In the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, two clashing detectives -- one human and the other a puppet -- must work together to solve the brutal murders of former cast members of a beloved puppet TV show.
Director: Brian Henson
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Bill Barretta, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, Elizabeth Banks
Release Date: August 24, 2018
Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime
Rated R for strong crude and sexual content and language throughout, and some drug material
Runtime: 1h 31min
Review:
Your enjoyment of
The Happytime Murders will depend on how “cutting edge” you consider the
conceit. If you think it’s the first
time felt puppets have gone R rated raunchy then it’ll be a more enjoyable experience
than those are familiar with an old Peter Jackson film. The Happytime Murders isn’t Meet The
Feebles. It’s raunchy and vulgar but it’s
never as offensive as it thinks it is.
To its credit, the film does hold some solid laughs for people who came
to see R rated hijinks on the puppet side of life. Melissa McCarthy seems to be enjoying herself
while partnering with her puppet partner.
McCarthy and Bill Barretta share some solid chemistry even if his
character is just a 40’s noir detective.
The biggest drawback of Brian Henson’s film is that once you get past
the puppet sex, drugs and vulgarity your left with a pretty standard film noir complete
with a femme fatale. It plays along those
beats predictably throughout making it’s 90-minute runtime feel longer than it
actually is. It’s a shame that they didn’t
take some more risk with their story and go for something truly outrageous. Instead it plays it safe and starts to
overstay it’s welcome as it heads toward the finale. The Happytime Murders is one of those high
concept films that has a great idea but doesn’t take advantage of its full
potential.
C+
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