Film Review: DICKS: THE MUSICAL (2023): New Comedy Takes Too Many Risks but Offers Several Hysterical Performances

Dicks: The Musical Review

Dicks: The Musical (2023) Film Review, a movie directed by Larry Charles, written by Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp and starring Josh Sharp, Aaron Jackson, Megan Mullally, Nathan Lane, Bowen Yang, Megan Thee Stallion, Tom Kenny, Frank Todaro, Oscar Montoya, Sonya Eddy, Blake Daniel, Danielle Perez, Amy Jo Jackson, Nick Offerman, D’Arcy Carden, Marius De Vries and Desiree Alexandra Estrada.

Yes, it is true. Larry Charles has directed the most awkward, cringe worthy comedy of the year with Dicks: The Musical. But, the surprise is that it has a lot of standout, crowd-pleasing scenes among the offensive ones. Let’s not mention the fine, wacky performances of two of the funniest comic talents of their generation– Megan Mullally and Nathan Lane. The first thing that I wanted to say when the end credits came up was, “Give Megan Mullally an Oscar nomination!” Mullally deserves a Best Supporting Actress nod for her offbeat, way-out-there turn that is among the finest work of the talented actress’s career. Of course, Mullally and Lane are not the leads but, still, they are the glue that keeps the film together.

Megan Thee Stallion also surprises in a terrific role where she gets to strut herself and bring her wild charisma to the table at key intervals. She, too, is not the lead. The stars of the new film are, surprisingly enough, its writers, Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson who go for broke in eccentric performances that help shape the comedy’s uneasy tone but also create some of the biggest laughs at the movies this year. Dicks: The Musical is a film that audiences may just end up seeing become a cult classic in due time. While the picture’s premise is a bit like an adult version of The Parent Trap, it ends up feeling totally unique thanks to the characterizations the movie presents.

Trevor (Jackson) and Craig (Sharp) are “dicks,” the type of guys who are sex-crazed and have porn collections. They have decent jobs and Megan Thee Stallion shines as their boss, Gloria, who gets to steal some scenes within the movie. Trevor and Craig, in actuality, are twin brothers who were separated very early in their lives. In an effort to get their separated parents, Evelyn (Mullally) and Harris (Lane) back together, each tries to pass himself off as the other brother. Eventually, Evelyn and Harris are brought together in a restaurant where all hell breaks loose in a hilarious fashion as the brothers hide in the background under a table.

Family is the central theme of the movie but this is definitely not a family movie. In fact, the idea of “family” soon becomes a little too over-the-top for the movie’s own good. This movie pushes the envelope and doesn’t always hit the mark. Jackson and Sharp are funny, though. Jackson, with his long hair and priceless facial expressions, is really charismatic but in a somewhat peculiar way that makes him stand out as a talent that is a true original. Sharp also has some different qualities that help make his character rather humorous throughout. Both Jackson and Sharp play off each other with the type of warped Wayne’s World mentality that suits the movie to a tee.

But, the film belongs to Lane and, even more so, Mullally. It is only fair that Mullally’s creation of the quirky Evelyn be rewarded at Oscar nomination time. Evelyn is an odd woman whose vagina has been detached in one of the strangest revelations a movie has ever conceived. The vagina becomes its own character in the movie when Evelyn unleashes it at a pivotal point in the film. Lane’s character, Harris, has a pair of “sewer boys” as pets that look like a kinder version of something straight out of a 1980’s creature feature like Critters or Troll. This creature development makes virtually no sense on paper but, surprisingly, plays like gangbusters in the actual movie.

Lane and Mullally’s on screen rapport is simply fabulous. Mullally seems like she’s improvising at times but hits it out of the park with every line delivery she provides for the audience. I would love to see the deleted scenes to see what kind of way-out-there humor of Mullally’s didn’t make it into the movie. Evelyn is wild, unpredictable and totally entertaining and the restaurant scene where she romances Harris is a classic bit of comedy that redefines screwball comedy for our times.

Bowen Yang plays the all-knowing God who claims to have come up with the best-selling book ever–the Bible. Yang is funny beyond a reasonable doubt as he preaches love even though it’s hard to understand the reason that his version of God is necessary for the movie’s plot development. It feels like the creators wanted to throw everything in but the kitchen sink and, in doing so, the results are a bit overstuffed. Make no mistake, this film is also offensive as a song is employed towards the end to create positive vibes through using a derogatory word that is used to describe gays. Some audiences may shake their heads in disbelief.

Dicks: The Movie takes its insanity way too far. The risks the movie takes could have used some editing and, with a little more polishing, the film could have been better. I don’t think the writers (or the director) wanted to edit or polish the material, though. That’s brave of the writers and director but, unfortunately, it won’t result in a movie that will be well-received by the general public. However, the movie will have its fans and will serve as an example of one of the wildest pictures of the decade.

Megan Mullally deserves that Oscar nomination because it’s not easy to do comedy. It may seem what she does here is easy but it’s not. It’s true artistry at work. Lane, who plays a bi-sexual in the movie, is the “straight man” in contrast to Mullally’s wild character. But, opposites attract and the result is one of the most bizarre and delightful pairings of the year. The rest of the movie is OK. The “dicks” can be hard to take at times but, ultimately, are still tolerable thanks to the focused acting by the lead actors. Megan Thee Stallion could have used a few more scenes and the film could have been toned down but then it wouldn’t be the movie the filmmakers wanted it to be. I admire the daring nature of the movie and will give it a slight pass and a recommendation thanks to the parts of it that I enjoyed.

Rating: 7/10

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