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Amy Ryan: Icon

 This is a love letter to Amy Ryan, who really steals the show in "Only Murders in the Building."


The Times focused on Martin Short; I can understand this. Martin Short is amazing. His speech about "Splash: The Musical" will always stay with me. "The floor was meant to roll back to reveal a swimming pool....but the gears were clogged....So one chorus boy jumped, and smashed his face on the stage. Then the next boy. And the next. And the next...." If you followed "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark," or the tales of various "Lion King" castmates, permanently crippled by puppetry tasks, then you'll enjoy the Martin Short character.

I also liked Short's bizarre speech about a colleague. "There once was a lonely child, and that child grew up to be STEPHEN JOSHUA SONDHEIM. The thing about Sondheim? When he is good, HE IS GOOD. When he is off, well, I'M PATIENT." This captures something crucial about the ritual of an Upper West Side brunch--something with sociological importance, and something I haven't seen on Hulu before.

But, to me, the true gem is Amy Ryan. Ryan's crazy, expressive face is the stuff of legend; when interviewed, Ryan just shrugs and says, "I never had Botox." Ryan plays an insane bassoonist who flirts by sitting in her window and giving a double-reed rendition of "If You Think I'm Sexy...." Ryan also winks at her male friend and says, "I'll be seeing you....bassooner or later...." Finally, Ryan gets involved in horny Scrabble: The words she opts to make are "Woody" and "Yum."

It seems unlikely Ryan will have a role in the sequel; I'm bummed about that. But Ryan is a great actress who elevates decent material in three or four episodes of the new Steve Martin show. It's fun to see her enjoying herself, and I'll miss her.
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