Movie Review: DICKS: THE MUSICAL

Kimberly Pierce

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Megan thee Stallion snaps her finger as Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson lean away from her in Dicks: The Musical.

Musicals are my sweet spot. Whether I’m thinking back to the Great Depression and the Gold Diggers of 1933 or something more recent like La La Land, I’m always ready and willing. So, when I saw the trailer for Dicks: The Musical, I was intrigued. This movie has spunk. In fact, it has an abundance of spunk. Is this wacky indie set to be massive? Or should it hide out with “The Sewer Boys”? Read on.

Dicks: The Musical follows the story of two long-lost brothers (Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharpe) who meet after their companies merge. As they realize they are, in fact, identical twins, they resolve to reunite their separated parents. That’s right. It’s The Parent Trap … through an A24 lens. I wasn’t expecting it either. Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, Bowen Yang and Megan Thee Stallion co-star in the movie. Larry Charles directs Dicks: The Musical from a script by Jackon and Sharpe. 

Josh Sharp, Bowen Yang and Aaron Jackson look off camera in surprise.

Putting it out there first and foremost, Dicks: The Musical is, like I said, precisely what it sounds like. This is The Parent Trap as a Broadway musical ran through an A24 lens. This movie was weird and quirky in a way I didn’t know what to do with. The musical brings the brassy love of theater inherent in something like Theater Camp with a side dish of schlock cinema. I had no idea these things worked together, but the movie is in on the joke.

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Don’t get me wrong. This film gave me tremendous joy, much of it stemming from the always-delightful Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally. We don’t deserve either of these performers, and to be honest, I need both on my screens far more often than they are. 

Lane and Mullally launch into over-the-top caricatures as the brother’s long-separated parents. Lane is Harris, a man who has recently come to terms with his sexuality and lives with his two “Sewer Boys.” You heard that right. They are two mildly terrifying hand puppets, but Lane’s love for “his boys” sells the weirdness. Mullally, meanwhile, is Evelyn. We’re repeatedly told she’s 93. Not only is her brain not what it once was, but a specific (No spoilers!) part of her anatomy has fallen off. It must be seen to be believed. 

The "Sewer Boys" puppets clutch the bars of their cage.

From top to bottom, these performances bring a brassiness that will feel at home with gleefully unhinged theater kids the world over. Sharp and Jackson come to the film from a comedy background. However, each and every performer onscreen brings a bright effervescence to every number. They’re acting “to the cheap seats.” Interestingly, the resulting gleeful tone feels like a love letter to Broadway musicals at their most traditional. There’s a definite love for this medium present onscreen. 

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Meanwhile, the film is packed with well-performed songs. Lane and Mullally are, of course, seasoned Broadway vets, while Sharp and Jackson bring magnetic and memorable portrayals. Numbers like: “I’ll Always Be On Top,” “Gay Old Life” and “All Love is Love” keep the story moving with catchy tunes and bring a smile to the face. With 25 songs in the soundtrack, they aren’t going to all be marquee hits, but everyone has a chance to get in on the fun.  

Through all the bright smiles and Broadway shimmer, there is, at the same time, a strange and wonderful grittiness here. Director Larry Charles (best known to audiences for directing Borat, Brüno and The Dictator) taps into a sense of schlock, continually reminding this writer of filmmakers like Larry Buchanan and Larry Cohen … and this is not a negative.

Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp stare down a well with looks of awe.

Through all the A24 glitz, Dicks: The Musical could easily emerge from a schlock house in the 1960s and 1970s. This movie knows exactly what it is. The quirky musical is comfortable in its skin and having an absolute blast. 

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Ultimately, though, the “in your face” nature of Dicks: The Musical isn’t going to work for everyone. Kids, it takes a lot for me to clutch my pearls, but there were moments when even I felt the movie was going a bit far for little old me. (No Spoilers.) When all was said and done, though, I had a smile on my face throughout Dicks: The Musical. It’s weird, wonderful and doesn’t give a hoot what you think, and ultimately, that was fine with me. 

Dicks: The Musical opens in limited release beginning October 20, 2023.

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Kimberly Pierce
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