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The Happytime Murders Review: It's A Dirty Muppet Movie
When the first trailer for The Happytime Murders arrived, it was clear what kind of movie this was going to be. It's a dirty version of the Muppets. What's more, it's from director Brian Henson, son of Muppets creator Jim Henson. The potential for something cool and different was obvious. The only question is whether the movie would hit the mark or not.
As it turns out, for the most part, it lands pretty well. The Happytime Murders is set in a world where humans and puppets coexist. When the former stars of a 1980s TV show get murdered, disgraced former puppet cop Phil Phillips (Bill Barretta) and human detective Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) are forced to work together to find the killer. It's a pretty straightforward murder mystery that just so happens to be loaded with foul-mouthed puppets, lots of violence, and one wildly awkward sex scene.
Still, the story actually works. While it's not hard to figure out who the villain of the film is, figuring out their motivations is a different story. The plot also opens up a world that would be very interesting to visit again in future movies, should that be in the cards.
As simple and interesting as the story is, though, there is one major problem with The Happytime Murders. This adult puppet movie is simply too adult. There is a certain novelty to the idea of puppets that curse, have sex, and do horrible things. In practice, though, it's very easy to take the joke too far. Throughout the film, puppets and humans let the cursing fly so gratuitously and frequently that the impact of it simply wears off. It happens so often that it ceases being funny and instead seems like the movie is trying too hard to be edgy. How many times can a character drop an F-bomb in the span of two minutes before it means absolutely nothing? That's something The Happytime Murders is keen to explore.
Likewise, with graphic content, this movie doesn't seem to know when to stop. In the red band trailer, there is a sequence where one of the puppets has an orgasm that lasts so long it overstays its welcome a bit. Somehow, though, it's even longer in the movie. There's an audience for gross-out humor that will undoubtedly find themselves giggling at these moments in the film, but just a bit of restraint would have greatly improved the movie.
There's still plenty to like about The Happytime Murders, though. Strangely, building this odd world where humans and puppets live together in something far less than harmony is where The Happytime Murders excels most. From the beginning of the film, it's explained that puppets are seen as less than, and often subservient to, humans. They're the target of verbal and physical abuse, and some of them spend their time and money in an attempt to transform their looks to appear more human, while others have bought into the idea that they exist only to entertain humans.
Chances are you're not expecting the dirty puppet movie to examine racism in America at all. However imperfect a comparison it may be, though, it's one of the things The Happytime Murders does well. What's more, setting the film in Los Angeles, a city with a massive immigrant population, goes a long way in illustrating the divide.
The cast is another piece of the puzzle that fits well. While Melissa McCarthy is mostly doing the same thing she always does--yelling and falling down, while cursing--she somehow manages to have chemistry with a puppet. However, there is an odd running joke throughout the film that everyone thinks she's a man. It might have been funny once or twice, but by the third, fourth, or fifth time that particular joke is revisited, it's just tired.
The biggest standout of the of the movie is Maya Rudolph, who plays Phillips' secretary Bubbles. She serves as a potential love interest for the former cop and manages to have many of the movie's funniest moments, whether at her desk in Phillips' office or out in the field helping to solve the mystery.
If you're expecting to see some of your favorite Muppets in the film, you'll be disappointed. None of them make cameo appearances. After all, the Muppets are owned by Disney. Still, it will be impossible to look at the puppets in this film without knowing they were designed by The Jim Henson Company. Likewise, Muppet veterans Barretta, Julianne Buescher, Kevin Klash, and Alice Dinnean make up the puppet voice cast.
In all, The Happytime Murders is a fun and very interesting film to watch. It's as close as you'll ever get to a Rated-R Muppet movie and sets up what could become a potential franchise that would be exciting to revisit--just maybe with a little restraint next time.
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As it turns out, for the most part, it lands pretty well. The Happytime Murders is set in a world where humans and puppets coexist. When the former stars of a 1980s TV show get murdered, disgraced former puppet cop Phil Phillips (Bill Barretta) and human detective Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) are forced to work together to find the killer. It's a pretty straightforward murder mystery that just so happens to be loaded with foul-mouthed puppets, lots of violence, and one wildly awkward sex scene.
Still, the story actually works. While it's not hard to figure out who the villain of the film is, figuring out their motivations is a different story. The plot also opens up a world that would be very interesting to visit again in future movies, should that be in the cards.
As simple and interesting as the story is, though, there is one major problem with The Happytime Murders. This adult puppet movie is simply too adult. There is a certain novelty to the idea of puppets that curse, have sex, and do horrible things. In practice, though, it's very easy to take the joke too far. Throughout the film, puppets and humans let the cursing fly so gratuitously and frequently that the impact of it simply wears off. It happens so often that it ceases being funny and instead seems like the movie is trying too hard to be edgy. How many times can a character drop an F-bomb in the span of two minutes before it means absolutely nothing? That's something The Happytime Murders is keen to explore.Likewise, with graphic content, this movie doesn't seem to know when to stop. In the red band trailer, there is a sequence where one of the puppets has an orgasm that lasts so long it overstays its welcome a bit. Somehow, though, it's even longer in the movie. There's an audience for gross-out humor that will undoubtedly find themselves giggling at these moments in the film, but just a bit of restraint would have greatly improved the movie.
There's still plenty to like about The Happytime Murders, though. Strangely, building this odd world where humans and puppets live together in something far less than harmony is where The Happytime Murders excels most. From the beginning of the film, it's explained that puppets are seen as less than, and often subservient to, humans. They're the target of verbal and physical abuse, and some of them spend their time and money in an attempt to transform their looks to appear more human, while others have bought into the idea that they exist only to entertain humans.
Chances are you're not expecting the dirty puppet movie to examine racism in America at all. However imperfect a comparison it may be, though, it's one of the things The Happytime Murders does well. What's more, setting the film in Los Angeles, a city with a massive immigrant population, goes a long way in illustrating the divide.The cast is another piece of the puzzle that fits well. While Melissa McCarthy is mostly doing the same thing she always does--yelling and falling down, while cursing--she somehow manages to have chemistry with a puppet. However, there is an odd running joke throughout the film that everyone thinks she's a man. It might have been funny once or twice, but by the third, fourth, or fifth time that particular joke is revisited, it's just tired.
The biggest standout of the of the movie is Maya Rudolph, who plays Phillips' secretary Bubbles. She serves as a potential love interest for the former cop and manages to have many of the movie's funniest moments, whether at her desk in Phillips' office or out in the field helping to solve the mystery.
If you're expecting to see some of your favorite Muppets in the film, you'll be disappointed. None of them make cameo appearances. After all, the Muppets are owned by Disney. Still, it will be impossible to look at the puppets in this film without knowing they were designed by The Jim Henson Company. Likewise, Muppet veterans Barretta, Julianne Buescher, Kevin Klash, and Alice Dinnean make up the puppet voice cast.In all, The Happytime Murders is a fun and very interesting film to watch. It's as close as you'll ever get to a Rated-R Muppet movie and sets up what could become a potential franchise that would be exciting to revisit--just maybe with a little restraint next time.
| A simple, easy-to-follow plot | There's so much cursing that it makes the foul language mean nothing |
| The use of notable Los Angeles locations helps ground the movie | It's not hard to figure out who the killer is |
| Its examination of racism was very unexpected | The puppet sex scene lasts way too long |
| Maya Rudolph blows the rest of the cast out of the water | The villain is very easy to figure out |
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