TORONTO (AP) 鈥� You don鈥檛 expect to see a movie named on the marquee and neither did its makers.
It鈥檚 the nature of creating a delirious, Dadaist riff on 鈥淭he Parent Trap鈥� 鈥� only with two obviously dissimilar gay men as long-lost identical twins and Bowen Yang playing God 鈥� that you can never be sure it鈥檚 really happening. Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson, who created and star in 鈥淒icks: The Musical,鈥� certainly struggled to believe it.
鈥淓very step of the way we thought it would fall through,鈥� Jackson says. 鈥淚t really wasn鈥檛 until visiting the sets and walking through those that it was like: 鈥極h my God, they鈥檙e going to make it.鈥欌��
The movies are awash in more of the same, but 鈥淒icks: The Musical" 鈥� nobody's idea of a retread 鈥� may be the most demented riff on a familiar story yet. The film, which A24 releases in theaters Friday, has been called the most gonzo movie of the year. It鈥檚 lewd, ridiculous and surreal. Hanna-Barbera was an inspiration.
Megan Thee Stallion plays the boys鈥� boss. A disembodied part of their mother鈥檚 (Megan Mullally) female anatomy is a prominent character. A pair of monstrous pets kept by the boys' father (Nathan Lane) named the Sewer Boys have surprisingly integral roles. Director Larry Charles calls 鈥渢he ultimate anti-AI movie.鈥�
For even for the adventurous 鈥淒icks: The Musical鈥� is a test of just how far the specialty studio can push the envelope. It's especially notable, too, for a big-screen comedy landscape that's been moribund for years. Few comedies are released theatrically, and most of the ones that are timidly stick to familiar territory. But 鈥淒icks: The Musical," a freewheeling queer cult-favorite-to-be, is a gleefully tasteless bid to break free of comedy doldrums.
鈥淚 sometimes miss comedies like that were just like: This is dumb and we鈥檙e going to do a bunch of jokes,鈥� says Sharp. 鈥淲e just tried to make our own favorite movie. It鈥檚 just sort of the movie we wish existed.鈥�
Sharp and Jackson spoke the day after 鈥淒icks: The Musical鈥� made its raucous premiere last month at the Toronto International Film Festival鈥檚 midnight program. As the movie ended, inflatable penises rained from above and a chorus of singers burst forth to sing the unprintable final song.
That next day, Sharp, Jackson and Yang sat on a couch, still enthralled by the outrageous experience and surprised that they were even there, in the first place. Just days earlier, the A24 film received allowing them to promote the movie.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to make more money than 鈥楤arbie,鈥欌�� joked Jackson. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to see its life and we鈥檙e excited for the Sewer Boys spread their wings.鈥�
鈥淭hey鈥檙e really hitting,鈥� chimed Yang, the 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� standout.
鈥淒icks: The Musical鈥� is derived from a 40-minute sketch show that Sharp and Jackson began performing at New York鈥檚 in 2014. They used 鈥淭he Parent Trap鈥� as a template in part simply because its one-on-one scenes worked well for a two-man show. They start off playing aggressively heterosexual business bros.
鈥淲e never wanted it to feel like parody. It was more using it as a trope,鈥� says Sharp. 鈥溾�楾he Parent Trap鈥� now is basically The Odyssey. It鈥檚 a form we all know.鈥�
But while 鈥淭he Parent Trap鈥� (the 1961 original and its 1998 remake) celebrates the reunion of a nuclear family, 鈥淒icks: The Musical鈥� is an outlandishly bizarro hard-R fantasia that delights in transgressing gender roles, moviemaking rules, basic decency 鈥� whatever you got.
鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly queer but we always talked about it as being queer in the way of just being able to push in a lot of different directions,鈥欌�� says Sharp. 鈥淲e just like the idea that we can be sort of off-leash and be absurdist and stupid and silly and foul and profane and broad.鈥�
Charles, a writer on 鈥淪einfeld鈥� and director of 鈥淐urb Your Enthusiasm鈥� and 鈥淏orat,鈥� has long sought out original comic voices. After seeing the UCB show (it was titled 鈥淚dentical F---ing Twins鈥�; A24 came up with the movie title) and reading a draft of Jackson and Sharp鈥檚 script, Charles sensed, he says, "If I could trick everybody, we could make this movie.鈥�
鈥淭o me, they鈥檙e like a gay Abbott and Costello,鈥� says Charles. 鈥淭he possibilities of what they can do together are boundless. Like Sacha (Baron Cohen) they鈥檙e undiscovered treasures that the audience is waiting for and doesn鈥檛 even realize it.鈥�
From the beginning, Charles wanted to preserve as much of the live-wire nature of the show. Nothing was too much, too silly or too grotesque. Jokes would fly at 鈥淏lazing Saddles鈥� speed.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a tentativeness around comedy right now,鈥� Charles says. 鈥淧eople maybe want to go for a bigger laugh but they鈥檙e afraid they鈥檙e going to offend too many people. And there鈥檚 often too many people involved in the decision making of what鈥檚 funny.鈥�
鈥淒icks: The Musical,鈥� though, was principally a brain trust of Sharp, Jackson and Charles. (Producer Kori Adelson with Chernin Entertainment, who first approached the duo about a movie adaptation, was also integral.)
As others joined, they had to be prepared for just what they were stepping into. Megan Thee Stallion 鈥� whose high-octane performance has 鈥� spoke to Jackson and Sharp about the business her character runs in the film 鈥� a sales company for 鈥淰roomba鈥� parts.
鈥淪he was like, 鈥楽o what do we do again?鈥欌�� Sharp recalls. 鈥淲e鈥檇 explain it to her and she was like, 鈥極h so it鈥檚 dumb.鈥� We were like, 鈥榊eah, it鈥檚 really dumb.鈥欌��
Yang had seen the UCB show. 鈥淚 remember from go it was like: I love this,鈥� he says. As Jackson and Sharp developed the movie, they carved out the role of God, as narrator, for Yang. As he read the screenplay, Yang could tell this wasn't exactly a traditional deity.
鈥淭hat was all good raw material for me to be like, 鈥橭h, he鈥檚 God but he鈥檚 going to do drugs and not be super invested in the story and make comments like, 鈥楾hat number was fierce,鈥欌�� says Yang.
There are risks, of course, in total irreverence. Yang's show-stopping final number isn't one likely to be cheered by some religious conservatives. At the premiere, Sharp said during that scene's shoot Mullally walked over to him and Jackson and said: "You guys are going to get death threats. ... We鈥檙e all going to get death threats.鈥�
鈥淚 really love the idea of trying to get that audience to laugh almost like a horror movie,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚 want people to scream until they鈥檙e laughing.鈥�
The joy of 鈥淒icks: The Musical鈥� is how it doesn't take anything 鈥� most of all itself 鈥� even the slightest bit serious. The movie deconstructs along the way. One moment catches an actor breaking. One shot pulls back to reveal the Dolly track it. A New York street scene zooms out to show the surrounding hills of Los Angeles. What is this, exactly, you might wonder.
鈥淚t鈥檚 its own world,鈥� says Sharp.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
