Merrily We Roll Along Movie Review (2025)
A musical proshot about three friends whose personal and professional lives become increasingly intertwined, Merrily We Roll Along moves backward through its characters’ lives with quintessential Sondheim wit and lyrical complexity, elevated by three extraordinary performances.
When this performance first came to Broadway, I was a little surprised – and I wasn’t alone. Not well regarded when it was first released on Broadway in 1981, it’s been a problem child that Stephen Sondheim and George Furth worked on and tinkered with for decades. Neither they nor any cast had been able to really make it “something that worked,” so I was incredibly curious how this new iteration would go down. There was no arguing with the cast’s talent, but was this finally going to be the win?
Merrily We Roll Along is about three lifelong friends, Franklin Shepard, Charley Kringas, and Mary Flynn, who originally met in college. Beginning at the end, the show opens at a party for Franklin’s Hollywood success, where his wife, Gussie, mistress, Meg, and old friend Mary are in attendance and bicker. The name of Franklin’s former music collaborator, Charley, comes up, and Franklin begins to look back on his life. Going back in time slowly, we learn about the choices that led to the breakdown of these people’s marriages, successes, and lives.
My rating of this proshot is based on the film itself, not necessarily because of Sondheim and Furth’s lyrics, score, and book. It’s a movie now, so let’s talk about the movie.
Merrily We Roll Along works because of the strength and unbelievable chemistry between the three leads: Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Daniel Radcliffe. Each is magnetic and charismatic in their role, but when you put the three together, it’s electric. No wonder the 2023-2024 Broadway run was as successful as it was, and each actor deserved the accolades they received (including Tony wins for Groff and Radcliffe, and a nomination for Mendez in a very competitive category that year).
It also feels like a fresh concept that the show moves you back in time instead of forward. At the end (which is the beginning), Frank is successful but in an unhappy marriage, and he evaluates how he and Charley lost touch. Mary is a miserable, sloppy drunk who has written a successful play, watching from the sidelines, having been quietly in love with Frank for years, and Charley is not in the picture. But, as you move back in time, you learn how each thing came to be. An inventive structure that hasn’t been matched – for good reason or not.
Only three songs truly stand out. “Old Friends” and “Our Time” have tunes and lyrics that you might remember or find yourself singing, and “Franklin Shepard, Inc,” which is a testament to Sondheim’s talent, is so quickly moving in pattern and cadence that, if you weren’t impressed with Radcliffe before, you will be now.
As a total side note, but because I’m a nerd and have to talk about these things, Frank’s wife Gussie also sings two songs. If you listen to the rest of the score, these songs feel out of sync with the rest. They’re different, like she doesn’t belong, which is a sophisticated choice that you might not notice right away, but you’ll feel it.
I’m not sure how big a fan I am of the musical that Sondheim and Furth wrote, but this beautifully filmed proshot is a fantastic version of it. Directed by Maria Friedman, Merrily We Roll Along is an intimate look at the choices we make when we’re young and naive and, later, jaded and tired. It is clean, with lots of closeups, timely costumes, and three leads that will knock your socks off. It’s definitely worth a watch.
Runtime: 150 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 4.25/5 Stars
Available: Free on Netflix, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
