When the average music fan thinks of a musical, they see the wind come sweepin' down the plain in Oklahoma. Or perhaps the hills are alive with The Sound of Music. Or, God help them, they picture the memory of being all alone in the moonlight in Cats. These musicals are decidedly different.
Musicals usually follow a fairly set pattern, and you know what you'll get, both in terms of story and music. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. Or maybe the girl dumps the creep, if it's really progressive. None of these five musical masterpieces follows such a generic template.
There's something here for nearly every taste. From pitch-black dark comedy to a 116-octane action film, you're bound to find something you'll love. If you're truly weird, you've already seen a few of these.
Five musicals that shatter the expectations of the form
One film grossed over $71 million, while the top performer had a global haul of over $166 million. So yeah, you may have seen them already. On the flip side, the lead-off movie didn't even break $30,000. I'm pretty sure that's one you missed. But now's your chance, music lover.
The Happiness of the Katakuris
Imagine a movie that combines the charms of The Sound of Music with Clue. Or maybe House of 1,000 Corpses. That's about as close as you can come to imagining this flick without seeing it. The Katakuri family buys a large, rambling house near Mount Fuji with the idea of turning it into a bed and breakfast. Unfortunately, the planned road hasn't been built, and they have no guests.
None, that is, until one finally arrives, only to die by suicide. Rather than face the scandal, they bury the body. More guests arrive, and - well, things don't improve. Yes, it's a very dark comedy, a tone you can expect from director Takashi Miike, the director of Audition and Ichi the Killer.
The songs - yes, there are six - range from samba to prog rock to show tunes. "Everybody Is In Love" is probably my favorite. Seems less murdery.
The Happiness of the Katakuris is available on the Tubi streaming service in the U.S., and on either Apple+ or Netflix in other regions.
RRR
Did I say 116 octane? That wasn't hyperbole, by the way; it's the octane rating for racing fuel that you would see at the drag strip. RRR is one of the best action pictures of the decade. 96 percent of critics surveyed recommend the film, which pits two freedom fighters in 1920s India against British colonial rule. It is definitely action-packed, but also features seven songs. So, I'm calling it a musical.
The showstopper is "Naatu Naatu", which won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2023. Picture Indiana Jones and Rambo teaming up to fight the bad guys, then suddenly breaking into a Sharks versus Jets routine from West Side Story. That's fairly close. Or, just watch the number yourself.
RRR is available on Netflix in the U.S., dubbed in Hindi, English or Spanish.
Dicks: The Musical
A note for parental guidance: this is not a film about a meeting of Dick Van Dyke, Richard Milhous Nixon, and Little Richard. For most people, this is by far the least family-friendly movie you'll find here. Although it is about love and reuniting with family, so in fact, the theme is about nothing but family. And tons and tons of sex.
Think of The Parent Trap, but instead of Haley Mills or Lindsay Lohan as adorable preteen twins, picture a pair of twenty-something man-whores ( I can say that, right?) scheming to reunite their divorced parents.
And they're determined to have as much sex as they can while they're at it. I'd include one of the songs here, but due to the language, I really can't. Trust me, none of these songs is nearly as problematic as anything in Dicks.
Dicks: The Musical is absolutely hilarious. One would expect that from a movie co-starring Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally as the parents, and Bowen Yang as God. Stars Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson cowrote the film, too. It's available on the Kanopy streaming service in the U.S. or for rental/purchase from the usual sources.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
With The Odyssey coming to theaters next year courtesy of Christopher Nolan, this is a great time to refresh your memory of the tale of Odysseus and his long journey home. It's fair to say the Coen Brothers took a slightly different approach to the material. But I'll bet my last can of Dapper Dan that you won't find better music in Nolan's version.
Americana is the musical theme here, or as it's phrased more eloquently, "old-timey" songs. Headlined by bluegrass artists like Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski, it also features cuts from legends like Harry McClintock and Ralph Stanley. As great as he is, I bet this guy won't be handing Ludwig Goransson the Grammy for Album of the Year for Nolan's flick. "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" cuts a bit close to the bone.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is available on Disney+ in the U.S., and that may still be problematic for you. Hopefully, they will have lost enough billions by the time you read this to resolve the issue to your satisfaction.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
While I truly love all five of these films, I'd choose the story of the poor little tyke who undergoes a botched operation and is left with - well, you should have figured that out from the title. It is a profoundly moving film. By turns wonderfully hilarious and inescapably sad, it's one of the finest portrayals of just how hard life can be. And how someone can still triumph over it all.
John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask co-wrote the source play and co-starred in the film version. Mitchell is mesmerizing in the title role - he should be, he directed himself. "Midnight Radio" is probably my third or fourth favorite song from the movie. You deserve to experience the best in the film itself. Or better yet, see the play sometime.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is available on the Criterion Channel in the U.S., along with deleted scenes, a version with running commentary, a reunion of the cast members, and a discussion of the music with critic David Frick and composer/co-star Stephen Trask.