The opening title cards for this movie read, “The following film was bravely written by two homosexuals, the first time gay men have ever written anything. These same two LGBTQ+ gay guys are also starring in the film, bravely playing heterosexual men. Which is again, brave.” This wording, along with a hilarious opening song, sets the scene for a whacky and unhinged story that sets this up to be a queer cult classic. With a lot of movies you can like parts of it and be a little lukewarm about it, make no mistake. There will only be two types of people after seeing this movie, you either love it or hate it. Fortunately, I fell into the first party, the seriously warped sense of humour, along with a familiar Parent Trap style story, it is infused with hilarious queer culture references and a truly stacked talented cast who fully commit to the absurdity and quirks of the characters they are inhabiting which result in an experimental film that feels truly original in the current cinematic landscape.
Two top salesmen Trevor (Aaron Jackson) and Craig (Josh Sharp), a pair of white, privileged males meet each other as their respective work branches have closed and now work out of the same office. They discover due to a hilarious piece of jewellery they both share that they are identical twins and hatch a plan to get their parents to acknowledge it and reunite so they can become a true family after feeling lonely their entire lives. The problem is their parents have clearly moved on and are in very different places in their lives. Their mother Evelyn (Megan Mullally) is an over the top version of a cat lady. Living in a house full of antiques and oddities, she has whacky looking glasses and pours sand out of her teapot. She also is suffering from a nasty condition where her vagina fell off and she now carries it around in a plastic zip lock bag in her purse. On the other end their father Harris (Nathan Lane) has just proudly come out as queer and is living his gay old life with his two pets, known as The Sewer Boys (a pair of hilariously puppets who he found in the sewer years ago) The whole thing is narrated by God played by Bowen Yang. As Evelyn and Harris discover the two boys know each other, they discover their feelings for each other haven’t changed, despite how much else has changed.
This is A24’s first musical, and they definitely embrace the camp and queer songs that each cast member confirms. The intro song “Always Be On Top” is a fantastic introduction to this world. Sharp and Jackson are fantastic as they team up and bounce off each other’s energy. Megan Thee Stallion plays Gloria, the CEO of the Roomba company that Trevor and Craig work for. Her song Out Alpha the Alpha is one of the absolute highlights of the musical numbers and could easily be put on her next album. You will be playing this iconic feminist theme song long after you have left the cinema. Lane and Mullally are given the best musical material. They get to have some sweet and sincere songs that provide a lot of the heart of the story; on the other hand, they also get some of the crazy and most sexual songs that will have you in stitches. Desperate For Your Love is the single best song in the musical and the physical comedy that accompanies it from Lane and Mullally is the absolute highlight here.
A huge strength of this movie is the cast. How they all signed up to this after reading the script and what they had to, is a miracle in itself. While they could have easily phoned it in due to the absurdity of their situations, like Nathan Lane having to chew and feed the Sewer Boys “pellet” style deli ham, was definitely not on Lane’s aspiration list or on my bingo card for things I thought I would see in a movie this year. Mullally is perfect cast as Evelyn; her very strong lisp when she both talks and sings provides a lot of comedy just there, but her sincerity as a mother and a self-proclaimed people person, even though she never leaves the house, is such a joy to watch. Her chemistry with Lane is off the charts, and when the four main cast members come together for a few scenes at the end of the story, you can tell they all had such a great time making this movie. Yang is perfect as God, the ethereal presence feels like an extension of an SNL sketch that fits into this world. Sharp and Jackson are fantastic as the two leads and their comedic timing hits every time.
Dicks : The Musical may not be a hit with everyone, but the specific audience it is aiming for will love every second of it. The Parent Trap style story is infused with some addictive original songs that are delivered by some incredible actors who are having the absolute time of their lives. The fun and laughter are incredibly infectious; it leaps out from the screen, and even when the story and songs are at their craziest, you will still be laughing and having a good time. The queer community will absolutely love this movie, it feels squarely aimed at us to have a laugh at ourselves and take our friends to have a great time at the movies. Dicks : The Musical is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of film, it has enough notable talent behind it to deliver a film that is destined to be a cult classic.
