The Singing Detective: Musical Hell Review #34

[@Zulf85]

"You could make an entire seperate movie about characters in a potboiler rebelling against their creator" So Princess Tutu: Pulp novel edition?

[@PhantomMisfit12]

Have you ever seen the episode "My Musical" from the series Scrubs? It's another instance of the musical being in the mind of a sick patient, but done really really well. It has the cast singing original songs and everything. I think you would enjoy it.

[@CarolHardesty]

I remember back in 2008, I developed a MASSIVE crush on Robert Downey Jr. after seeing him in "Iron Man". (Don't judge me; I was 19 and had a thing for bad boys at the time.) And like with all my movie star crushes, I had to see everything RDJ had appeared in up to that point. I only got about five minutes into "The Singing Detective" before giving up. After seeing your review, I admire you for putting up with such a bizarre movie.

[@Jillbles]

I rented this movie several years ago, because I'd basically watch a movie where RDJ read the phone book and be happy about it. I wished it had been a movie where RDJ had read the phone book. This movie was confusing, unfocused, and unpleasant. And it didn't even have real musical numbers to offset its unpleasantness. Just a big disappointment, on the whole. I read at the time it was based on a BBC series starring Michael Gambon, added it to a queue somewhere, and promptly forgot about it, until I watched this video last night. In the interim since this was posted, someone has uploaded the full series to KZbin. I am astonished at how much the movie got wrong. Just... it's like they had to have been doing it on purpose. The shell of the story remains the same, but everything inside it is SO much better. Still all lip-synched, though. But I do recommend checking it out.

[@Jillbles]

Also, Gambon is a much, much more sympathetic character. Still a dick, but he's less... awful. Or his awfulness ends up being more forgivable. And I have to say, the British setting of the show totally changes the story. For starters, the NHS means Gambon is in a ward full of patients that interact. He has friends. It's humanizing.

[@jojol.2630]

They put RDJ in a musical and didn't have him sing? What a waste

[@SomeHarbourBastard]

Have you forgotten. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYKlcqlnbbyqn7M

[@Wintermute01001]

Robert Downey Junior... Is... FRANK MILLER!

[@Dreigonix]

Oh my god, I was thinking the same thing! All that remains is for him to call Tom Holland’s Spider-Man retarded and try to make him eat rats.

[@PassTheMarmalade1957]

13:20 Two underdeveloped side characters start metafictionally questioning their existence? Um, movie, 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' wants a word with you...

[@JimmyJohn89808]

I know where you're coming from, but at least Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were the main focus, not a tacked on 3rd act that makes little sense in or out of the context of the movie.

[@mysterykiddo2167]

Oh really?

[@subzerobadass]

"There's nothing particularly spectacular or intriguing about being a foul-mouthed, sexist misanthrope." And yet, so many have made that their main personality trait.

[@DeepEye1994]

I have an idea for a noir/crime musical that is a loveletter to the whole genre (the story is pretty much Scarface joins the Godfather and they go against a psychotic version of Dick Tracy and a dark and mysterious trench-coated killer who's murdering people on both sides), a loveletter to the genre and stylistically a loveletter to early late '80s and early '90s comicbook films. In the end everyone is killed, the protagonist ends up in heaven with the rest of his fellow criminals who died throughout the movie (so yes, they're in a literal Gangster Paradise) while psychotic Dick Tracy and the rest of the 'good guys of the law' are seen burning in Hell. If this somehow ever gets made, I'd put a Diva-looking devil girl torturing the eternally damned in the finale! lol

[@YourObedientSandwichAHam]

That sounds interesting.

[@savannasmokes6452]

I have a few questions. First off, what crimes does the pyschotic version of dick Tracy commit? And what good things do the main character, as well as his friends, do? What’s the moral of the story? Are you still planning to make it a film?

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

"...like giving them a puzzle with half the pieces missing." That's how THE TREE OF LIFE made me feel.

[@thema1998]

Once again, I had *completely* forgotten about "The Singing Detective" until now! 😅

[@ThanksHermione]

The title of this made me think it would be a bad parody of Sherlock Holmes. In a twisted way it might still be what with Robert Downey Jr. starring as the main character. LOL

[@bombygriz]

So I saw Strange Magic the other day...you might need to look into it. It's...it's special.

[@MusicalHell]

bombygriz I suspect I will at some point.

[@harrietamidala1691]

specially bad?

[@MrGabeanator]

+Musical Hell so this is what henry selick was talking about

[@GatorRay]

Fun fact. That's the first Musical Hell episode I saw. And only because I saw it looking at the video suggestion feed on the review of said film by Cellspex.

[@ksaunders4362]

RDJ was cast in a musical, and they didn't have him sing? He has a rather pleasant singing voice - why wouldn't they want him to sing? This reminds of the British tv series Blackpool, where the characters all just lip-sync along to the songs - except that was, y'know, actually good.

[@argonaut640]

I'll just stick with Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, thanks.

[@davidspring4003]

Or Sherlock Holmes.

[@wattsink2009]

Still less weird and less of an jerk than his Doctor Dolittle! 😅

[@merrittanimation7721]

Or that one guy from Good Night, Good Luck.

[@annieandelsieofarendelle3294]

So this is how Stephanie Meyer became famous! Write bland, annoying characters with very little basic logic.

[@jdraven0890]

To quote the Grand Galactic Inquisitor: "THAT WAS A WEIRD ONE." "IGNORE ME!!!"

[@DrWhoHarvey]

I understand your criticism. You really need to see the original british tv series. For one thing downeys characters mother didnt become a prostutute. On top of that this story couldnt be understood in a 2 hour movie. I also believe michael gambon who played the downey character was difficult to deal with but seemed more sympathetic.

[@EdEditz]

The story lines mix because the protagonist is hallucinating from his illness. He tries to retrace his youth and in his thoughts it takes the form of a detective story where you find out about yourself. Dennis Potter was a master of this and the original series (which you can find on youtube) was in my opinion a masterpiece of TV making.

[@BainesMkII]

If that was fictional Dark leaving the hospital with the wife, then it wasn't supposed to be a happy ending? Unless real Dark was such a lousy person that even after he's (mostly) cured, the world is better off with him being killed and replaced with his own self-insert fantasy?

[@enjoyingincubusXD]

I thought dark killed his older self and then let go of his paranoia and decided to be happy with nicola, sorta like a fever dream. Remember he was having a breakdown with the nurse before the agents came in and derailed everything.

[@johnvinals7423]

Just for the record, I think the Atomic Energy plot is supposed to be a homage to “Kiss Me Deadly”.

[@ShadowinaCave]

I deal with the disappointment of this film by simply pretending it doesn't exist. It was a misfire from the start. As with Pennies From Heaven, the only way to go is with Dennis Potter's original TV version.

[@MelanieNLee]

Diva has just released her castigation of Pennies from Heaven.

[@LucyLioness100]

You gotta wonder if this was a fever dream of RDJ’s rehab days; unfortunately not 🙄. Thank God Robert and the majority of the cast made better film choices after this film flopped

[@PugandOwn]

to be fair, using psoriasis flare ups as a shorthand for a character's mental state isn't completely disconnected from reality. autoimmune conditions genuinely get worse when you're stressed, from the combo of hormones being a pain in the arse, and the stressful circumstances having a good chance of keeping you away from your medication. if our 'charming' protagonist's skin started settling down as he worked through his issues and became a more relaxed, less insufferable person, that could honestly work.

[@MSTe98]

They tried to pull a mini-Rosencrantz-and-Guildenstern-Are-Dead, there.

[@Nic33rd]

Recently discovered your channel. Really looking forward to future episodes!

[@harrietamidala1691]

and there is a big backlog if you're impatient. Over 30 episodes to watch.

[@harrietamidala1691]

In leading up to your review tomorrow, I was watching the BlockBuster Buster rip it up, and I detected a couple of things that will probably be a part of the sins list (though he's light on the music): 1. Lea Michelle's bad Ariel impression while playing and singing Dorothy. 2. Bland songs 3. Once again, just like Rock of Ages, the misuse of talent (in this case, the exquisite Bernadette Peters completely wasted as Glinda--she doesn't even sing in it! I looked up the soundtrack listing, and I did not see her name on any song). As BB states, it's like casting an actor best known for their schtick and not utilizing it (like not allowing Gary Busey to go crazy, Jackie Chan to do martial arts). At least Catherine Zeta-Jones got to sing in Rock of Ages. I think I may have hit upon why you chose Legends of Oz as the next offender--wasting Bernadette Peters' talents. And it's a musical, for opposition's sake! That's a major sin in anyone's book.

[@MusicalHell]

harrietamidala1691 Bernadette wasn't missing much where the songs were concerned...

[@harrietamidala1691]

Musical Hell Yeah, good point. But then why cast her in the first place if 1. You're not going to have Glinda sing anything, and 2. your songs are mediocre. This will be addressed, correct? As I mention, the Blockbuster Buster was light on his critiquing the music because he's not an expert in that field, and I completely forgot that Legends of Oz was a musical too. Just out of curiosity, what do you think of the Oz Great and Powerful prequel or the Glee show where Lea Michelle's from?

[@MusicalHell]

harrietamidala1691 Without giving too much away...I actually didn't touch much on the music either, because the songs are just...there. They don't make much of an impression, which is perhaps even worse than being bad because at least bad captures the attention. Oz the Great and Powerful was...eh. It had some good points, but (as touched on in the Rock of Ages review) I didn't like the whole Wicked Witch as the jilted jealous girl thing. Glee was interesting for about one season, then I got tired of it VERY fast.

[@seani8698]

How many times has Alfre Woodard castigated RDJ in her career.

[@loski7479]

Did anyone else after realising The Singing Detective actually existed want to see a Sherlock Holmes musical created? ... Or does that already exist?

[@bridgetmadden5716]

Sounds like a story that had potential and was handled badly

[@kali3665]

The British TV miniseries was SO much better. So was its music....

[@johnyzero2000]

The production design by Patricia Norris is pretty good.

[@ameliaairhead6617]

I’m a few years late, but hooray for Via Galactica shoutout at 0:13! 😄 Man, that thing was an acid trip.

[@HopelessRomantic999]

Legends of Oz next? I thought that was okay, not spectacular, but a cute little children's film with decent animation. I did have a problem with the China Princess, though; I've seen a (somewhat) snooty protagonists done right (Rarity from My Little Pony can be vain and overdramatic, but she's funny and she does nice things for her friends), but this character just irritated me to the point where I kinda wanted Dorothy to drop her off a cliff.

[@angrychipmunkonfire3]

2:21: OK... why did this movie suddenly become the prom scene from Grease?

[@arvidlystnur4827]

I guess remaking " the Singing Detective", would be like trying to remake a modern version of CITIZEN KANE, or IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Foolish. How about a hip hop version of LIFE WITH MAMA?

[@seani8698]

I think Disney figured out nobody really wants to spend more than two solo movies with RDJ

[@roadbreach]

Also I think the same thing can be said about Thanos in Infinity War when you're talking about detective dark. Nothing about Thanos's backstory was shown on screen which is why I can't empathize with Thanos, which is what (metaphorically) keeps me up at night wondering why.

[@tuffy135ify]

Oh no. It never occured to me that people watched The Last Airbender movie but never watched the show...oh that's terrible. All the bad and none of the good.

[@andrewweinstein7740]

You maybe should have looked at something like Pennies from Heaven, which is based on a BBC series from the same showrunner as the original Singing Detective.

[@kristine9823]

Wow, I actually feel bad for RDJ now knowing about this movie.

[@alexmeyer5260]

Can't wait for your Legends Of Oz review. That movie was so bad it was my #2 worst film of 2014 (my #1 was Ride Along).

[@MovieFan1912]

From this, to winning his first Oscar. Man, Robert Downey Jr. has come a long way.

[@Crystalpoodleblack]

I was able to rent a copy of the BBC series on DVD from Netflix

[@BrinIoca]

This movie's main character has to have the most ham-handed treatment of women I've seen since I learned about incels and MGTOWs. Yeesh

[@annietrinity1833]

Was about to comment "Did this series make anyone else afraid of scarecrows?" and then I scroll down. This is a remake? THERE'S A REMAKE?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@annietrinity1833]

+Annie Trinity For the record, the TV version is better, but has a lot of the same problems.

[@OsmSkylandersCheats]

I know that this is a nitpick but i really don’t like looking at Dan Dark’s skin disease thing

[@GatorRay]

At someone that's developed Psoriasis after watching this video (It's not as bad as dan's in the film though and I was able to get stuff meant to treat it before the dermatologist shut down in my area cause of the pandemic) that's the only part I could relate to in retrospect. And hey at least it didn't turn out as bad as Pennies From Heaven (GOD that was one of the most painful episodes to sit through because of how irritating Arthur was as a protagonist even compared to Dan Dark)

[@bloodrunsclear]

RDJ in ‘I was high when I made this’

[@MitchellTF]

Did...you ever see the Singing Detective BBC?

[@andrewollmann304]

She stated that she couldn’t, at the time. Only bits and pieces were available....now that the whole thing is uploaded, I wonder if she has.

[@lillianward2810]

My dad is obsessed with the BBC series.

[@kyoyameganebereznoff]

If you like stories about characters rebelling against their creator, I highly recommend Princess Tutu. Don’t be fooled by the name, it’s a great show and probably my favorite anime.

[@aisnota5192]

4:20 Oh hi razzie winner.

[@jackmonaghan8477]

Thank goodness Dennis Potter didn't live to see this affront to his work.

[@daniellemhall1358]

They're too many good actors in this movie for this to be the result.

[@wesleyhunt7599]

16:13 wrong song. A better fit would be A7x's "Nightmare"

[@sewthernbelle]

Wasn't this made into a Broadway show?

[@bsperoz]

2:22 Wha...Wha...WHAT???

[@matthewmeehan9155]

This is typical Dennis Potter. I always thought he was overated

[@shakurburton9358]

The Real Dan Dark is DEAD. AND WHO CARES. AMEN.

[@harrietamidala1691]

So Legends of Oz is next. I've heard it's a really awful OZ adaptation, as I have seen the Blockbuster Buster review of it, but you're going to do the musical side of it. It's also a recent movie though, so I wonder what made it pertinent enough to put in production so soon. Are its sins so egregious that it blew past the competition like a tornado (sorry, couldn't resist).

[@kieranstark7213]

The Blockbuster Buster, Musical Hell, ElectricDragon505 and CellSpex deserve much better for giving Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return negative reviews. It doesn't make them mean-spirited. It makes them capable of how to properly define good and bad. Unlike KZbinrs that are way too popular compared to them like irategamer and Channel Awesome.

[@scrambled5948]

Much like most American remakes of British tv shows, it screws it up so much it makes America even more of a punchline to other countries.

[@lindaeasley5606]

There are examples of US remakes being better than Brit originals. All In The Family ( Brit show Til Death Do Us Part) which spawned a spin-off called Maude which the Brits copied with Nobody's Perfect Maude had a spin-off called Good Times and again the Brits copied with The Fosters. Sanford And Son was inspired by the Brit's Steptoe And Son. And they also had versions of American shows like The Golden Girls

[@BurningAzure]

@@lindaeasley5606 And The Office.

[@lindaeasley5606]

@@BurningAzure I was never a fan of that show .Never watched it or cared for the premise . Many ,many classic American shows. Especially in the cop drama genre . Brits tended to copy American game shows the most often There was just as an example , Juke Box Jury which started out as an American radio show in the 1940s and ran until the 1950s on television

[@amyclarke41]

tv version is miles better

[@NoArtisticLimitation]

Ironically, mi parolas la Esperanto XD (I speak Esperanto)

[@antonspivack1436]

4:51 Was there a problem with the audio? Or was that an intentional crackle?

[@MusicalHell]

The clip is taken from the film, so there's some sound effects mixed in.

[@bsperoz]

12:22 Lol

[@filmunion8194]

End meaning ??????

[@mackenziegivens6061]

"F*ck you, it's art!"

[@Crystalpoodleblack]

In my opinion the series didn’t make anymore sense

[@amyclarke41]

HAHA

[@roadbreach]

Whenever I see Robert Downey jr. I can't help but think Iron Man. (Also Infinity war is the worst Marvel movie ever made)

[@JeffreyPiatt]

sual Rubank can sing and play a man data wold kill.