O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a satirical comedy-drama musical film released in 2000, written, produced, and directed by The Coen Brothers. The film starred George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Holly Hunter, John Goodman, and CHARLES DURNING in a 1930s Mississippi setting. In which a trio of escaped convicts travel across the American South in search of a supposed buried treasure, as Clooney attempts to re-connect with his divorced wife and children. The story was heavily influenced by Preston Sturges' film Sullivan's Travels, while also borrowing loosely from Homer's epic Greek poem The Odyssey, and featured a backdrop of period folk music, produced and arranged by T-Bone Burnett, and featured performances by Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris, Ralph Stanley, John Hartford, and numerous others. The film was a major box office success in its time, earned major critical praise for its sharp writing and gorgeous autumnal aesthetics, while its soundtrack swept the 44th annual Grammy Awards.

On a rare, guest-free episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott take in a viewing of O Brother, Where Art Thou? and are thoroughly delighted. (Not to give away the ending of the podcast.) Join them as they ruminate on ancient brands of hair cream, point out innumerable Big Lebowski references that are totally there, engage in time-honored bouts of fisticuffsmanship, and bask in the majesty of CHARLES DURNING.

#HotDurnAutumn

...with Lilz & Scott!

Cats Don't Dance is a 1997 animated musical film directed by Mark Dindal, which featured an ensemble cast including Scott Bakula, Jasmine Guy, sung vocals by Natalie Cole, Jon Rhys-Davies, Ashley Peldon, and various others, and featured a soundtrack of musical numbers composed by Randy Newman and contributions to choreography by Gene Kelly; his final film contribution before his death in 1996. The film features an alternate 1939 where humans and anthropomorphic animals co-exist and work in Hollywood; in which the animals are not allowed any leverage in show business. The story follows Indiana-native Danny T. Cat (Bakula) venturing to Hollywood to start an acting career, and eventually facing and overcoming the injustices inherent in the system in order to get better parts for him and his friends. The film was not a commercial success and received mixed-to-positive reviews upon release, but over the years has developed a cult following for its dark satirical undertones, and allegories to the plight of black actors and actresses during this same time period.

On a new episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott are overwhelmed with whimsy as they sit through a screening of Cats Don't Dance with return guest Kendra Beltran of the Crushgasm podcast! Join them for perplexing old Hollywood references that would probably go over the heads of young children, make an excruciating amount of furry jokes, and kneel in deference to the will of the immortal godking tyrant whose name is whispered by mere mortals as Don Knotts.

...with Lilz & Scott!

Ride The Cyclone is a 2008 musical written by Canadian playwrights Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. It features a high-concept story of a quintet of High School choir students, plus one mystery teenager, who were killed while riding the Cyclone, a fictional malfunctioning roller coaster operating out of Uranium City in Saskatchewan. (Ride The Cyclone marks the second installment of Richmond's "Uranium Scream Teen Trilogy" of musical plays set in the exaggerated version of the town.) The musical follows a highly experimental format in which the six main characters reflect on their own demise in the afterlife, the collapse of their former boomtown home, and plead with an omnipotent fortune telling machine The Amazing Karnak to be allowed a second chance at living. The musical touches upon a wide assortment of musical styles, and features a loose and esoteric form of storytelling and plot. The musical was a critical success upon its release, developed a strong cult following, and would be performed in venues as varied as independent theaters to off-broadway.

On a new episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott welcome back Jon Reilly of the Life's But A Song podcast for a viewing of a special recorded version of the musical. Join them on a confusing and bewildering journey filled with French whores, anthropomorphic space cats, creepy ghost girls, and hope for redemption and rebirth.

And fortunes for a quarter. (I looooooooooove quarters!)


...with Lilz & Scott!

Les Miserables is a film adaptation of the period musical of the same name. Released in 2012, it followed the exploits of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict going to great lengths to find personal redemption at the height of the French Revolution. The film version, directed by Tom Hooper, sought to emulate the epic scope of the stage musical, and featured grandiloquent and verbose set pieces and crowded chorus numbers, with an ensemble cast led by Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, and numerous others. The film was a major box office hit, won many Academy Awards (Including a noteworthy Supporting Actress win for Hathaway), and set a new standard for movie musicals featuring live performances by the actors as opposed to backing tracks...in spite of largely receiving middling reviews upon its release.

On a new episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott welcome back Maggie Noel (Friend of the pod and late of the Rock Candy podcast) to help them through a viewing of Les Miserables. Join them as they slog their way through an obscene amount of extreme close-ups, marvel at just how British 19th century France is in the action, and make a lot of the same jokes everyone's already made about Russell Crowe's singing voice.

(It's not good.)

...with Lilz and Scott!

Better Man is a 2024 musical biopic depicting the life of English singer-songwriter and former Take That member Robbie Williams. It was written, directed, and produced by Michael Gracey (On the heels of his success with noted piece of treacly crap The Greatest Showman), and features the central conceit of replacing the film version of Robbie with that of an anthromorphic CGI chimpanzee. Robbie Williams himself stars as the narrator and singing voice of the film version of Williams, portrayed via motion capture and acted by stage actor Jonno Davies. Steve Pemberton, Kate Mulvany, Alison Steadman, and Damon Herriman also star, and the soundtrack features a collection of Robbie Williams hits set to theatrical set pieces.


On a new (Wait, really?!) episode of Hell Is A Musical, Lilz and Scott take in a viewing of Better Man, and literally record the episode immediately after the screening from a car in the parking lot of a Showcase Cinemas. Join them as they cast a hypothetical Pearl Jam biopic, enjoy a delicious meal of spaghetti flingers and NASCAR fries, are thoroughly bewildered by the sight of a giant ape-man doing cocaine and other ilicit deeds.

...with Lilz and Scott!

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!