Dicks: The Musical obtained its begin as a 30-minute stage present titled Fucking Equivalent Twins, and now Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson of the Upright Residents Brigade have expanded their raunchy musical for the large display. A24 has made a reputation for itself with its distinctive and sometimes weird content material, and from what critics are saying about Dicks: The Musical, the comedy appears to suit proper in with the greatest A24 choices. With the film getting a large launch to theaters October 20, let’s check out the comedy that’s being touted as a meta masterpiece of humorous irreverence.
Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson reprise their roles as “equivalent twins” Craig and Trevor, however as a substitute of the two-man model at UCB, they’re joined by some iconic co-stars in Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally and Bowen Yang because the narrator God. The plot has robust notes of The Father or mother Lure, nevertheless it’s a lot greater than that. CinemaBlend’s personal Corey Chichizola calls it the “most unhinged” film he’s ever seen, full of untamed musical numbers that poke enjoyable on the tropes of musical theater. He’s prepared for a rewatch (or 12), writing:
In a time the place IPs are ruling the leisure trade and most studios are afraid to take dangers, Dicks: The Musical stands out as one thing wholly authentic. It’s nearly a marvel the film was produced in any respect, given how the script and songs really pull no punches in regard to their filth. But it surely actually hit me proper in my comedic sensibility, and I guess I’m not distinctive on this.
Michael Ordoña of the LA Occasions says to suppose The Father or mother Lure with a great deal of attractive humor, deadpan jokes and a wholesome dose of blasphemy. Whereas Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally are a spotlight, the film general lags slightly within the center. The critic continues:
Dicks can’t keep [Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally’s] stage of performative thrust all through; it sags a bit within the center, as one would possibly count on from making the appreciable bounce from the stage and thru the hoops of main revisions. However the movie bounces again towards its again 9, with a closing quantity calculated to make heads in sure corners of our political discourse rupture, then explode.
Glen Weldon of NPR marvels at how Dicks: The Musical might probably be much less refined than its title. Whereas its sustained absurdity isn’t actually constructed for the lengthy haul, the film is plenty of dumb enjoyable, Weldon says, with songs that largely work. Based on the critic:
The enjoyable of Dicks: The Musical is not what’s being stated, actually, however the way it’s stated, and who’s saying it. That a lot is made expressly obvious in a gap title card informing us that the roles of the 2 heterosexual most important characters will probably be performed actually by two homosexual males, and noting the braveness of this alternative. That is the gag, right here — the large, over-the-top, queer-as-hell theatricality of Sharp and Jackson. Nuance, pack your luggage. Subtlety, get thee therefore. Sophistication, wit, cleverness, perception — you haven’t any enterprise right here. Dumb, filthy homosexual jokes, puns and sight gags? Welcome. We now have your room prepared.
Ethan Anderton of SlashFilm charges it a 7 out of 10, regardless of writing that it goes off the rail (not essentially in a great way) with its absurdity. To be absurd is the purpose, in response to Anderton, who writes:
Even with the movie’s shortcomings, you possibly can’t assist however admire the truth that the musical is so unashamedly queer and humorously irreverent. There’s simply an excessive amount of hilarious nonsense and amusing farcicality to be deterred by the movie’s missteps. Sharp and Jackson do not utterly overstay their welcome, and so they present nice potential for one thing even higher sooner or later. However for now, that is the form of film that’s destined to develop into a cult traditional, maybe with repertory screenings and viewers participation. Who does not need to be in a crowd belting out the lyrics, ‘My c**ok is f**kin’ huge, it at all times makes the women sore, it is 10 inches lengthy, curves to the left, then it goes 10 inches extra.’
I imply, who doesn’t love sing-along, proper? Siddhant Adlakha of Polygon calls Dicks: The Musical a “meta comedy masterpiece” and says it has the potential to go down as one of many decade’s smartest and funniest comedies. The critic continues:
Each the script and Charles’ route work continuously on textual and metatextual ranges concurrently. It really works each as a narrative of prototypically straight bros ending up in a queer narrative, and as a self-aware story of the film’s creation, with a pair of homosexual artists entering into straight roles whereas poorly disguising their identities, and performing variations of obligatory heterosexuality acquainted to anybody who’s ever been closeted. Even essentially the most sophisticated meta jokes really feel rooted in lived experiences.
Dicks: The Musical premiered at Toronto Worldwide Movie Pageant earlier than seeing a restricted theatrical launch. It’s gotten largely optimistic buzz thus far, accumulating a 74% Recent ranking on Rotten Tomatoes from 76 critics. If this absurdist humor sounds prefer it’s proper up your alley, now’s the time to hit the theater, with the film seeing its broad launch on Friday, October 20. You should definitely additionally try our 2023 Film Schedule to see what different new releases are coming quickly.
