The trio has fallen apart in Only Murders in the Building, but each of the three has found replacement friends. Mabel (Selena Gomez) is hanging out with Theo (James Caverly) and Tobert (Jesse Williams). Charles (Steve Martin) settles for Arconia neighbor Uma (Jackie Hoffman). And Oliver (Martin Short) is chumming around with…Matthew Broderick?!
Yes, that’s Matthew Broderick playing himself in this week’s episode of Only Murders—or, rather, a more tedious version of himself (we hope). That is, unless Broderick has always taken hours trying to perfect every aspect of each role he’s taken on in his career.
Charles has quit the splashy Death Rattle musical, and as the only big name in the cast, he’s left the production in a crisis. Now, newbies like Loretta (Meryl Streep, a real no-name) and Kimber (Ashley Park) will have to carry the show. Producer-in-training Cliff (Wesley Taylor) has an idea. Although he’s been a nuisance to the show for most of the season, the idea to bring in Broderick wins him some brownie points with Oliver.
“Matthew Broderick!” Oliver yelps, after Broderick performs Charles’ solo without a single error. “I’ve had sex dreams about this moment!”
Although he’s glad to have exited the show, Charles is still lurking around Oliver’s apartment like a weepy ex-boyfriend. Broderick notices Charles and brings the stalker situation to Oliver’s attention. Because Charles has beef with everyone, he and Broderick have a bit of a squabble. “For the millionth time,” Broderick tells Charles, “you would not have made a good Ferris Bueller. You were 41.”
Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage as Ferris Bueller? I’d like to see it.
On another floor of the Arconia, Mabel works with Theo to unravel more clues in Ben’s (Paul Rudd) death. Ben’s brother Dickie (Jeremy Shamos) is having a silent auction for Ben’s movie artifacts, something Theo happens to know because he’s a massive fan of Ben’s snake mystery movie CoBro. The pair head up to Ben’s penthouse and peek through the cheesy serpent movie relics.
Mabel confronts Dickie about solving Ben’s murder, but Dickie isn’t interested in podcasting about the loss of his dear brother. Dickie has spent his entire life protecting Ben—but not in the normal brotherly way. Ben constantly messed up with insensitive jokes, DUIs, and so, so many dick pics. Throughout it all, Dickie protected Ben’s star power, but received none of the credit. Is there some pent-up jealousy there? Or is Dickie trying to shield the truth about Ben’s murder to safeguard him one final time?
Oliver runs through the new solo with Broderick 38 times before the pair decides the changes are perfect. When Broderick commits to a show, he explains to Oliver, he commits fully. “Ferris Bueller may take a day off, but Matthew Broderick? Matthew Broderick does not,” says the revered actor. Unfortunately, this means that when Broderick finds out that his character is from New York and not Newfoundland, he wants to completely redo the solo.
Only Murders prides itself on big cameos like Broderick—Streep, Rudd, Amy Schumer, Shirley MacLaine, etc.—but just one isn’t enough for this episode. No, Oliver needs to jump on a phone with the man who directed Broderick in The Producers to gossip about his stage method. That director? Mel Brooks, who appears on a brief FaceTime call to whine about how annoying Broderick is.
Like clockwork, Charles is back at Oliver’s door ready to apologize. Oliver doesn’t take a moment to think about welcoming him back—he’s so relieved, Charles immediately snags his part back in Death Rattle. Broderick is, of course, infuriated—Charles shared a scene with a horse, Broderick exclaims, who was a better actor than he is.
But Oliver steps in to defend his friend and goes on a five-minute-long spiral about how important Charles is—the horse may have been better at acting, but it probably loved its day working alongside Charles. For anyone who may have doubted or criticized Short’s sense of humor, this quirky, endearing monologue should prove why, in fact, he actually is a comedy genius.
“I bet you would’ve made a much better Ferris,” Oliver tells Charles, as Broderick storms out.
Charles smirks. “You mean it?”
“Oh, I want to,” Oliver chuckles. “But he’s perfect.” It’s safe to say that the fight is over.
Which means that it’s time for Charles and Oliver to hash things out with Mabel. Before they can knock on her door, though, Mabel releases a new episode of their podcast. She’s running things solo. The guys are shocked! Hurt! Offended! How could Mabel leave them like this?
But behind that door, Mabel sits with her two new co-hosts: Tobert and Theo, who also appear to be fighting for her hand.
Clues From the Crime Scene
—Kleptomaniac Uma stole Ben’s hankie from the scene of the crime. Charles asks to see it, since it’s a clue, but she refuses. He offers to pay her for it, wanting to use the clue as a way to win back Oliver and Mabel, but it’s too late. Just hours later, Uma has already sold Ben’s hankie to one of his fans milling around the auction. Sounds like a problem for the next episode.
—Dickie has the events from the night of Ben’s murder memorized to the minute. Quite suspicious, if you ask me.
—Dickie also reveals a key fact about his brother to Mabel: Ben always set his watch 20 minutes behind so he could arrive fashionably late to every meeting. This would mean that his time of death was actually 12:26, although his watch showed 12:06. By 12:26, Greg (Adrian Martinez)—the man currently accused of murdering Ben—had already left the Arconia.
—With the return of Mabel’s podcast, the cops are reopening the Glenroy case. We’re headed full-speed toward finding the suspect.
