The Happytime Murders

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SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

     Puppets get frisky in The Happytime Murders, an R-rated comedy featuring a cast made up of both human actors and puppets. Bill Barretta puppets Phil Philips, a disgraced former detective turned P.I. When someone starts murdering the former stars of an 80’s puppet T.V. show called The Happytime Gang, it’s up to Phil and his estranged ex-partner Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) to solve the crimes and bring the culprit to justice.

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     The Happytime Murders orients itself as a comedy in the vein of Deadpool or Sausage Party, mixing family-friendly imagery (in this case, puppetry) with a decidedly adult disposition. It’s hardly the first time puppets have ventured into more mature territory—a Peter Jackson cult classic comes to mind—but The Happytime Murders does mark a new foray from Henson Alternative (a banner of the larger Jim Henson Company, responsible for the Muppets) into feature film projects. Unfortunately, the experiment produces disappointing results.

     Even when it’s done well, comedy that relies on gross-outs and shock value can only get you so far, and in The Happytime Murders, the jig is up about five minutes into the movie. More successful films of this kind (like the aforementioned Deadpool and Sausage Party) might make their name with crude humor, but they also have other worthwhile features; they subvert genre expectations, tell an interesting story, provide some kind of commentary, include impressive action sequences, etc. But in The Happytime Murders, the filmmakers don’t have much to offer beyond a few scandalous opening gags.

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     So while The Happytime Murders may not be categorically unfunny, it is mostly unfunny. Melissa McCarthy and Maya Rudolph (Philip’s secretary, Bubbles) certainly try; the movie’s best jokes come from the few scenes where the two veteran comedians are allowed to spend time together. But even in those moments, many of the gags don’t earn any laughs. Apart from the obviously distasteful nature of the bulk of the movie’s humor (which only appeals to a very specific audience to begin with), poor writing and lackluster delivery stymie whatever might appeal to more mainstream sensitivities.

TRAILER

Watch the R-rated trailer here. 

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