‘Only Murders in the Building’ dropped an autobiographical Easter egg for Steve Martin and Martin Short

Only Murders in the Building is a delight on many levels, from the joys of comedic cozy crime, to the thrill of playing along in trying to crack the case, to reveling in the incredible chemistry of its amateur sleuths. But one of the biggest joys is watching longtime friends and colleagues Martin Short and Steve Martin mercilessly mock each other in character and on the press tour.

As rough as Oliver and Charles (or Short and Martin) are on each other, you can feel the deep bond of brotherhood that’s spanned decades all the way back to the 1986 comedy gem The Three Amigos. And in the latest episode of Only Murders, they pulled from a real-life staple of their friendship for an emotional moment. 

Charles and Oliver fight and make up in a very Steve and Martin way.

In Season 4 episode 9, “Escape from Planet Klongo,” Charles and Oliver get into a very public fight on the set of the latest Ron Howard movie. Pushed to the brink by Oliver’s demands for a top-notch bachelor party, Charles unloads on him, calling him “insufferable” — while both are dressed in mo-cap suits before a squad of background actors and production crew. Shortly thereafter, however, Charles apologizes and the two go for lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Red Dragon Palace. 

“You know we’re going to be friends to the end,” Oliver offers once they’re seated. Charles can’t handle the emotional honesty, so the pair hide behind their menus while they dive into this vulnerable heart-to-heart. As Oliver reassures Charles that they are friends for life, he says assuringly, “We can get colonoscopies together.”

That right there is a thing Martin and Short (or Steve and Martin) do together in real life. 

Martin Short and Steve Martin throw colonoscopy parties together. 

Credit: Hulu

In Short’s charming 2014 autobiography, I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend, Short detailed this tradition, which happens every other year. He, Martin, Tom Hanks (who also gets mentioned in this ep), and producer Walter Parks get together for a purposeful slumber party at Steve Martin’s home. They spend the night playing poker, eating Jell-O and broth, and spending ample time in the bathroom cleansing their systems for the exam, which is scheduled for the following day. In the book, Short clarifies they are not in the same room when the exam happens. But they all drive together to their synced appointments and go out for lunch and margaritas afterward. 

In 2018, Martin and Short talked about this on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Short said the one downside of this bonding experience is Martin’s home only has one bathroom. “By 10 p.m. the bathroom looks like day 14 of a Carnival Cruise.”

If you’re thinking this sounds familiar, but you somehow missed Martin’s autobiography, the Kimmel appearance, and the waves both made online, maybe you saw “Join the Club,” the episode of Max’s Hacks in which fictional comedienne Deborah Vance is invited to a colonoscopy party of older male comics, whom she greatly admires (or envies). That does seem to be a point of inspiration for the show, though perhaps the concept has caught on among older comedians looking to be health-conscious and supportive through all kinds of shit (literally). 

This is all to say that this bit of dialogue about colonoscopies in Only Murders of the Building isn’t an idle punchline. It harkens back to a real thing in the enduring friendship between two legendary comedians, whose bond translates beautifully onscreen still. Who needs friendship bracelets?

Only Murders in the Building Season 4 is now streaming on Hulu, with a new episode every Tuesday.