Post by StevePulaski on Aug 25, 2018 14:17:17 GMT -5
The Happytime Murders (2018)
Directed by: Brian Henson
Directed by: Brian Henson
Melissa McCarthy and P. I. Phil Phillips (voiced and controlled by Bill Barretta) in The Happytime Murders.
Rating: ★★
For a film deemed as a "passion project" by its creators, The Happytime Murders lacks that very ingredient. After spending a decade in development hell, in production by the beloved Henson Company and their off-shoot branch "Henson Alternative," geared to those too old for Sesame Street, so to speak, The Happytime Murders looks like it was reluctantly fast-tracked into production just to exist. While watching the umpteenth joke set into motion by puppets caustically hurling F-bombs at one another or one of several explicit sex-scenes, you start to conjure up ways in your head this film could've worked really well and get that sinking feeling that too many involved settled for too little.
In an attempt to satirize L.A. neo-noirs and evoke touchy, topical commentary, the film introduces us to a world where puppets are integrated with human beings yet are still treated as second-class citizens. Not unlike the big-budget Netflix offering Bright, which took a similar premise but instead used orcs and elves, The Happytime Murders follows a disgraced detective named Phil Phillips (voiced and puppetted by Bill Barretta), who made history as the first puppet officer on the LAPD only to be booted for shooting a fellow puppet who took his former human partner Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) hostage. He now works as a lowly private investigator, with a charming and attractive secretary (Maya Rudolph), solving cases for the low.
Phil is approached by Sandra White (voiced by Dorien Davies), who requests his services when she begins receiving notes blackmailing her about a dirty little secret. He's also called in to investigate the mysterious murders of former castmembers on a pioneering puppet sitcom called "The Happytime Gang," who include his brother (voiced by Victor Yerrid) and his former lover Jenny (Elizabeth Banks). In the process, Phil is paired with Edwards once again, and the two proceed to track down the cast as well as find out who is behind the murders.
Phil and Edwards take a trip down the seediest alleys and infiltrate the most unsavory crevasses in all of L.A., including sex-shops, drug-dens (which peddle sugar and the contents of Pixie Stix, from the looks of it, to satisfy addict puppets), and private parties in order to crack the case. Much of the humor is derived from the puppets cursing up a storm, satisfying their addictions, or engaging in ribald sex. You've undoubtedly seen the red band trailer, which concludes with Phil ejaculating copious amounts of silly string all over his office after a raucous rendezvous with Sandra. It's a punchline that will still manage to bring a begrudging smile to many viewers' faces, but it's one of the jokes that would've been better had it been completely omitted from the trailer.
Anyone craving this kind of irreverent humor should have higher standards for their comedies, especially those already familiar with similar offerings such as the cult classic Meet the Feebles and the oft underrated MTV program Wonder Showzen. Furthermore, anyone who enjoys indulging in comedies should have higher standards for their sources of laughter. The Happytime Murders succumbs to the worst tendencies of modern American comedies insofar that it finds itself so enamored with four-letter words and debauchery that it has no sense of how or when to employ such elements for maximum effectiveness. Screenwriter Todd Berger was likely working off of several unproduced or scrapped screenplays written over the last ten years, trying to combat datedness and an ever-changing culture, but sadly allowed his script to fall prey to the worst conventions in the process. Even if you do chuckle or get a kick out of puppets engaging in inappropriate behavior, you'll probably be shocked when you realize how little there is to remember about the humor in the film; because it's airless and unoriginal.
It also doesn't help that Melissa McCarthy is tasked to anchor the film. At one time, Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx were attached to this project; one wonders how Mila Kunis, Reese Witherspoon, Kate McKinnon, or even co-star Maya Rudolph would've handled a starring role alongside a cynical, grizzled puppet. But McCarthy's tired brand of loud, obnoxious physical comedy that requires shouting every line and unleashing into physical and verbal tirades becomes quite tiresome. Supporting players Rudolph, Banks, and Leslie David Baker (The Office) all feel decidedly underutilized, with as much life as an out-of-work puppet thanks to a screenplay that just doesn't know how to accommodate them.
I've already made my point but allow me to make it again: have higher standards for your comedies. Don't settle for silly string ejaculations, a three-foot tall puppet stomping in a crook's genitals, or a woman snorting purple sugar and entering into a drug-addled tizzy. The Happytime Murders was a great idea for a film. The end result is at best mildly amusing though frequently labored, and frankly, that's just not good enough.
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, Elizabeth Banks, and Leslie David Baker. Voiced by: Bill Barretta, Dorien Davies, Kevin Clash, Victor Yerrid, and Alice Dennean. Directed by: Brian Henson.