You cannot beat a good old-fashioned murder mystery. It’s not rocket science, but one of the basic pleasures of films, tv and books is to successfully identify the killer, sifting through the evidence, setting aside the red-herrings, and fingering the culprit before they can strike again. Steve Martin was once the original ‘wild and crazy guy’, but that was forty years ago, and he’s settled down and happy to pour some old wine into new bottles. Only Murders in the Building is as familiar as an old armchair, and just as comfortable.
In a neat bit of writing, Martin casts himself as actor Charles Hayden-Savage, previously known as tv detective Brazzos. He lives in a fictional super-swanky, mega-plush Upper West Side Manhattan building named the Arconia. His friend, Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) is on his uppers, and neither of these old codgers are of much interest to singleton Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez). But Mabel has an undisclosed past, and when the building’s elderly occupants are shocked by the murder of a young man named Tim Kono, she’s hiding a secret from the rest of her team as the unlikely trio start their own podcast to investigate the crime…
Few places on earth offer the unrestrained snootiness of the New York class system, and Martin and Co have fun setting themselves against the grain; there’s plenty of guilty parties keen to shut their little podcast down. And while there’s some funny lines, and some physical comedy from Martin, it’s Martin’s ability to capture, mimic and parody the genre conventions that makes Only Murders in the Building work. With celebrity suspects ranging from Nathan Lane, Jane Lynch, Tina Fey, Amy Ryan and even Sting as himself, there’s also plenty of glam and glitz to tide us over.
It’s odd that the murder-mystery is seen as so passé now; outside of the Orient Express reboot, it’s a genre largely consigned to tv. But Martin’s project has a neat attitude; one episode has no dialogue at all, and is told from the point of view of a deaf character. That’s a challenge that Martin doesn’t have to make, and it’s extraordinary that he makes it work; he’s always been a creative force, and Only Murders in the Building marks a welcome comeback for the star.
Martin was always the kind of comedian to work outside the box. I love a good murder-mystery especially as I am useless at solving the mystery. This does sound a treat and someone who sets a technical challenge in one episode just to see if he can do it gets my vote. There’s an old British comedy series A Bit of a Do with David Jason and one episode consists entirely of characters asking questions.
in Fragglese:
YEP.
This sounds fun. And my goodness, has Martin come a long way. From cameo’ing in the Muppet Movie as the snooty waiter in short pants, to this.
Now I just have to wait until it comes to Prime….
Sounds pretty good. Steve Martin is the best.
It’s a smart, easy-going entertainment, fun and with a second season coming…
I was going to nope this but the trailer made me laugh so yep instead.
I think it’s on yer Disney + whenever you feel like it…
Yes I’ve found it. Thanks.
Hello there, please check out and join (got the wrong rules before) and love you to enter… https://weegiemidget.wordpress.com/2021/11/20/blogathon-announcing-the-odd-or-even-blogathon/
Will do, thanks!
Cool, looking forward to seeing what you come up with…
Really looking forward to this whenever it comes out on DVD. I’m a fan of mysteries, though I was a little less impressed by Knives Out than most. Not surprised Martin does well with a silent episode, as his physical humour was always top notch. Short was good too. They were both dancers.
Yes, I think you’ll dig this. Very traditional structure, some amusing nods to modernity. Didn’t know Short was a dancer…
They could both do funny dances, on SNL and SCTV.
Even dance together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL1S5aZIKyY
Emeritus professor of comedy dances….