3 seasons in, Only Murders in the Building continues to deliver the impossible. This is somehow the most wholesome, fun show about murder I could ever imagine. Even with an impressive cast of costars, Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short continue to steal every scene. I've found myself attached to these characters and very much invested in their unconventional friendship. I did find the middle of this season felt a bit slow due to (the temporary falling out of the main trio) however it picked up again with the last couple episodes. Either way, this was another excellent season and I can't wait for more.
Much as I like this series, season 3 is definitely the weakest of the 3 IMO, by a long way! The writers seem to have gone off the thread of the team of 3 working together to solve a murder to 3 individual stories of their personal lives and relationships where occasionally they seem to remember "oh yeah, there's a murder here for us to solve right?" at which point a link to the story appears, problem is though, without the original theme of what made the series good and fun it's just a bit dull . The dream / fantasy sequences really add nothing to the show whatsoever and merely serve as pointless (not to mention stupid) padding. If they have run out of ideas to keep the show fresh based on the idea it was originally founded on, maybe it's time to end it.
Season 3 just doesn't work. They have turned the cast, especially Martin Short, into just caricatures of their season 1 characters and it's off putting and cringey. Paul Rudd is neither a good actor nor particularly likable, his tired schtick was tired after Wanderlust when he just always plays the same stupid guy and his presence in this show is irritating and almost caused me to pull the plug on Only Murders in the Building.
There's one reason I'm trying so hard to watch this show that's becoming a dumpster fire more and more every episode and that's Steve Martin's declaration that this show is the last time he'll be acting and I've always liked him. Like so many he has just one guy he plays but that guy isn't particularly over-the-top or irritating, just kind of like a friend of yours that you like because they are silly - as opposed to the likes of Paul Rudd who is always obnoxious and tries way too hard to be funny when he really isn't, that's the friend you hope doesn't show up to your BBQ.
But let's get something straight, from season 1 until the end of time: Selena Gomez can't act, not one iota. She is, quite possibly, the worst actress to ever grace the big or small screen. She had to have made bags of money with her singing career, right? Do we need to be tortured by her insanely bad acting ever again? Please say no.
Martin Short, while generally entertaining, wore out his welcome a long time ago but is still tolerable to an extent, but the harder he tries the worse he is and season 3 is Short at his worst.
And Meryl Streep? Come on, this amazing actress who has more talent in the tip of her pinky than most actors have in their entire body is just not good here, it's not a role suited to her style of acting and I'm beyond shocked to see her not only be in this indie Hulu show but to see such piss-poor acting from her. You expect this from Martin and Short because it's just their style, but not Streep.
If you don't love Steve Martin and Martin Short then don't watch this. The show, itself, is "meh" but watching them together again for one last time is fun to watch, even if the first season was the only really decent one.
For me, this is the first noticeable step down for the series after the great first couple of seasons. I just wasn't feeling the show for much of this season and even considered at one point that maybe it's just not the show for me anymore about halfway through, a big surprise after I really loved the first season and quite enjoyed the second season as well. I just don't think much of the comedy worked nearly as well this season, and the overall mystery was not as engaging as before. Paul Rudd being cast felt like false promises as well, given that he feels like such a perfect fit for the show but was barely in this. Maybe that's on me though, I didn't really look into whether or not he would have a substantial role and just got excited when I heard he would be in here. The trio being separated and the severe lack of an actual podcast also held this back for me quite a bit. I get that the show needs to evolve and introduce new character dynamics, but the charm of the show for me has always been our three leads together doing their thing, and this season there just wasn't enough of it. When those moments did happen, the show got so much better so quickly. I will say that they brought things around a bit by the end, though. The mystery was a bit predictable, but I thought the twists were pretty decent nonetheless and that incredibly balanced and enthralling tone finally found itself again in the final couple of episodes. There were standout episodes and moments for sure, and it's still a very well-made show, but this is pretty easily my least favorite season thus far.
6.4/10 -- Decent
2023 TV Shows Ranked --> https://trakt.tv/users/justinnumerick/lists/2023-tv-shows-ranked?sort=rank,asc
Season 1 was fantastic, season 2 was okay, and season 3 was meh. The best episodes were at the end of the season but I had to pull a few teeth to get there.
It’s probably been the case for the previous seasons as well, but for some reason, it’s getting harder to bear with the over-the-top characters and forced detours. The hook of the show in its first season was the focus on the characters, with an unexpectedly melancholic touch in exploring the two older leads. Unfortunately, this time we’re left with caricatures that have very little to say. Each episode tries to paint a different character as the main suspect, and the diversions are so obvious that sitting through the season felt like a chore. A pity because the musical as the main setting really suits the tone of the series , and the overall direction still shows a few interesting ideas here and there.
This season feels a bit samey but it’s fine, not all comedies can be constantly forward moving and shapeshifting like The Good Place did. Plus, I just want to spend more time with those characters and I got that. Also, there’s Meryl Streep: she’s like a goddes amongst mortals, so much greater than any other actor in the show but also never stealing the scene, always making everyone else better. What a beast.
Theme- 9/10
Rewatchibility- 9/10
Acting- 10/10
Kinematography- 9.5/10
Time- 7/10
Total - 44.5/5 = 8.9
Ant-Man makes a big deal here...
Fuck the Pickwick Triplets.
This season has it's moments but it's slow and meaningless. Oliver, Charles and Maybelle all still have a good screen presence but the start is poorly paced with imagination scenes throughout that just "do not sing". Speaking of which, whenever a show makes itself into a musical, there's going to be a descent into crassness. It's the case here too. Musicals are gimmicks in of themselves. This season seems to be too. Hopefully season 4 will ground itself again.
I didn't particularly care for how this season commenced, but it picked up steam as it went. I really didn't like Paul Rudd's character. I felt that they could've done much more w/ him, and instead, they made him cringey and uninteresting. Luckily, they quickly moved away from this focus. Meryl Streep, however, was her usual phenomenal self. It's truly amazing how she's able to turn in amazing performance after amazing performance. She's truly a cinematic gem.
This season wasn’t all that great, in my opinion. With a premise like the one this show has, there is only so many times that they can do the same thing over and over again before it becomes kind of unbelievable or kind of boring. I think they hit their limit this season. It is getting a little bit stale at this point. It’s still watchable, but it’s not as great as it once was.
The ending of this season is somewhat entertaining but the frequent meandering it did to get there was really slow. What the hell was all that white room crap with Steve Martin's patter song?
:heart:x6
Despite all the big name Stars in this season - the first 7 episodes are only so-so. I did not enjoy them much simply because the dynamic of our 3 main characters was thoroughly trashed. But once we got to episode 8 the familiar, fun dynamic between them was back and the show got a whole lot better.
How I rate:
1-3 :heart: = seriously! don't waste your time
4-6 :heart: = you may or may not enjoy this
7-8 :heart: = I expect you will like this too
9-10 :heart: = movies and TV shows I really love!
Shout by RASMUSVIP 4BlockedParent2023-10-15T17:54:05Z
"Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?"
I think the show lost its grip this season. I like the characters but I wasn't fully invested in the whodunit storyline which just wasn't executed as well as previous seasons. It was still fine and there were some quite enjoyable and fun parts. Hope they can step it up for the next (and hopefully the last) season.