Only Murders in the Building Review: Solving the Mystery of this Hilarious and Smart TV Series

For most of my life, I’ve heard how great Steve Martin and Martin Short are, especially about the global phenomenon of Steve Martin. I can’t remember not knowing who Steve Martin was. For the first four years of my life, I watched The Three Amigos! —and Dumbo—so many times, consecutively even, that I likely owe my language to the movies. And to be completely honest, I never really understood why Steve Martin was so popular.

I like Steve Martin, but in the way I like Santa Claus or Mr. Rogers, he looks like an incredibly genuine human being. As an actor and a comedian though, except for films like Roxanne, the Father of the Bride films, and the Three Amigos! I never appreciated him. As a comedian, he is too animated and goofy for me. Martin’s body language tells a different story than his mouth. I thought that was awkward and weird. Martin Short, I was even less interested in, I only liked him in the Three Amigos! and the Father of the Bride films, and nothing else. Short has always been way too over the top for me. I don’t care about humor for humor's sake, and it seemed that Martin Short was always trying too hard to get a laugh.

When I first became aware of Only Murders in the Building when it was first released on Hulu, I had no interest in the show. I practically grew up watching Steve Martin Short and still, I wasn’t inspired to watch the show, including Selena Gomez in the cast wasn’t enough to spare half an hour; because I’m not familiar with Selena Gomez, except she was a child Disney star, like Britany Spears and Justin Timberlake. Almost a year later, a good friend of mine mentioned that she had been watching Only Murders in the Building and that she loved it. She talked it up a lot. I surrendered and told her that I would watch it. A few days passed before I finally got around to it but as soon as I did, I couldn’t stop, and I started it just in time, too, because the second season was just about to drop on Hulu.

Only Murders in the Building is amazing. And ironic too, because the best part about it, other than the writing, is Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. Steve Martin’s comedic genius in this role is so subtle and yet perfect for someone who feels his comedy is outdated, he brilliantly acknowledges that critique and low-key shoves that critique right back in your face.

One great example of this is a brief dialogue between Martin and Gomez, he says something to the effect of “Yeah, who was the first person to look at a chicken and think that looks good!” While Gomez, in response, stares at him blankly. It’s so subtle, yet that dialogue, though brief, speaks volumes to the nuance and production brilliance of the show. I think Gomez provides the perfect degree of Millennial “know-it-all” stoicism and wit, in between these two “has been’s/never was’s.” (<--- that's a movie reference). Their ensemble is fantastic!

Martin Short is incredible! Only Murders in the Building belongs to Martin Short. What Short does from episode to episode and season to season is show a range of acting and comedy that I haven’t seen as consistently in a long time, if ever. It may not be the best television show, but it’s one of the few that you can binge-watch and then immediately re-watch, I genuinely believe, that aside from the incredible dynamic of Steven Martin Short and Selena Gomez, it’s because Martin Short gives the best performance of his career, consistently from the first episode to the Season Two Finale.

I highly recommend Only Murders in the Building. It is among the funniest, smartest, and most unique shows I’ve seen in a long while. I’m excited about the third season, and the inclusion of Paul Rudd in the cast, because the four of them, Steve Martin Short, Selena Gomez, and Paul Rudd could well be one of the best comedic ensembles in sitcom history.