The Happytime Murders (2018)

Review

91min

Genre:       Comedy, Crime, Mystery

Director:    Brian Henson

Cast:         Melissa McCarthy, Bill Barretta, Maya Rudolph…and more

Writers:     Todd Berger and Dee Austin Robertson

-Synopsis-

In a modern day Los Angeles where puppets live alongside humans as society’s furry underclass, a washed up former puppet detective-turned-private eye reluctantly teams up with his ex-partner to solve the mystery of a series of murders involving the cast of a once popular kid’s TV show.

After years of following the paternal footsteps of puppetry pioneer Jim Henson, writing, producing, directing and performing in family projects for film and television, Brian Henson takes a cue from the classic detective drama and buddy cop comedy, combining irreverent humour with social message—and putting aside his clean and legendary family legacy to show us how the puppets play when the kids are away . . . with decidedly mixed results.

Regular Henson voice actor Bill Barretta lends his voice to and stars as ‘Phil Philips’, formerly the only puppet officer in the LAPD but now working as a jaded private investigator, dragged into a shady conspiracy when the serial murders of the ‘The Happytime Gang’ cast hit close to home. Now forced to team up with his resentful former partner detective ‘Connie Edwards’ (Melissa McCarthy)—a tough cop with her own demons—the dynamic duo are dragged into the seedy puppet underworld to solve this mystery, and find the killer before it’s too late.

This isn’t of course the first time we’ve witnessed a family medium being taken into adult territory. Ever since ‘The Simpsons’ began subverting cartoons and brilliantly reflecting society, the last three decades have seen irreverent cartoon shenanigans in shows like ‘South Park’ and ‘Family Guy’, hilarious marionette mayhem in ‘Team America: World Police’, cuddly toy anarchy in ‘Ted’, and even lewd Broadway musical puppetry in ‘Avenue Q’. But now Brian Henson tries to join the party, or should we say the orgy, turning his family legacy on its head and going deep into a furry rabbit hole  (pardon the pun)—and in the process proving that some things are better left untouched.

It’s clear to see what the comedic premise is here, puppets being as lewd and crude as possible, featuring more filthy language and seedy sexual references than you can throw a googly-eyed fuzzy sock at, although never actually showing anything graphic. And that works fine . . . to a point, but just like the main character does in the film’s most outrageous scene, ‘The Happytime Murders’ blows its proverbial comedic wad in the first act.

In fact for all the contentious quips and the outrageous nature of the tone, the film is not outlandish enough, and is too inconsistent in terms of the hit-to-miss ratio of the comedy, essentially trying to stretch one long joke over the course of a ninety minutes which feels longer. Indeed ‘The Happytime Murders’ proves as much a classic jaded detective flick and buddy-cop story as it does a straight up comedy, trying to hold up an irreverent comedy mirror to everything from the ‘Lethal Weapon’ series to ‘Dragnet’, and even Shane Black’s more recent ‘The Nice Guys’—but failing to be as consistently funny as any of its inspirations . . . let alone as entertaining.

Perhaps most the most surprising element of this Henson cinematic equation is its determination to take advantage of the current climate of equality, to deliver a strong but hackneyed social message . . . in its own inimitable way. As much as anything else it tries to be, ultimately ‘The Happytime Murders’ amounts to a rather blunt and misguided metaphor for racism and discrimination in America.

Yet there are sufficient genuine laughs here and enough of an opening act to just about elevate ‘The Happytime Murders’ beyond the critical savagery it has suffered, not to mention the craftsmanship and daring creativity shown in conceiving all the wacky puppet characters. But this is ultimately a risky step for Brian Henson which just doesn’t pay off, even despite the undeniable likeability and comedic charms Melissa McCarthy and some of her co-stars.

Even though this underwritten and ill-conceived attempt to go blue doesn’t spoil the family legacy for us, it may tarnish it for some, but most importantly it undoubtedly misses the mark—making it a bold but misguided and forgettable move for a an entertainment brand which has, in one way or another, shaped many a childhood.

The Bottom Line…

The Hensons go blue but leave slightly red-faced, as this puppet potpourri of buddy cop detective mystery mixed with irreverent lewd comedy and misguided social commentary largely misses the mark. ‘The Happytime Murders’ stretches one basic joke over the length of an underwritten narrative, while playing with genre clichés by virtue of puppet, but ultimately proves too inconsistently funny or entertaining to make this experiment worthwhile.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Sausage Party (2016)

The team of Rogen & Goldberg bring us a comedy animation where food comes alive… literally; an outrageous and distinctly adult look at what our food gets up to when we’re not aware and what happens when they realise what we do to them, in this culinary fable featuring an impressive cast of US comedy voice talent.

Directed by Greg Tiernan & Conrad Vernon and starring Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig and Jonah Hill among others.

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