In "Charlie Has Cancer", Artemis frequently mentions and acts out scenes from Coyote Ugly. In what doubles as an Actor Allusion, Katlin Olson (Sweet Dee) had a minor role in the film.
In "Charlie Got Molested", Mac can be seen wearing a jacket that say "Shermer H.S." This is alluding to the fictional high school used in the John Hughes-verse. According to the commentary, the crew selected it from the costume department without realizing that it was a reference and only learned about it after the episode was filmed.
"Hundred Dollar Baby"
The title is a reference to Million Dollar Baby. The end of the episode also parodies the "stool" scene.
The episode also provides references to the Rocky series, particularly the "running up the steps" scene.
The Karate Kid gets referenced with the "You're The Best" montage.
"Charlie Goes America All Over Everybody's Ass"
The Russian Roulette game in the basement is a shout out to the end of The Deer Hunter.
The same episode also alludes to Dog Day Afternoon, when Charlie chants "Attica, Attica!"
"The Gang Gets Invincible":
The film Invincible is frequently mentioned, to the point that the episode could be considered an Affectionate Parody. Everybody seems to call the film, "That New Kids on the Block Movie," apparently mistaking Mark Wahlberg for his brother, who was in the music group.
Geoffrey Owens plays himself masquerading as football player Donovan McNabb. The gang recognizes him from his recurring role on The Cosby Show, and the coach makes it a point to insist he's "not the guy fromThe Cosby Show." The character later reappear as "Tiger Woods" in "Frank's Pretty Woman" and as "Don Cheadle" in "The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7".
The ending of "The Gang Gets Held Hostage" has Frank in Die Hard's John McClane's role with a pistol taped to the back of his head, and he even tosses Liam McPoyle off the roof of the pub like Hans Gruber. His line, "Yippy-kay-yay, Mister Falcon!" is the dubbed line from the edited-for-television version of the sequel that replaces "Yippy-kay-yay, mother fucker!".
"The Gang Solves the North Korea Situation"
Frank, Mac, and Dee hold auditions for a talent show, where they take on the personae of the American Idol judges, complete with the red glasses of coke.
In the beginning of the episode, Dee attempts a Christopher Walken impression using a bit of the famous "watch monologue" from Pulp Fiction. She also attempts an impression of Rosie Perez in Do the Right Thing.
In "Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire," the guys go to Chinatown and are surprised that it's nothing like the scenes from Big Trouble in Little China.
In "Mac is a Serial Killer", the way the gang coaxes Mac in is similar to Chris Hansen's To Catch a Predator. Frank even says, "To catch a predator!" when they ask Frank where he's going.
"Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City"
Charlie makes repeated references to Serpico, dresses up like the title character, and tries to do an Al Pacino impression.
Dennis names the cat Special Agent Jack Bauer after the character from 24.
Frank keeps misremembering parts of Rambo's life into his own past in "Mac & Dennis: Manhunters".
"America's Next Top Paddy's Billboard Model Contest":
In order to outline how superior he is to Frank, Dennis states that his musculature is in exact proportion to Michelangelo's David.
America's Next Top Billboard Model is a parody of America's Next Top Model, while Mac tries to turn it into a dating gameshow remniscient of The Bachelor.
"Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack"
Frank is put into a mental institution that is an homage to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. There is even a large mute Native American. Frank escapes the mental institution in the same way the Chief does in the book. The actor playing the Chief in the episode is the movie actor's son. This doubles as an Actor Allusion, since Danny DeVito was in the original film. In fact, an extra that looks like a young DeVito can be seen as one of the patients playing cards, which was what DeVito's character in the film is first seen doing.
Mac tries to emulate the plot of The Secret of My Success and sings the "Day Bow Bow" song (Yello's "Oh Yeah") featured in the film.
Charlie "losing his mind" is a recreation of John Nash's schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind
In "Dennis Reynolds: An Erotic Life", Dee walks around Charlie's apartment complex and comes across twin girls who say "Come play with us. Forever, and ever, and ever," which is an homage to The Shining.
Mac wants to show the Mexican family they accidentally kidnapped Apocalypto and references the racist themes that critics accused it of having upon its release.
"The Gang Wrestles For The Troops" makes a few references to the WWE, most notably Hulk Hogan.
Frank nicking Cricket with the trash can as "The Trashman" at the end of the episode is somewhat based off of the infamous Mass Transit Incident, since both involved a blading accident involving amateurs.
"The D.E.N.N.I.S. System"
The gang goes to a fair, where Dee's boyfriend Ben gets his face painted and says, "I like turtles," referencing a popular YouTube video.
Dennis's sex scene is done in the fashion of the silhouetted sex scene in Top Gun.
"Mac's Mom Burns Her House Down" contains many references to Golden Girls. Mac attempts to get Mrs. Mac and Mrs. Kelly to talk about the same subjects the Golden Girls talk about, and even sings a few bars of the theme song.
"Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth"
The high school student Charlie tries to mentor is a Juggalo.
Frank's sex scene in Lethal Weapon 5 is reminiscent in its self-indulgence and awkwardness to a similar scene in The Room.
"The Gang Reignites the Rivalry" features Charlie trying to be a savant janitor instead of just a janitor like the lead of Good Will Hunting.
"Dennis Gets Divorced" has Maureen beating herself on the chest like Mark Wahlberg in Fear (1996). It takes Mac and Dennis a few moments to figure out the reference.
When Mac is looking at old Christmas recordings his family took of them all opening presents on Christmas Morning, Mac's reaction to his present might be alluding to the Nintendo 64 Kid.
Frank crashes his Lamborghini and has a vision of a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer-type stop-motion world that also has a California Raisins reference.
"Frank's Pretty Woman" is a pretty clear parody of Pretty Woman, complete with the Roy Orbison song.
Mac and Frank losing their precious rum ham is a reference to Wilson in Cast Away. It even has a face on it. Immediately after it floats away, the show cuts to Dennis and Dee at an amusement park called "Castaway Cove."
“Sweet Dee Gets Audited” is the introduction of Wolf Cola, another of Frank’s schemes which would blow up in his face in a later episode, where it becomes the official soda of Boko Haram. Its awkward shoe-horing into situations it doesn’t belong in and predatory existence from a legendary scammer is quite similar to real life cola scheme Kooba Cola from Victor Fox, a man who like Frank never met a scheme he wouldn’t pull. Fox’s exploits include getting sued by DC Comics for ripping off their characters, declaring himself The King of Comics after losing said suit while both companies occupied the same building and spitting out the elevator at their offices, signing up in middle age to fight the Nazis, and Kooba Cola, a soda that never existed but he hyped in Fox Feature Syndicate’s comics and The Blue Beetle Radio Show to attempt to sell it to someone else to produce and use the existing hype. It did not work.
In "The ANTI-Social Network"
The title is a reference to the 2010 film The Social Network. Facebook is also a main element of the episode.
While looking for a Dylan Tobak they found on Facebook, Mac and Dee discover that he's actually a fictional person made up by a woman named Catfish.
"The Gang Gets Trapped"
When Frank is about to get caught he hides in a cupboard filled with stuffed toys leaving his face visible, like in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.
And of course the repeated references to Indiana Jones, right down to the hat and whip.
"The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6"
The homoerotic volleyball scene in the film is based on the unintentionally homoerotic volleyball scene in Top Gun, even using the same music. (Kenny Loggin's Playing with the Boys)
The Halloween Episode "The Maureen Ponderosa Wedding Massacre" contains a reference to Jaws, with Charlie delivering a modified version of Quint's USS Indianapolis speech (regarding rats, Charlie's bete noir, instead of sharks). The homage includes Charlie adopting Robert Shaw's mannerisms, as well as the appropriation of entire lines, referring to the "black, lifeless eyes" that "roll over white" when a rat bites you (this is referenced by Dennis, who snaps Charlie out of it by directly questioning "is that the speech from Jaws?").
In "Charlie and Dee Find Love", Dennis says that the rich Tafts are doing the same thing from such films as Cruel Intentions, Dangerous Liaisons, She's All That and "just about every late-Nineties movie." The reality is actually closest to Dinner for Schmucks, but that goes unmentioned.
In "Frank's Back in Business," Frank and Charlie wear outfits and hairstyles ripped from Gordon Gekko of Wall Street.
In "Charlie Rules the World," Charlie meets a girl from an fantasy MMO named "Queen of Thrones." This is almost certainly a reference to Game of Thrones.
"The Gang Saves the Day"
Charlie's fantasy is a reference to the opening montage in Up. It contains references to other Disney works such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (the way Charlie and his bearded descendants mourn the Waitress), Ratatouille (his rat friend cooks them a meal), and Cinderella (rats make the Waitress a dress).
In Dee's day dream, she becomes famous by playing a British male butler, referencing Mr. Belvedere.
The episode itself is based on the urban legend that Wade Boggs drank 64 beers on a cross-country flight.
Dennis gets off the plane in North Dakota, referencing Glenn Howerton's turn in Fargo. Fargo is also on the map that shows up in the episode.
Dennis's analysis of the lonely woman on the plane is a series of deductions ripped straight from Sherlock.
"The Gang Goes to Hell (Pts. I & II)"
Charlie is dressed as Gilligan when him and Frank put on disguises to get their booze back from the ship's captain.
When the first episode ends on a cliffhanger, the music playing in the credits sounds exactly like several of the songs from the credits of cliffhanger episodes of Breaking Bad.
"The Gang Turns Black":
There are repeated references to The Wiz and Quantum Leap, especially in the ending.
When Dee and Frank meet Scott Bakula, Frank thought she said "Blacula".
"The Gang Solves the Bathroom Problem":
The gang is getting ready for a Jimmy Buffett concert. There are also a lot of references to "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" by Rupert Holmes and "Kokomo" by The Beach Boys, both of which everyone but Dennis is convinced are by Jimmy Buffett.
"The Gang Does a Clipshow" features a segment in which the gang misremembers the Seinfeld episode "The Contest" as one of their own schemes. The cast even don the same costumes as their counterparts in the show and filmed on a recreation of Jerry's apartment. Fitting, as the show has been characterized as "Seinfeld on crack."
"Paddy's Pub: The Worst Bar in Philadelphia" contains a few references to Misery. A writer is kidnapped and forced to fix his previous work to his kidnappers' liking. Charlie also calls the writer "Mister Man."
Several to Disney in A Cricket's Tale:
Cricket steals a loaf of bread and parcours to escape; he is also called a "Street Rat", just like in Western Animation/Aladdin.
He is a Tramp, falling in love with a house dog, and has a spaghetti-moment with her, like in Lady and the Tramp.
referencing a popular YouTube video.
