Why does every TV show and movie have to be a musical now?

I love musicals.

I’ve been reviewing Broadway shows for years and have been a lifelong fan. In my opinion, they are an irresistible art form that America has uniquely perfected.

That undeniable weakness for the genre, however, does not mean that he yearns to sing and dance. great jeté In every damn thing.

And yet, TV and film writers and directors have a very different view. There is a growing obsession with cramming ballads and jazz into TV series and films like teapots into an overstuffed suitcase. In other words, we don’t really need them.

Songs in a DC Studios sequel about a psychopathic killer clown? Of course!

In an Oscar-bait movie that centers on a Mexican drug dealer who transforms into a woman? Yeah!

In a Marvel series that depicts a peculiar coven of witches? Something melodious is heard here.

The cast of “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez” and Disney+’s “Agatha All Along” sing like they’re winning a Tony Award.

Why, my God, why is everything suddenly a musical? Has Hollywood grown tired of that old workhorse of interpersonal communication: talking?

Is the entertainment industry trying to appeal to millennials who grew up on “High School Musical” and “Glee” and have turned away from traditional media in favor of YouTube clips?

Whatever the reason, the moral of the end credits is almost always: “It was okay, but I could have sung less.”

Music in moderation is fine. A little song appearing out of nowhere was once a surprise to escape the routine.

A famous example is the 2001 Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode “Once More, With Feeling.” “The Drew Carey Show,” about the eccentric residents of Cleveland, had some memorable group dances from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” “Ally McBeal” and “The Simpsons” loved outrageous dances.

But none of these programs were conceived around a hummable score and choreography, nor did they overwhelm with constant theatricality.

The same can’t be said for Todd Phillips’ “Joker 2: Electric Boogaloo,” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, which has about 15 musical numbers. That’s a considerable increase from the zero numbers in the first film, which was completely dark.

Critics in Venice were perplexed as to why any of the works had been included.

“’Folie à Deux’ simply tap-dances in place for most of its listless running time,” wrote David Erlich of IndieWire“stringing together a series of disappointing musical numbers that are either too straightforward… or too loosely related to their characters to express anything at all.”

“Musical is putting it nicely” piled on Kevin Maher in the Times of London. “The songs are a random, uninspired mix.”

Of course! Arthur Fleck singing for over two hours is crazier than… Arthur Fleck.

Audiences will soon be hearing a lot about “Emilia Perez,” a French-language Netflix film starring Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez that was a huge hit at Cannes and Toronto as a leading Oscar contender.

The soap opera-style story is about a drug cartel leader named Juan (Karla Sofía Gascón), who kidnaps a lawyer (Saldaña) and then forces her to help facilitate gender surgery and fake a disappearance.

The boss reappears a decade later in London as Emilia Perez and wants to reunite with his wife (Gomez) and children in Mexico. The film is both comic and tragic.

And—five, six, seven, eight—another musical.

I didn’t like “Emilia Pérez” as much as many critics did, but director Jacques Audiard’s film will probably be nominated for Best Picture and has its merits.

The performances by Saldaña, Gómez and Gascón are very good. Their songs cannot be praised enough, they are totally useless and have a dull staging. “Emilia” would have been much better without them.

Where a treble clef makes a little sense is in “Agatha All Along.” The spin-off directed by Kathryn Hahn from Marvel’s “WandaVision.” Even the title comes from the popular tune that revealed the furtive machinations of powerful witch Agatha Harkness three years ago.

The new show’s tunes, like “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road,” fit right into its world of enchantments, magic and Patti LuPone.

But unlike the “WandaVision” song, they’re already classics. They don’t electrify the narrative so much as soothe it. And neither will become the huge cultural moment that “Agatha All Along” was in 2021.

The mediocrity and lack of organization of the singing and dancing elements of these projects will become clearly evident in November, when “Wicked: Part One” hits theaters.

Because, surprisingly, “Wicked” is a real musical. Who would have thought it would defy gravity?