace at Paddy’s Pub. When he suspects Mac of sleeping with his crush, Charlie self-medicates the way so many do: food and beverage.
Slumped over in an armchair, slurring his words, then stumbling to his feet, Charlie confronts Mac as he enters the apartment, declaring that he ate all the pizza and beer they had bought for the two of them. 24 beers and a large pizza. While it is not a recommended response to betrayal, it is a state of being many of us have been in: over-stuffed and bitter in a dim room.