Dicks: The Musical

'Dicks: The Musical' is a film based on an off Broadway play by Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson. Here, the story tells of Craig (Sharp) and Trevor (Jackson) who meet at work and realize they are identical twins. After they make sense of the situation, they realize that their parents separated right after they were born and each took a child to raise on their own (If you hadn't guessed, the film borrows a lot of its earlier storyline from 'The Parent Trap' film). This then prompts the twins to come up with a plan to get their parents back together so they can be one big happy family. The problem is that their father is now gay, their mother is agoraphobic, oh and more importantly, their father has two sewer monsters captive, and their mother has no vagina (Yes, you heard that right!). To top it off, the film is also a musical.

This film is hilarious and so random. I laughed out loud several times and clutched my metaphorical pearls even more. Its a very unexpected, offensive and controversial film, but i really enjoyed it.

Sharp and Jackson are great as Craig and Trevor, and you can tell that they've worked together as a comedy duo for some time now. They are able to bounce off each other quite well. Megan Thee Stallion plays their boss Gloria, however whilst she may be a current power player in the music industry, she isn't going to be winning any acting awards any time soon.

Whilst the leads are very funny, Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally are absolute scene stealers as their parents Harris and Evelyn. The chemistry between them is great, and every scene they share looked extremely fun for them to be a part of. Lane is brilliant and flamboyant as usual, but it was Mullally who really surprised me. I had no idea she was so talented. She's always been a great character actor, but her voice is also incredible, and to be able to sing with a strong lisp too shows how much of a talent she really is.

The songs are funny too and make sense storyline wise. A lot of the songs are the type I would listen to again and again (and since watching, have). The best song is 'Lonely' by Mullally and Lane, followed closely by 'Out Alpha the Alpha' by Megan Thee Stallion. 'All Love is Love' gets an honorable mention, and whilst its catchy, it's probably one of the most offensive songs I've ever heard.

The costuming is another highlight, capturing the essence of each character and showing how eccentric they are. Set design is another strength too, especially the scenes in the sewer, and in Harris and Evelyn's homes.

The ending takes a wild turn, and it's certainly one that I did not expect, but given how random the film was overall, I adapted quickly.

During the credits, the audience gets to see behind the scenes footage of the cast during filming, and this made me like the film even more. Seeing Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally struggle to deliver such offensive and inappropriate lines given their age and reputation as actors/performers showed how professional they were and I liked that they were such good sports about it all. I also liked seeing original footage of Sharp and Jackson from the off Broadway play, because it showed how far the idea has come since then.

For a musical film that centers around incest, sewer boys and a detached yet flying vagina, I absolutely loved it!

It's almost like the writer didn't know how to end the movie so they swung for the fences with the most offensive ending possible. Offensiveness was achieved. Funny was completely lost. Megan and Nathan were just fine. The sewer boys were hilarious. The premise had a great structure, but just fell completely flat. You would think that if this was built on a live show, they would've had a figured out a way to end it and keep the humor going with practice, but they did not. On a technical note, why was the dialogue seemingly unsync with the actors mouth movement for most of the movie? What sort of decision was that like? They were lip-synching along with a soundtrack.

I loved this movie because it doesn't take it's self seriously. It is utterly ridiculous. It takes shots at everyone and everything. Which is so refreshing when compared to other movies being released in 2023 that walk on egg shells to not offend anybody and to represent everyone.

If you go into this just looking to have a good time while eating some popcorn, you'll love it. If you are easily offended, a member of the alphabet community, or a person who only laughs when told to do so, you'll probably hate this.

Not every film has to be a fine piece of artistic cinema that is award worthy. This movie is just pure entertainment... I laughed, I said "WTF?!", I smiled and then went on with my day. Movies today often forget that they can just be a fun escape and Dicks: The Musical is exactly that...

I told my partner, "This looks terrible. I'm pressing play." I am so glad I did. Sometimes you just need unhinged comedy in your life and that's exactly what I needed tonight. It's seriously the most ridiculous movie I've ever enjoyed. I kept laughing unexpectedly to the point of choking. It kept getting more and absurd with every passing moment and just when I thought it couldn't get more ludicrous, it found a way to take it to the next level.

Would I recommend this movie?

Not to most people, but if you're having a really bad day and you want something to take your mind off your problems and are willing to disregard any sense of decency, this might be the film for you. Worked for me.

This is a reboot of The Parent Trap as a musical. Identical twins separated at birth, each brought up by a single parent, both become top salesman at the same company. When they are brought together, they realize their relationship. Hankering for a "normal" 2-parent family, they hatch a plot to get their parents together and re-marry.

Switching identities, they each visit the other parent's apartments, and work on getting their reclusive parents to go out to dinner, where they would then meet. However, rather than detail the parents' eccentricities to each other in advance, they both jump in uninformed, and are shocked at what they find.

Originating as a 2-person play, most scenes are 2-person scenes, except for the extravagant musical numbers. Bowen Yang does an amusing turn as God, leading the ensemble in the song "Love is Love". Megan Thee Stallion plays the business founder, and her song is about a power woman dominating men. Nathan Lane is the father who has come out as gay, and is reasonably (but not overly) flamboyant. Having worked together for years, the main characters are very comfortable with each other.

I saw this at the world premiere weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the directors were present, even though as the main actors they would be on strike. This was presented as part of the Midnight Madness program, and they were awed at seeing their "little" project on really big screens (my presentation was on an IMAX screen, and that was not the biggest screen the film played on). In response to a question, they said that they had no trouble getting their "dream team" to work on the film, as the various big-name actors had a positive reaction to the script.

I did find some parts overwhelming - the mother's apartment decor, and the father's pets. Also, the twins did not make any attempt to look alike, despite everyone around them keeping confusing them for each other. This suspension of disbelief is common in live theater, but seems iffy on film.

This film won the TIFF People's Choice Award in the Midnight Madness category.