“Only Murders in the Building”–A Cozy Mystery

In this Hulu original mini-series we see two septuagenarians from the entertainment industry begrudgingly have to team together to solve the murder of a young wealthy neighbor–Tim Kono– in The Arconia, a luxury New York City apartment building. Oliver (Martin Short), an out-of-work theatre director who relies upon his estranged son for financial support, imagines that the recent murder would make a popular “true-crime” podcast. Charles (Steve Martin), a retired actor who starred as a TV detective decades ago, will star as the narrator. Mabel, a millennial (Selena Gomez) a fledgling cosmetic artist remodeling a family member’s upscale residence, is talked into assisting them with the detective work.
Only Murders in the Building is reminiscent of the old-school cozy mysteries like “Murder She Wrote” and “Doc Martin”, but with the emotional old guys providing the comedy while the no-nonsense Mabel, the twenty-something artist-wannabe, tries to bring them into the 21st century world of technology. The unlikely threesome, brought together by a shared loneliness and need for friendship, offers the viewer an entertaining, if sometimes cringeworthy, one-upmanship on who is the most hipster of the three. And then a fourth character, Jan (Amy Ryan), a bassoonist, enters the scene as a distracting love interest for Charles.
Only Murders in the Building proves to be a lighthearted, amusing comedy/mystery with some twists and turns, only a few red herrings, and fun to solve. Yet what really makes this series work beyond its reach as a cozy mystery is the multi-generational friendships and romance. Breaking out of the common segregation- by-age friendships, we see three strangers in a New York City high-rise yearn for and create a sense of community despite huge generational gaps. While the gaps provide much of the good-natured and on-point humor, the genuine friendships that are created are reminiscent of an adult child with her grandparent.
Selena Gomez is perfectly cast (in a role worthy of her “Fundamentals of Caring”, see my August 22, 2016 review), an emotionally blunt “granddaughter” to Steve Martin and Martin Short’s curmudgeonly seniors. Comic in tone with some almost clownish lines, the cast nonetheless integrates comedy, mystery, and the drama of quiet sadness when loneliness and family problems surface.
An entertaining, easy-to-watch family series with a second season under contract.
Availability: Hulu streaming
Emma Dhesi
Sounds like just my cup of tea! I haven’t seen Steve Martin in anything for a while, so it should be fun 🙂
Diana Paul
It is always fun to watch Steve Martin. While this is not his best comedic writing, Only Murders in the Building is entertaining!
Eugene Markowitz
You are a very generous reviewer. I tried twice watching Only Murders in the Building and threw in the towel after 3 episodes.
People looking for light hearted mysteries can do a lot better than this nonsense. Steve Martin peaked with SNL and has been down hill since then. Dan Akaryod he is not.
Diana Paul
I agree that this is definitely not on the same level as Steve Martin’s performances in LA Story, Parenthood, Father of the Bride, and It’s Complicated. But some of the lines and scenes give you glimpses of Martin’s comic genius.
lenore gay
Hey,
I used to read regular mysteries but no longer. And not cozy ones either. I’m enjoying Grandchester on PBS. A serial, an Episcopal priest and a detective. They’re fun to watch, interesting work. Very fine acting. Glad they’re back.
Sending best wishes,
Lenore