Criminally comical writing meets a near-perfect murder-mystery in season 3 of "Only Murders In The Building". This season had a nice 10-episode count sprinkled with all the classic tropes the show has been consistently delivering so far.
Steve Martin continued to impress as Charles-Haden Savage. I have always loved his comedic timing, and he hasn't dulled one bit. He was indulging a risky romance with Joy Payne (played by Andrea Martin), who was quite the red herring for a while. Also, Martin's 'patter song' sequence in the "Sitzprobe" episode was *chef's kiss*.
Martin Short as Oliver Putnam was 'larger than life' hilarious, especially with those crazy comebacks and grand entrances. He had a rich variety of moments and memories this season, and made for an interesting combo with Meryl Streep (more on this in a bit).
Both men had more personal challenges and demons to face this time, which clearly showed that "Only Murders In The Building" was properly branching out its characters' arcs.
Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora was equal parts empathic and engaging. She brought more heart to her role this season. Since her character's aunt sold the apartment where Mabel was temporarily staying, she was looking at spending just four weeks with Oliver and Charles before moving out. This added some nice heart-tugging elements to the show.
Paul Rudd as Ben Glenroy was a captivating, and quite obnoxious, addition. He was his own usual self and enriched the plot, especially during his character's deathly absence. Which was brief, because surprise, he was back! His scenes after being revived continued to captivate. And, just when you thought the trio's typical podcast couldn't take place, Ben soon ended up giving them every reason to go right ahead.
Now, as a huge fan of Meryl Streep, I was enormously delighted to see her take on the curious, suspicious, cutesy, and unpredictable role of Loretta Durkin. She was the soul of this script in so many ways.
From her nuanced performance to her musical notes, and not to forget her sweet romantic portions with Oliver, she was a genuine treat to see in "Only Murders In The Building" season 3. She had to pretend to be bad - at singing and acting - yet not too bad, and that's not easy to do.
Also, it was nice to see her do this project along with Steve Martin. They were great together in the 2009 rom-com "It's Complicated".
Meryl is still the sharpest blade in any box. Her acting carried season 3 in many ways. Her every scene was (as always) a lesson in acting and a testament to her skill as an actress.
This time round, in season 3, the intrepid and unusual podcasting trio - Charles, Oliver, and Mabel - had a complex crime on their hands. A big Broadway star (Ben Glenroy) fell dead on stage, creating quite a mystery and a mess.
Enter, Loretta Durkin. A wonderful contrast to the actress playing her, Loretta was ironically only reasonably good at acting. Her character's life was rife with rejections and broken dreams. Then along came Oliver's play, which gave her renewed hope and a second chance.
One clever twist after the next led to a full-blown murder mystery - 'in the building', as it were. They also included some nice comebacks and cameos (Mel Brooks and Matthew Broderick).
The plot beautifully captured - or rather, re-captured - that classic whodunnit flair. It was genuinely hard to predict who committed the murder, and even then some clever red herrings swam by, successfully casting doubt.
I honestly did not see that mother-son twist - rather, double-twist - coming, nor was I able to figure out in advance exactly who did the deed.
Every artist brought their A-game to this season, and it showed. It was a flawless take on a murder-mystery, with a theatric twist to make the whole thing entertaining. I guess in this regard, "Only Murders In The Building" casually played with dark humor in almost ingenious ways.
This is, 'cookies' down, the best season so far. And that jaw-dropping final shot! What in the Charles-Haden Savage just happened, and when the fishsticks is season 4 coming around?!
Steve Martin continued to impress as Charles-Haden Savage. I have always loved his comedic timing, and he hasn't dulled one bit. He was indulging a risky romance with Joy Payne (played by Andrea Martin), who was quite the red herring for a while. Also, Martin's 'patter song' sequence in the "Sitzprobe" episode was *chef's kiss*.
Martin Short as Oliver Putnam was 'larger than life' hilarious, especially with those crazy comebacks and grand entrances. He had a rich variety of moments and memories this season, and made for an interesting combo with Meryl Streep (more on this in a bit).
Both men had more personal challenges and demons to face this time, which clearly showed that "Only Murders In The Building" was properly branching out its characters' arcs.
Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora was equal parts empathic and engaging. She brought more heart to her role this season. Since her character's aunt sold the apartment where Mabel was temporarily staying, she was looking at spending just four weeks with Oliver and Charles before moving out. This added some nice heart-tugging elements to the show.
Paul Rudd as Ben Glenroy was a captivating, and quite obnoxious, addition. He was his own usual self and enriched the plot, especially during his character's deathly absence. Which was brief, because surprise, he was back! His scenes after being revived continued to captivate. And, just when you thought the trio's typical podcast couldn't take place, Ben soon ended up giving them every reason to go right ahead.
Now, as a huge fan of Meryl Streep, I was enormously delighted to see her take on the curious, suspicious, cutesy, and unpredictable role of Loretta Durkin. She was the soul of this script in so many ways.
From her nuanced performance to her musical notes, and not to forget her sweet romantic portions with Oliver, she was a genuine treat to see in "Only Murders In The Building" season 3. She had to pretend to be bad - at singing and acting - yet not too bad, and that's not easy to do.
Also, it was nice to see her do this project along with Steve Martin. They were great together in the 2009 rom-com "It's Complicated".
Meryl is still the sharpest blade in any box. Her acting carried season 3 in many ways. Her every scene was (as always) a lesson in acting and a testament to her skill as an actress.
This time round, in season 3, the intrepid and unusual podcasting trio - Charles, Oliver, and Mabel - had a complex crime on their hands. A big Broadway star (Ben Glenroy) fell dead on stage, creating quite a mystery and a mess.
Enter, Loretta Durkin. A wonderful contrast to the actress playing her, Loretta was ironically only reasonably good at acting. Her character's life was rife with rejections and broken dreams. Then along came Oliver's play, which gave her renewed hope and a second chance.
One clever twist after the next led to a full-blown murder mystery - 'in the building', as it were. They also included some nice comebacks and cameos (Mel Brooks and Matthew Broderick).
The plot beautifully captured - or rather, re-captured - that classic whodunnit flair. It was genuinely hard to predict who committed the murder, and even then some clever red herrings swam by, successfully casting doubt.
I honestly did not see that mother-son twist - rather, double-twist - coming, nor was I able to figure out in advance exactly who did the deed.
Every artist brought their A-game to this season, and it showed. It was a flawless take on a murder-mystery, with a theatric twist to make the whole thing entertaining. I guess in this regard, "Only Murders In The Building" casually played with dark humor in almost ingenious ways.
This is, 'cookies' down, the best season so far. And that jaw-dropping final shot! What in the Charles-Haden Savage just happened, and when the fishsticks is season 4 coming around?!