After a creepily close threat from the killer, the Only Murders in the Building crew go into hiding. They decide Long Island is the best place to lie low with Charles’ sister, Doreen. Though it’s relatively safe out in the suburbs, they have a whole other bunch of headaches to deal with.
Things quickly get out of hand on Only Murders in the Building when the secret safe house becomes not so secret. There is a full house not only with our main trio and Doreen, but with producer Bev Melon, the three stars of the film, and more surprise guests. To put it bluntly, it’s a hot mess in, for the most part, an entertaining way.
That energy all begins and ends with Doreen. From the moment we step into her house filled with an alarmingly number of dolls, you can predict the mayhem that’s on its way. Melissa McCarthy has a typical over the top performance she’s known for with abrasiveness and physical comedy. Her character is offered some depth with a sweet moment with her brother as they discuss their mother issues. The weight of the scene hits more after the previous outlandish moments precede some rock bottom reflections.
Loretta Durkin also makes an appearance on this week’s Only Murders in the Building to work out her relationship problems with Oliver. We see a rarely seen side of Meryl Streep as her character takes part in an cat fight that meshes well with all the silliness. Loretta isn’t afraid to fight a little dirty, but the extremes she goes to reinforces her undying love for Oliver. Although it seems all the romance drama is settled rather quickly considering the precarious positions and catfishing.
There are other great comedic performances this episode. Molly Shannon delivers a drunken profanity laced rant for the ages. Furthermore, Michael Cyril Creighton has perfected the over dramatic gasp as we are left with a shocking reveal. The only real disappointment is the use of Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, and Zach Galifianakis. Other than a few one liners here and there, they don’t contribute much until the end and serve more here as a single unit rather than three separate characters.
“Valley of the Dolls” shows us it’s not always quiet in the suburbs. With creepy dolls, a memorable cat fight, a drunken rant and more, the episode is one of the season’s sillier and more amusing episodes.
New episodes of Only Murders in the Building launch Tuesdays on Hulu.
You must be logged in to post a comment.