“The Thursday Murder Club” out now on Netflix

At death’s door perhaps…it’s like a third-rate repeat of Miss Fisher during the pledge week drive.

Yes! I’m going to give her a fair shake tonight.

I’ve seen a third rate Miss Fisher’s and it’s called The Good Ship Murders.

I thought it had potential

Are time outs on DL the equivalent of a pledge week drive? Just as annoying….

The Marlow Murder Club is much better. A similar kind of premise.

Who did you offend r4?

I’m the offended one!

Watched it tonight.

Was OK. I read the first three or four books, which (of course) enjoyed a much better pacing. Some of the actors felt incredibly miscast, especially Pierce Brosnan as Ron.

Helen Mirren and Celia Mirren are great, of course.

All in all an absolute “straight to television” film and the Brits doing their ‘quintessentially British’ schtick, which can feel a bit worn-out at times.

Helen played both Mirrens.!

Pierce Brosnan is such a daddy now.

They couldn’t find any black boomer actors with gray hair?

[quote]Was OK. I read the first three or four books, which (of course) enjoyed a much better pacing. Some of the actors felt incredibly miscast, especially Pierce Brosnan as Ron.

Yeah, in the books Ron was a gruff, barrel-chested guy who used to be a bit of a brawler and still wears football shirts. Brosnan is an interesting choice when the character is basically an older Stephen Graham.

Was Pierce wearing a fake belly? It looked like it.

Wow, what a disappointment.

It has entertainment value, I guess. Certainly the retirement home digs were more splendid than anything I imagined from the books. And the four principals are good, Mirren perfect casting, Brosnan not so much, he’s physically wrong for it, but did nicely anyway.

But the books are FUNNY. Laugh out loud funny sometimes, with gag lines and drolleries coming fast and loose. On every songle page. This did nothing to try to duplicate the humorous tone of the books, let alone the way author Osman veers suddenly from a laugh to something that actually moves you. This was too heavily literal and just not funny enough. Kaybe Joyce shpuld have narrated the way she does in the books.

And there is a crucial change from the book that disappointed me, a character is arrested who goes on to be a major supporting character in the rest of the books — a corner they unnecessarily painted themselves into, though I wasn’t wild about the actor they cast in that part. Too bad because he’s a great character in the book.

If anyone who never read any of the books looked at this to divine why the books are so popular, you must be mystified. This had none of the singular charm and cleverness of the novels. Don’t judge them by this epic fail.

Seldom do I feel the bulk of the reviews on DL are accurate, but I think we got this one right. The books are both hilarious and moving, with characters who are interesting and full of surprises. This film is generally well-cast, and has excellent production values -but it is a pale imitation of the novel. Amusing in places, and even poignant from time to time, bit in a pastel rather than full-color way... And the way one of the characters was treated in the end was inexcusable. There was nothing wrong with how the ending was handled in the book, and it would have taken no extra time or effort to end the film that way. It struck me that they were half-heartedly hoping it would be enough of a success to make a sequel, but had no confidence that all the cast would still be around to film it!

I liked it. I think Chris Columbus is very good at turning a novel into something close to what you were imagining when you read it. Brosnan was unusual casting for Ron but I was surprised how well it worked, and the others were perfect casting. The novels are really just cosy crime, as was the movie. I dissent that they are hilarious on every page. I've read all of them twice and they are humorous, but only gently and not all the time.

Much of the comedy in the books comes from hearing Joyce's voice directly. It would have been improved by having her voiceover guiding us through the action (a la Julie Andrews in Bridgerton), with some of her comic wittering included. In the books she appears an ordinary little old lady, and her competence is hidden beneath her quite sincere prattle about which supermarket is preferable and whether Joanna will ever find the right man. The movie Joanna certainly did--that's Richard Osman's wife.

I liked it quite a bit more than most of you. Celia Imrie held her own with the Big Three and made the perfect Joyce. And Pierce Brosnan made his casting as Ron make more sense. (God, to have that hair and that body at that age.) I wasn't familiar with the actress who played DC Donna De Freitas but she was excellent also.

There are tones in the books that would be hard to capture in a screenplay: Joyce's narration, and Osman's dry witty asides. But as an adaptation goes, I thought it quite good. Once you accept that Coopers Chase, an old folks' home, is nicer than the five-star resorts on The White Lotus, and that ordinary people would be able to afford it, it's quite enjoyable.

And the "what the fuck" joke may have been cheap, but I belly laughed.

The Old's Murder Club

Gandhi, Remington Steele, The Queen, and Claudia Bing solve murders.

R18, don’t quit your day job.

I enjoyed it a lot.

I haven't seen the screen adaptation of the TTMC... not a big interest in it. Perhaps I've read too many of these British "cozy" mysteries over the years... when I read TTMC, it struck me as a novel written for TV. I enjoyed it, but didn't find much originality. The TV series was there on the page; the characters from the British secret service or somewhat secret service (esp the women who drive the narrative), put out to pasture too soon, still sharp mentally but wasting away in retirement, desperate to fill time and voila! murder... something to do/solve, then have tea or a glass of wine with the surviving friends.

For me, the TV series (not a novel first) The Bletchley Circle played with the storyline in a much more interesting way.

Anthony Horowitz writes this way as well. I really enjoyed the first Magpie Murders, but again, felt like all of it was not really for the page, but the inevitable multi-part series (which was really, really we-done) which his wife would executive produce.

La Mirren is constantly working. A true actor’s actor.

[quote]Once you accept that Coopers Chase, an old folks' home, is nicer than the five-star resorts on The White Lotus, and that ordinary people would be able to afford it

They are not meant to be ordinary people, they're meant to be wealthy or have wealthy children. I can't remember how Ron got there, but Elizabeth and Ibrahim both had extremely well-paid jobs. Joyce has led an ordinary life, but her place is paid for by Joanna, who runs a hedge fund, after Joyce is widowed.

Coopers Chase in the books is based on the retirement village where Osman's mother lives. It's impressive, but not as grand as the heritage house used in the movie, which I agree was gorgeous.

Ron landed there thanks to his famous son, no?

Mirren always comes across as cool. She’s like Judi Dench now. Those grand dames who don’t give a fuck and do what they like.

Helen Mirren should be doing the Murder, She Wrote film.

Funny little easter egg when Mirren's character went "incognito" with scarf and big glasses and her husband said "You look just like the Queen".

And she did.

[quote] But the books are FUNNY. Laugh out loud funny sometimes, with gag lines and drolleries coming fast and loose.

I do so enjoy a good drollery!

A solid B+. It wasn’t Gosford Park or one of the best Poirot episodes, but that’s fine.

I hope they continue.

It was more enjoyable than all the new dreck out in theaters right now. It was a cute story, well-acted, and visually stunning.

The books were fun although I think Osman has run out of steam on them. I had to stop listening to the audio book of the last one because it was genuinely describing elder abuse which seemed out of character and was distressing.

Can't agree more with r14 - what a disappointment!

I love the books and felt this was horribly misconceived by the (American!) director.

Grotesquely crass cinematography and production design with everything unrealistically and insanely colorful and sunny and overly grand like they were afraid to make the home too depressing and melancholy. The 4 actors are well cast but badly directed. Helen is simply too sharply groomed and invulnerable so it comes as no surprise she worked for M16. Pierce tries hard but is too clownish and Ben is simply too dull. Celia is fine, I guess. But their apartments are all too opulent and have none of the transient downsizing that elder years are about.

I found it a chore to sit through but was grateful they didn't try to stretch it out over 6 episodes. Still looking forward to the next book though....

And Bogdan! My favorite secondary character from the book.....totally miscast. The actor should be burly and so capably and effortlessly sexy, not that wimp.

I adore Pierce brosnan and love Ben Kingsley, but I was asleep by the 3rd episode.

episode, r36?

Unlike most people on this thread, I haven’t yet read any of the Osman novels and was hoping for a fresh film. All I found was a basic riff on cliches and lazy story-telling, where the actors seemed to be phoning in commonplaces and obvious performances. Production values were definitely high, but it all just seemed like expensive, glossy pablum.

R37, shit it's a movie and not a series? Man I really wasn't paying attention.

R5- Actually there's NO club better than the Mortimer Club

I gave it an hour, but it was just too slow.

Pierce Brosnan is the standout of the main cast. His charisma saves the movie. Mirren is just phoning it in. I forgot that Ben Kingsley was even in the movie most of the time. Celia is a delight, and she makes me hungry for tea and cake.

What the movie really needed was Margaret Rutherford in the Mirren role. She would have brought the humor from the book to the movie.

The real stars were the supporting players--Tom, Henry, Naomi, Jonathan, David and Daniel. They did all the heavy lifting.

I know he’s dead, but I pictured someone like Ray Stevenson in the role of Bogdan. Somebody big, tall and sexy. Leave it to a straight male director to fuck up that casting.

Pierce Brosnan looks great in OP’s pic. But Sissy Spacek has not aged well.

If I hadn't read the book I never would have made it past the first 20 minutes.

And to the poster upthread who hadn't read the book but said "....the production values were definitely high..." well, they're high and all wrong. The retirement home is supposed to be first-class and well-run but it's not Downton fucking Abbey, fercrissakes.

I wish David Suchet was playing Ibrahim but I guess that wouldn't be pc these days.

Actually, Brit/Pakistani actor Akdeel Ahktar (from Unforgotten and Sherwood) would be absolutely perfect but I guess he wouldn't have been considered a big enough name. He might also not be old enough...

Oh, boy! This was really horrible.

Piierce Brosnan sexy and charming as ever.

Helen Mirren snooty and imperious as ever (on and off screen).

Who was the uncredited man doing the "nude" pose for the art class scene???

That was so dumb. ^^^^^^^^^ The model's dick was covered but he was drawn as nude.

But who was he? I want to see more of him!

How much more is there to see?

It was cute and harmless. The actor who played Pierce's son was quite toothsome

But Sissy Spacek has not aged well.

R44 - I had to laugh.

This really needed someone with the touch and eye of Anthony Horowitz.

His Magpie Murder series isn't the greatest writing but he knows how to shoot the English countryside and those charming interiors with a golden nostalgic glow, not the garish looks we get here. And he also knows how to present and photograph aging stars like Michael Kitchen and Lesley Manville so they look their age but also look their best.

That's Tom Ellis, R52. If you want to see more of him (and a lot more skin) go back and watch some episodes of Lucifer.

Lord, I spanked out more than a few loads to that devil!

Tom Ellis hot but does he really have the body of a former professional boxer?

Looks pretty damn fit to me! Notice the description is FORMER professional boxer -and it never says "heavyweight" boxer...

I haven't read any of the books, so I went in knowing nothing. The murder mystery was very tidy, and the cast was largely fine (Daniel Mays' spluttering detective not included). As soon as Mirren started speaking fluent Polish I knew she was MI6. I hope they give Ben Kingsley more to do in the next one. But that retirement home was ridiculously posh. My mom lives in a very nice senior center in three decently sized rooms. Nothing the size of any of the Coopers Chase apartments, which were littered with tripping hazards. I only spotted one resident in a wheelchair, when it should have easily been a third of the residents with mobility assistance of some sort. Llamas?! I know it's not a documentary, but, c'mon. (I did laugh at the resident who wanted the dining room menus to have larger fonts. And there should have been a LOT more complaining about the food, Celia Imrie's Bake-Off-worthy cakes notwithstanding.)

How much time does Tom Ellis spend shaving/waxing his chest? Because it was hairy when he did "Miranda." (I prefer the fur, but he didn't ask me. Thanks for the tight tshirt and nipples, though.)

I’m quite tired of these groups of quirky amateur detectives solving local murders. It’s become a genre. And not a good one. I’ll stick to Miss Marple.

People who could afford to live in that palace are unlikely to live in a group home of any kind. It’s nicer than most luxury resorts.

This movie needed Margaret Rutherford in the Mirren role and Stringer Davis or Robert Morley in the Ben Kingsley role.

I'm sorry for those of you who are only experiencing the Thursday Murder Club through this shitty movie. Though the premise sounds horribly twee, the books are actually quite effortlessly clever and genuinely funny and poignant, with each sequel better than the last.

I wonder what author Richard Osman really thinks of the film? Surely, he can't be pleased (though he'd never admit it). I only hope when the newest book comes out this fall I'll be able to dismiss those horrid images from the film from my mind.

No film adaptation is ever as good as the one you have in your mind when you first read the book.

with all that talent, sadly, just dull. writing matters. I'm looking forward to new season of Murders in the Building. At least it has some nice insider references to 1970s New York.

I agree with you R63. The books are fantastic with great humorous moments, lots of wit, and charm. I was underwhelmed by the movie, but because I loved the books and most of the actors in the movie, I enjoyed watching and was entertained.

R49, that was the joke. Model is draped but Old Lady Horndog uses her imagination.

The cast was totally wasted, way too much talent for a limp story and flat direction. It came off like some bargain-bin Hallmark dreck.

Limp joke, limp story and limp dick.

It was no better than a typical episode of Midsomer Murders.

While a sequel has not been confirmed, the cast and director have voiced wanting to continue The Thursday Murder Club storyline. The Friday Murder Club?