This episode is a real comeback to the golden age of this TV Show, engaging, hilarious and into panic mode, everything fit in place. ONe shot only cut when they went to the outside scenes and back inside. Even the music took me back to Birdman. Every character here had an important job into the ensemble that was a crucial day to the Pub, Charlie was totally transformed, and all the other characters turned into the best\worst of themselves. But in the end, somehow, all fits together and the place is saved, for one more year. I wish i could be More e succinct without ruinning this amazing epise, going to re-watch a few more times for sure.
28 Reviews
The Best episode
samzimm19 July 2020
This show is incredible. After 10 seasons where every episode is hilarious, they finally made their masterpiece. Not only is the episode intelligent and well done from a technical standpoint, it is hilarious and a perfect representation of each character. Charlie (obviously) carries the episode in his best performance. But Frank, MAC, Dennis and Dee all contribute in their own, funny way too. The episode culminates in a very smart and funny inspection of the bar. A quintessential episode to my favorite live action show of all time
A masterpiece among some of the other masterpieces!
brooksrob115 February 2017
After watching this episode "Charlie Work" for the second time; I remembered how good it was...After seeing so few reviews I felt more are needed.
This is Charlie at his most brilliant...It's a twist on early sitcoms, done the Philly way...This is no Lucile Ball stuffing candy in her mouth...This is so many brilliant contrivances and slight of hand tricks, but not skillfully done, More like a Mr. Magoo getting lucky...
The gang, as usual, makes a difficult task 10X's more difficult with their usual antics...Frank is hilarious! His outfits are awesome...
But Charlie steals the show...Probably his best episode and that's saying something considering his body of work...Way better than the Day Man Cometh, IMHO...
This is Charlie at his most brilliant...It's a twist on early sitcoms, done the Philly way...This is no Lucile Ball stuffing candy in her mouth...This is so many brilliant contrivances and slight of hand tricks, but not skillfully done, More like a Mr. Magoo getting lucky...
The gang, as usual, makes a difficult task 10X's more difficult with their usual antics...Frank is hilarious! His outfits are awesome...
But Charlie steals the show...Probably his best episode and that's saying something considering his body of work...Way better than the Day Man Cometh, IMHO...
Brilliant
travcarmody-310-48843910 March 2015
That last reviewer is either a moron or has no idea how television works. First of all, this episode was funny as hell, secondly the 13 minute uncut one-take performance by Charlie was simply amazing... One scene that lasted 13 minutes, completely uncut, all done in one take, while moving in and around the bar and even outside is just simply brilliant... Even Scorsese would be proud of that scene...
So I don't know what the last reviewer of this episode is talking about, because for me the show is just as good as it has always been, and this episode is one of the best in the whole series...
Brilliant show, funnier than most things on TV, 10/10
So I don't know what the last reviewer of this episode is talking about, because for me the show is just as good as it has always been, and this episode is one of the best in the whole series...
Brilliant show, funnier than most things on TV, 10/10
A privilege to watch this fantastic TV.
hollywoodadventures6 January 2021
I usually watch IASIP while having my dinner so I miss few seconds here and there while looking down to take a bite, but this episode, for exactly 17 minutes I didn't even touch my food.
Charlie Day, my man what a performance, absolutely mind blowing. Writers, directors, actors kudos to you.
Return to top form!
neil-376-2243695 February 2015
This episode brought me back to the greatness of seasons 2 to 4.
Charlie's persona has been tweaked a little for the purpose of the episode (imagine a hygiene-conscious Charlie, freaking out over Paddy's pub's cleanliness), yet despite feeling shoehorned, the concept actually works as the episode progresses.
It is also the first episode edited as a one-shot, brilliantly executed and again, the pacing ads to the action and benefits the dynamic greatly.
It's my favourite episode of the season so far! I sincerely hope this trend continues as the the previous seasons have not been up to the mark.
Charlie's persona has been tweaked a little for the purpose of the episode (imagine a hygiene-conscious Charlie, freaking out over Paddy's pub's cleanliness), yet despite feeling shoehorned, the concept actually works as the episode progresses.
It is also the first episode edited as a one-shot, brilliantly executed and again, the pacing ads to the action and benefits the dynamic greatly.
It's my favourite episode of the season so far! I sincerely hope this trend continues as the the previous seasons have not been up to the mark.
The best episode in any comedy show ever.
YbsuhA11 September 2021
There's no doubt that this is the best episode of the whole show. I highly doubt that any upcoming IASIP episode will ever top this one. This isn't just the best comedy show episode ever. This is the best tv episode I've ever seen.
I especially love that this episode has Charlie, the clearly dumbest in the gang, on his best performance ever. The long shot is a technique they should use more often. We all know that this works. Now, make a whole season of it.
There's not much to say about this episode, only that I fricking love it. Nothing is wrong with this episode. If it says anything about how much I love it, I give it 100/10 stars.
I especially love that this episode has Charlie, the clearly dumbest in the gang, on his best performance ever. The long shot is a technique they should use more often. We all know that this works. Now, make a whole season of it.
There's not much to say about this episode, only that I fricking love it. Nothing is wrong with this episode. If it says anything about how much I love it, I give it 100/10 stars.
Best Episode of all time
simmonscam-964613 February 2019
Hands down my favorite episode :)
leilani-abeyta2830 August 2020
This episode is one of the top episodes of the series in my opinion; it captures all the character's behaviors so perfectly but really gives Charlie a chance to shine.
The uncut/one-take scenes were executed beautifully and it really pulls you in and gets you invested in and even panicked about the situation.
This episode is always a good one to watch and rewatch and it is such a great piece of television :)
The uncut/one-take scenes were executed beautifully and it really pulls you in and gets you invested in and even panicked about the situation.
This episode is always a good one to watch and rewatch and it is such a great piece of television :)
Masterpiece!!!!
perobellil27 August 2019
Best episode in a long time
ayagorn13 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
If there is an episode worth watching this season, this is it. This episode is the best I've seen in a long time.
Episode one: they start a beer drinking contest on a plane. Dennis has sex with a girl who, according to him, is desert trash, and then gets out of the plane in order to get away from her. Frank gets alcohol poisoning and that's about it. I liked that episode but it was pretty dumb, like most episodes in this show.
Episode two: They decide to start a group dating service at Paddy's. The point of the episode is to show us, once again, how insane they all are. Dennis thinks he's the ultimate womanizer, Frank tries to keep Mac and Charlie from scaring the girls away (that part was funny), obviously, he fails. In the end the group dating service is a fiasco, everybody leaves Paddy's and they end up alone, as expected. I found this episode pretty lame and predictable, but it had some decent scenes.
Episode three: This is clearly the worst episode so far. Pete, an old high school mate of Mac and Charlie who was interned in a mental institution gets out. Mac and Charlie think he was a psycho and so they tell to the rest of the gang. In the end it becomes apparent that he wasn't a psycho after all, that's just how Mac and Charlie liked to see him. They get bored with this "sane Pete", so they decide it's best to put him back in a mental institution. And there you go, once more we have the typical scene of the gang in some office meeting with doctors, bankers, producers, etc. in order to accomplish another of their sick plans. The problem is that the episode isn't even funny. It's way too predictable, they abuse the same old jokes, it's rather boring, if you ask me.
Episode four: At last, an inspired, funny and creative episode written by Charlie. Dumb you say? Well, this isn't "The Wire", "Breaking Bad","House of Cards", "The Newsroom", "The Knick", "Fargo", "True Detective", "The Affair",etc. But this particular episode clearly required intelligence and talent and it shows. Try to write an episode like this, you'll discover it's actually pretty hard to get it right and keep it funny. "Charlie Work" tells us about the most important day of the year for Charlie: the day of sanitary inspection at Paddy's. In this particular day, Charlie becomes a genius, a savant a multitasking machine. He knows exactly what's going to happen before it happens. This episode is an homage to movies like "The Sting" but with the gang's touch. Charlie takes control of Paddy's and the gang, he starts bossing everyone around while he tries to get the approval of the sanitary inspector. At the same time, the gang is working on another of their idiotic schemes, which the oddly smart Charlie figures out in just a few seconds. They want to contaminate 400 steaks with chicken feathers so they can claim economic compensation. Paddy's is a mess with all the chickens around, a specially crazy Frank flushing his clothes down the toilet and playing with tar/black paint, etc. and yet Charlie manages to stay ahead of every event, coordinating everything, reading situations before they actually happen. At the same time, he's guiding the inspector and the steak delivery guy through Paddy's without any of them noticing what's really going on. A true exhibition of multitasking, wits, trickery and the good old crazy stuff that we always see in this show. In the end, obviously, the gang ends up ignoring Charlie and his "Charlie Work", they even take the credit for what he did, as they always do. This episode is anything but dumb.
Episode one: they start a beer drinking contest on a plane. Dennis has sex with a girl who, according to him, is desert trash, and then gets out of the plane in order to get away from her. Frank gets alcohol poisoning and that's about it. I liked that episode but it was pretty dumb, like most episodes in this show.
Episode two: They decide to start a group dating service at Paddy's. The point of the episode is to show us, once again, how insane they all are. Dennis thinks he's the ultimate womanizer, Frank tries to keep Mac and Charlie from scaring the girls away (that part was funny), obviously, he fails. In the end the group dating service is a fiasco, everybody leaves Paddy's and they end up alone, as expected. I found this episode pretty lame and predictable, but it had some decent scenes.
Episode three: This is clearly the worst episode so far. Pete, an old high school mate of Mac and Charlie who was interned in a mental institution gets out. Mac and Charlie think he was a psycho and so they tell to the rest of the gang. In the end it becomes apparent that he wasn't a psycho after all, that's just how Mac and Charlie liked to see him. They get bored with this "sane Pete", so they decide it's best to put him back in a mental institution. And there you go, once more we have the typical scene of the gang in some office meeting with doctors, bankers, producers, etc. in order to accomplish another of their sick plans. The problem is that the episode isn't even funny. It's way too predictable, they abuse the same old jokes, it's rather boring, if you ask me.
Episode four: At last, an inspired, funny and creative episode written by Charlie. Dumb you say? Well, this isn't "The Wire", "Breaking Bad","House of Cards", "The Newsroom", "The Knick", "Fargo", "True Detective", "The Affair",etc. But this particular episode clearly required intelligence and talent and it shows. Try to write an episode like this, you'll discover it's actually pretty hard to get it right and keep it funny. "Charlie Work" tells us about the most important day of the year for Charlie: the day of sanitary inspection at Paddy's. In this particular day, Charlie becomes a genius, a savant a multitasking machine. He knows exactly what's going to happen before it happens. This episode is an homage to movies like "The Sting" but with the gang's touch. Charlie takes control of Paddy's and the gang, he starts bossing everyone around while he tries to get the approval of the sanitary inspector. At the same time, the gang is working on another of their idiotic schemes, which the oddly smart Charlie figures out in just a few seconds. They want to contaminate 400 steaks with chicken feathers so they can claim economic compensation. Paddy's is a mess with all the chickens around, a specially crazy Frank flushing his clothes down the toilet and playing with tar/black paint, etc. and yet Charlie manages to stay ahead of every event, coordinating everything, reading situations before they actually happen. At the same time, he's guiding the inspector and the steak delivery guy through Paddy's without any of them noticing what's really going on. A true exhibition of multitasking, wits, trickery and the good old crazy stuff that we always see in this show. In the end, obviously, the gang ends up ignoring Charlie and his "Charlie Work", they even take the credit for what he did, as they always do. This episode is anything but dumb.
Perfect metaphore of Charlie Day's importance in this show
smatusp28 November 2019
Brilliant
carrie-bauers25 June 2021
This is hands down the best episode of the series! You were on the Charlie roller coaster the whole time. The gang is dumb in their own ways and although Charlie is known to be the dumbest, this episode proves how not so dumb, but in fact how brilliant he can be when he's passionate about his work. Just remember, he was brought to tears with his "birthday" present that killed rats in the bar. If you love Charlie (best character...in my opinion) then you will love the Charlie Work you are about to do with him.
Masterclass in fast-paced comedy and writing
nathanguia30 September 2020
My favorite episode of the show, tied with "The Gang Wrestles For The Troops". One of the most memorable episodes by far; it's an incredibly fast paced 22 minutes, but every single little detail in the episode is fleshed out enough to all play into the overarching plot in a satisfying way. The non-stop buildup and then seeing everything come together at the end is incredibly satisfying, especially on repeat viewings when you catch the little details that you might've missed the first time. Utterly brilliant.
Masterpiece
crazelord8 May 2022
I tend to get annoyed by all the 1s and 10s you see on IMDB. They basically have lost all meaning when they're the go to rating people have when feeling anything like or dislike for something. Those numbers should be for when someone is just terrible or amazing, but special in that way.
This episode is a 10 bc not only is it just peak IASIP writing, but it's also complex and unique with terrific directing and acting. Anyone who's a fan of the show who's watched it knows why it deserves this rating and it's arguably the best episode they've done.
This episode is a 10 bc not only is it just peak IASIP writing, but it's also complex and unique with terrific directing and acting. Anyone who's a fan of the show who's watched it knows why it deserves this rating and it's arguably the best episode they've done.
Speechless
FatihSafa20 April 2020
Accurate
demonllama421 September 2021
Masterpiece!
Freebirdmasoom29 June 2021
Alright Alright Alright
BruceWayne7991 February 2021
Possibly the best episode of the whole show
chrisglazzard10 August 2020
A true treat
sarahemeredith10 December 2021
Rarely if ever have I watched an episode of television that I immediately rewatched. I watched this episode three times in a row. Truly magnificent. A perfectly structured story, a creative medium for that story, and lots of love for Charlie. It is a true treat to see how even after 10 years the gang can manage a creative and fresh episode while still having absolutely laterally moving characters. This episode epitomizes the show as a whole.
And they use Marvin Hamlisch as the icing on the cake :).
And they use Marvin Hamlisch as the icing on the cake :).
Ridiculous
MuhAtef7 December 2020
Charlie the GOAT
tristanpate31 May 2022
This is quite possibly the best episode of IASIP in my opinion. It really gives a genuine insight into just how smart Charlie really is. Not to mention the 13 minute one-take. Everyone killed it performance-wise but Charlie Day takes the spotlight. This and The Day Man Cometh are the only episodes I will ever fully remember from this show.
Classic
garyjones-9020528 December 2020
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