Valley of the Dolls

After 2-3 disappointing episodes where the season felt like it was going nowhere, this episode was a complete turnaround. It went back to the basics of season 1, restoring my faith in the season. The intimate setting (Doreen's house with hilarious creepy dolls everywhere) and the witty dialogue were a refreshing change from the unrealistic events of earlier episodes.

Melissa was absolutely phenomenal. From her first second in the episode, she stole every scene and outshined the other actors-even Meryl Streep! Every line she delivered was hilarious. Her physical comedy (wigs, vodka cups, leopard leggings), comedy timing (every joke landed), and even her movements (she could just stand there and you couldn't take your eyes off her). She brought back the humor of seasons 1 and 2 and elevated the entire episode by multiple levels. Her catfight scenes with Meryl were fantastic, reminding me of the iconic fight between Goldie Hawn and Meryl in Death Becomes Her.

An amazing episode-so glad I stuck with this season! I will definitely rewatch this episode multiple times just because of Melissa to notice further nuances of her performance. I couldn't get enough!

This is even worse than the previous pseudo-documentary episode, which at least had the benefit of being creative. This one is just filler, in which nothing much is accomplished. The storyline is just too thin to fill out a whole season.

So now Charles gets a much younger sister for no other reason than to create this filler episode. I found them completely unconvincing as siblings.

I hope they paid renowned thespian Meryl Streep a whole lot of money to disgrace herself by getting into a stupid catfight.

Hopefully this is just a midseason slump and the next episode will at least be useful and advance the plot.

This week's Only Murders In The Building episode begins with Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 film Lifeboat, which is about a group of people coming together to survive. Professor Milton Dudenoff (Griffin Dunne) is the main focus of the episode, who has been a mysterious figure since the beginning of the season. The Westies have been cashing Dudenoff's social security checks and spending time together playing cards. The podcasters are convinced that the Westies are responsible for Sazz Pataki's death and devise a plan to invite them to a party to get a confession out of them. The episode brings much-needed clarity to the season, as the Westies have been an aloof presence, coming and going as potential suspects. Their characters still feel thin and not particularly interesting, but the episode does a wonderful job at making them more human. Episode 8 brings more emotion to the plot, with most of the episode spent in the West Tower with flashbacks. The episode's end focuses on a core theme in Only Murders In The Building: loneliness. Charles, Mabel, and Oliver have found family and companionship with each other, against all odds. With only two more episodes to go, the episode focused strongly on the Westies and brought a lot of clarity to the case. However, the character Sazz seems almost like an afterthought this season, as there have been hints for deeper storylines for each character, mostly related to loneliness. Season 4 of Only Murders In The Building has been a particularly packed one, with lots of new characters and a lot going on in terms of plot. In Only Murders In The Building season 4, the heroic trio Charles, Mabel, and Oliver are in danger as they are watched by someone via a secret camera and text messages from Sazz's number. The Brothers Sisters, who were once the directors of the film, claim they didn't kill anyone but were looking for him. This week's episode doesn't provide any more clues about the murderer, but it features a change of scenery and a return to Doreen, played by Melissa McCarthy. Meryl Streep also returns as Loretta, giving her and Oliver a chance to sort out their relationship. As chaos ensues at Doreen's house, the series features Eva, Zach, Eugene, and Bev, who are threatened by the studio. Episode 7 is an hilarious episode with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Season 4 is known for its unpredictable edge, making every episode naturally surprising. However, Sazz's murder seems to often take a backseat in the series, with the action moving elsewhere and comedy replacing any hint of investigation. The author has no clue who the murderer could be, and it's becoming clear that the series isn't as interested in solving the murder as it is throwing comedy legends together.

I cannot say enough good things about this episode everything clicked. The writing was spot on in the core actors did great. Melissa McCarthy was a guest actress who played Steve Martin's sister who lives on Long Island and was unrecognizable. She is arguably the best female and comedy right now, her range is amazing. Just crushed it in this episode. They even gave Zach Galifianakis, Eva Longoria and Eugene Levy material to work with. In the episode, they are told that actors can do anything as they basically do 95% research and during the episode they all work together and Mexico design a murder board and nearly solve the crime. It was cohesive and it moved the plot along nicely and is definitely the strongest episode of the season. I am going to enjoy watching it again with my model wife.

I don't recall Charles mentioning his sister before. Here his brassy sister Doreen is played by a Melissa McCarthy.

Charles, Oliver and Mabel rush to safety looking for somewhere safe to stay. They decide Charles sister could be it. Only he has a strained relationship with Doreen.

Since her kids have left, Doreen has collected dolls. She is a sort of surrogate mum to them according to Oliver.

The safe house is less than safe. All and sundry turn up as Howard cannot keep his mouth shut.

At least Oliver gets to reveal his true feelings to Loretta.

It's an all star cast on this one. Well if you are going to have Meryl Streep appear. It is bound to be contractual that the rest of the guest stars would want to have scenes with them.

There is some knockabout comedy between Loretta and Doreen. The mystery does develop but slowly and with a few surprises.