Hell Is A Musical

Yentl is a 1983 film directed and starring screen actor and Broadway mainstay Barbra Streisand. Based on the Isaac Bashevis Singer short story Yentl The Yashiva Boy, Yentl the film follows the story of an Ashkenazi Jewish woman in Poland in 1904 who decides to disguise herself as a man so that she can receive an education in Talmudic law. Various misunderstandings follow as the titular Yentl attempts to keep her ruse afloat, and gets wrapped up in romances both unrequited and reluctant. The film also featured a supporting cast of Mandy Patinkin, Amy Irving, Nehemiah Persoff, and Miriam Margolyes, among various others.

On a new episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott take in a viewing of Yentl with all-star guest David Allen Prescott, who is incredibly upset to both find a Barbra film that doesn't hold up, and never fully embraces its own latent queerness. Join them as Scott gives the behind-the-scenes scoop on just how much Barbra Streisand whiffed the subject matter, Lilz puts her foot down against the music of Stevland Hardaway Morris, and David debuts a raunchy and unwelcome new personae.

...with Lilz and Scott!

Hearts Beat Loud is an independent comedy-drama starring Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Toni Collette, Ted Danson, and others released in 2018 across limited screenings. It followed Offerman as the owner of a failing record store, who hits upon minor viral success when he records a jam session with his daughter, a singer just about to attend medical school, and ends up in several major Spotify playlists. The film was directed by Brett Haley with a soundtrack by Keegan DeWitt of Wild Club, and touched upon themes of loss, familial expectations, and old age, resonating heavily with critics, who lauded the film as one of the best of the year.

On a new episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott welcome back Rock Candy's Maggie Noel to the program, as they put on their persnickety Brooklyn hipster hats to review Hearts Beat Loud, and its' Postal Service-esque indie pop soundtrack. Join them as the three annoy Scott with another unwelcome recurring bit, pay proper homage to Mitski (Seriously, she rules), find paralells between dance sequences and guitar pedal noodling, and find it generally hard to make jokes during the episodes where the movies are really genuinely good.

...with Lilz and Scott!

Earth Girls Are Easy is a 1988 science fiction comedy film directed by famed music video director Julien Temple, and written by comedian/singer Julie Brown. Based off of a song previously released by Brown, the action follows a trio of space aliens landing upon Earth, and finding themselves under the care of a lovelorn manicurist in California. The film follows the group's efforts to blend in with the rest of humanity and eventually fix their crashed spaceship. It featured acting roles from Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, Charles Rocket, Michael McKean, Julie Brown herself, and early performances from Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans, while also featuring music by legendary disco musician Nile Rodgers. Though not a major commercial success, the film has developed a devoted cult following over the years.

On a new episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott welcome back all-star guest Ashley Rogers to the program for a screening of Earth Girls Are Easy. (Which we're only kinda sure counts as a musical in the first place?) Join them as Scott expounds upon the film's connection of golden age movie musicals, Ashley draws paralells between the film and the works of Bertol Brecht, and Lilz is thoroughly confused by whatever Angelyne's whole deal was.

...with Lilz and Scott!

Gigi is a 1958 movie musical based on a 1944 French novella, directed by Vincente Minnelli and featuring a screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner. The film starred Leslie Caron, Louis Jordan, and Maurice Chevalier, and followed the story of a bored French playboy Gaston attempting to reignite a spark in his life, and finding it in a young friend of the family, the titular Gigi. (Who appears in much less of the film than Gaston does.) The film was a major Academy Award winner in 1958, setting a record for sweeping 9 different Oscars, (A record that would be unbroken until 2003 when Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King won 11.) and though Gigi is well-regarded by cinema historians, it has since developed a sour reputation for its themes of grooming and power imbalance.

On a new episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott are in way over their heads watching Gigi with return guest Patrick S. Barry. Join the trio as they are thoroughly skeeved out by themes and attitudes that have aged like milk, and are equally amused and disgusted by the antics of Maurice Chevalier, the most French human being to have ever walked this Earth.

...with Lilz and Scott!

Anna & The Apocalypse is a hybrid Christmas/zombie/musical/comedy film released in 2017, directed by John McPhail, and the final screenplay posthumously released by Ryan McHenry. Set in a small town in Scotland, it follows several impending graduating students who find themselves embroiled in an unfolding zombie apocalypse on the cusp of Christmas break. The titular Anna finds herself at an emotional crossroads in her life as the events of zombie infestation unfurl around her and her friends. Heavily featuring themes of emotional growth and smalltown languishing, the film starred Ella Hunt in the titular role, as well as Mark Benton, Paul Kaye, Marli Siu, and various others, with a soundtrack provided by Scottish songwriters Roddy Hart and Tommy Reilly.

On a new episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott welcome HIAM all-star Christopher Brown back to the guest chair as they discuss zombie tropes, UK confections, and Lilz misses her goddamn cue on a recurring bit. (She had one freaking job.)

...with Lilz and Scott!

The Phantom Of The Opera is a 2004 movie musical, one of of innumerable amounts based upon the novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston LeRoux, and based specifically upon Andrew Lloyd Webber's famed musical production surrounding a tortured and disfigured artist's reign of terror upon an opera house. This film version was directed by Joel Schumacher and starred Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson, and Minnie Driver. The film was not a major commercial success nor was it well-received critically, but has gone on to develop a cult following of it's own, especially among fans of Webber's musical.

On a new episode of Hell Is A Musical, many years after having reviewed the sequel, Lilz and Scott finally take the time to review an actual adaptation of Phantom Of The Opera, with special return guest Susan Kim along for the ride! Join them as they're thoroughly creeped out by the age difference between Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum, dazzled by the sheer number of horses that get stolen throughout the precedings, and astonished once again by the ever increasing depths and lengths of the Rootbeerm'n's ego.

...with Lilz and Scott!

A Goofy Movie is a 1995 comedy-musical from Disney Animation, based heavily on the Disney Afternoon cartoon Goof Troop, which relocated the iconic Mickey Mouse character Goofy to the suburbs to raise his single child Max. A Goofy Movie follows a misguided attempt at father-son bonding over a cross-country fishing trip, the antics which ensue, and the gradual repair of their relationship. The movie featured the voices of Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Jim Cummings, and Kellie Martin, and featured music written by Tevin Campbell, and while only a moderate hit upon its release, the film developed a strong cult following over the years, and is now a beloved piece of ephemera among Disney fans.

On this episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott welcome the return of Kendra Beltran of Crushgasm for a viewing of A Goofy Movie. Join them for a deep-digging discussion on the logistics of a high school assembly, the disturbingly Tarantino-esque levels of foot shots, Pete's tyrannical grip upon the town of Spoonerville, and...SIGH...Pauly Shore...

...with Lilz and Scott!

Cats is a 2019 film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the infamous rootbeerm'n. The musical itself is based upon a 1939 collection of poetry by T.S. Eliot called Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats. The film version was directed by Tom Hooper (His second musical feature following a controversial adaptation of Les Misérables) and featured an ensemble cast of Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Rebel Wilson, and more. The film was universally reviled by critics upon its release, with specific critique directed at the abberant CGI work, and became a box office bomb, unable to recoup its $100 million budget.

On this episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott witness the unbridled horror that is Cats, with Jon Reilly of the Life's But A Song podcast along for the journey. Join them through a twisted journey through the depths of human depravity and insanity. A journey filled with death cults, feline-human hybrid orgies, Taylor Swift and Jason DeRulo not doing much of anything, fictional butthole cuts, and Lilz' bottomless disdain for James Corden doing fat guy schtick.


...with Lilz and Scott!

Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic drama musical directed by Baz Luhrmann, or as he's best known in Zero Science circles; "Bag Lunchman". The film followed the story of a young British poet, and his doomed romance with a burlesque dancer and courtesan in Paris during the 1900s. It was noteworthy for its usage of contemporary popular music in contrast to the turn-of-the-century setting, (An early example of a jukebox musical) its manic and off-the-rails style of editing, and for the intense detail paid to visual aesthetics, marking it as a piece of post-modernist cinema in the eyes of some critics. It starred Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, and Richard Roxburgh, and was a major box office hit, catapulting Lurhmann/Lunchman into mainstream success.

On this episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott take in a viewing of Moulin Rouge! with special guest Hayleigh Kurland (Scott's Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife!), and attempt to make sense of the technicolor mishmash they see before them. Join us as Scott regails the listener with stories of adjacent high school dance cringe, Hayleigh posits on Nicole Kidman's boundless happiness with divorce, and Lilz slowly loses her goddamn mind as she is dragged deeper and deeper into Bag Lunchman's jukebox musical armageddon.

...with Lilz and Scott!

Annie is a 1982 film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, which itself was based upon the comic strip Little Orphan Annie. It was directed by John Huston (Previously of The Maltese Falcon, The Man Who Would Be King, and The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre?!) and starred Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters, Tim Curry, and child actress Aileen Quinn as the titular Annie. The story followed an orphan's adventures being adopted by an eccentric billionaire, and her own journey to find her real parents. Though it was released to mixed reviews it was a box office hit and was even nominated for multiple Academy Awards.

On a new episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott are rejoined by Malorie Savran to discuss their respective experiences watching the titular musical Annie. Join them for frank discussions on tearjerkers, Tim Curry's Christopher Walken impression, talk of wealthy privilege, and the eternal horniness of Carol Burnett's character.


...with Lilz and Scott!