SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2026 REVIEW! Director Giselle Bonilla’s feature debut is a dark comedy called The Musical that paints a picture of revenge and desperation in middle school theater. Doug (Will Brill) is a would-be playwright who teaches drama. As the summer ends, he’s dreading returning to school because it means he will have to face his ex-girlfriend Abigail (Gillian Jacobs), and he’ll have to deal with the smarmy Principal Brady (Rob Lowe). Doug isn’t 100% sure that he and Abigail are broken up, because she told him she wanted some time, and they should have a “break.” By the time the school year begins, it has been eight weeks since he’s heard from her (longer than they dated), so it’s becoming clear that the “break” was really a break-up. This is confirmed when she tells him she’s in a relationship with Principal Brady. There are hints that, during their brief time together, Doug wasn’t always great to Abigail, and it’s easy to see why she would opt for the light, energetic Brady over his brooding moodiness, not to mention that Brady looks like Rob Lowe.
Doug feels the walls closing in. His application for a playwriting fellowship in Manhattan has been rejected, and Abigail is dating the person he hates most in the world. When Brady announces that if the school can get through the year without controversy, they will earn the coveted Blue Ribbon of Academic Excellence, Doug sees an opportunity to deny Brady at least one thing.
The plan for revenge comes together when Doug replaces West Side Story as the school musical with a play he’s written about the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Doug intends to so offend the blue ribbon panel that there would be no way Brady would get the award. This is spite at the level of art. Doug enlists the help of his student cast, making them accomplices in his mission of malice.
“… By the time school begins, it’s been eight weeks since Doug has heard from Abigail …”
It’s clear that the intent of The Musical is to send up school politics and the self-importance of small-town petty bureaucrats like Brady, but Brill plays Doug with such deep anger that the film is never actually funny. Well, OK, the 9/11 musical is so horrifying that you may laugh at the sheer audacity, but that’s about it. Bonilla was aiming for the tone of Christopher Guest’s Waiting for Guffman, but the end result is more like The Revenant. There’s also a hint of Rob Gordon from High Fidelity, but Brill isn’t Cusack.
Rob Lowe (who also produced the film) is pretty much playing his role from Parks and Rec. Brady is the same sort of character, and there’s nothing revelatory in his performance. He does what he’s always done, which is show up, look pretty, and be a pain in the a*s. When we see Gillian Jacobs at a school, we instantly think of Community, where she played Brita Perry for 6 seasons. Jacobs is solid in this role, but, like Lowe, is not doing anything we haven’t seen.
The kids playing the drama students are the real gems in this muddy drama. They deliver wonderful performances, bringing the only light and joy to the whole endeavor. With some shifts in tone, this could be a humorous take on the absurdity of life as a teacher, but Brill is giving us more of a Dexter Morgan vibe than he is a schlubby put-upon drama coach. Bonilla has directing chops, but she needs to refine them. She does show real potential and is a director to watch as her career proceeds.
The Musical screened at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival
"…the intent is to send-up school politics and petty bureaucrats"
