MOVIE OF THE WEEK (8/24/18): THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS
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| "I come in here and you wanna ask me Fraggle Rock questions?! Really – take this, copper!" Phil Phillips (voiced by Bill Barretta) blows smoke in the face of the FBI's Agent Campbell, Joe McHale) as Lt. Banning (Leslie David Baker) looks on in the background in a scene from THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS. Credit: Hopper Stone, Motion Picture Artwork © 2017 STX Financing, LLC. All rights reserved. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph, Leslie David Baker and Joel McHale with the vocal talents of Bill Barretta, Dorian Davies, Kevin Clash, Drew Massey and Brian Henson
WRITER(S): Todd Berger and Dee Austin Robinson (screenplay); Todd Berger (story)
DIRECTOR(S): Brian Henson
WEB SITE: https://www.thehappytimemurders.movie/
HERE'S THE STORY: Set in the seedy underbelly of a Los Angeles where puppets are alive but often treated like second-class citizens next to humans, The Happytime Murders features the vocal talents of Bill Barretta as Phil Phillips, a former police officer - and the only one who ever joined the LAPD - now working as a private detective. After having a mysterious woman named Sandra (Dorian Davies) pop into his office talking about a threat to expose her, members of The Happytime Gang - a beloved sitcom that just so happened to star Phil's brother and his human ex-girlfriend Jenny (Elizabeth Banks)- start getting killed off in what seems like a simple murder for money scheme.
But, with the help of his former LAPD partner/turned sugar addict who testified against him Connie (Melissa McCarthy) and his secretary Bubbles (Maya Rudolph), Phil is about to discover something much more sinister - and personal - is in play.
HERE'S THE STORY: Set in the seedy underbelly of a Los Angeles where puppets are alive but often treated like second-class citizens next to humans, The Happytime Murders features the vocal talents of Bill Barretta as Phil Phillips, a former police officer - and the only one who ever joined the LAPD - now working as a private detective. After having a mysterious woman named Sandra (Dorian Davies) pop into his office talking about a threat to expose her, members of The Happytime Gang - a beloved sitcom that just so happened to star Phil's brother and his human ex-girlfriend Jenny (Elizabeth Banks)- start getting killed off in what seems like a simple murder for money scheme.
But, with the help of his former LAPD partner/turned sugar addict who testified against him Connie (Melissa McCarthy) and his secretary Bubbles (Maya Rudolph), Phil is about to discover something much more sinister - and personal - is in play.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? People who liked Sausage Party, enjoy South Park or just about anything on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming after 11 p.m.
WHO WON'T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? People who hated Sausage Party, will find this film absolutely morally reprehensible; those who prefer to only thing of puppets in a Sesame Street-style capacity; people who find the entire concept of the film to be ridiculous and its content, at best, disgusting.
SO IS IT GOOD, BAD OR JUST AWFUL? A movie that knows exactly what it is and never pretends to be something it's not, The Happytime Murders is a funny, subversive, juvenile delinquent romp of a comedy ... If you're into the sort of thing where you'll see puppets exporting their bodily fluids (or silly string, as the case may be) among other crimes for the sake of comedy.
The Happytime Murders is EXACTLY what it's trailer makes it out to be: raunchy, silly, foul ... and, if you like shows like the aforementioned South Park, Family Guy and Robot Chicken, funny. Brian Henson, son of the late Jim Henson, creates a world that is extremely raw, which works within the setting of the film as Phil and Connie dive deeper and deeper into the craziness that happens. Playing up the puppets' second class citizens status helps add depth to the story - or at least as much depth as one can have in a film where a cow puppet being milked is played up as adult content WAY too effectively - and McCarthy, Banks and company do quite well at acting as if this world was real, which is the only way to make the comedy effective.
That being said, The Happytime Murders is NOT going to be everyone's cup of tea, there's no way anyone that doesn't own a driver's license should probably see it and, if you are of a high moral standing, this film will find something to offend your sensibilities be it via language murder, sex and/or drug use. But, if you want to watch a movie that is short, funny and crazy in a way that makes anyone willing to embrace the chaos a break from reality, you by all means should - and probably would - enjoy it.
Just make sure you keep all your silly string to yourself while you're inside the theater.
SO IS IT GOOD, BAD OR JUST AWFUL? A movie that knows exactly what it is and never pretends to be something it's not, The Happytime Murders is a funny, subversive, juvenile delinquent romp of a comedy ... If you're into the sort of thing where you'll see puppets exporting their bodily fluids (or silly string, as the case may be) among other crimes for the sake of comedy.
The Happytime Murders is EXACTLY what it's trailer makes it out to be: raunchy, silly, foul ... and, if you like shows like the aforementioned South Park, Family Guy and Robot Chicken, funny. Brian Henson, son of the late Jim Henson, creates a world that is extremely raw, which works within the setting of the film as Phil and Connie dive deeper and deeper into the craziness that happens. Playing up the puppets' second class citizens status helps add depth to the story - or at least as much depth as one can have in a film where a cow puppet being milked is played up as adult content WAY too effectively - and McCarthy, Banks and company do quite well at acting as if this world was real, which is the only way to make the comedy effective.
That being said, The Happytime Murders is NOT going to be everyone's cup of tea, there's no way anyone that doesn't own a driver's license should probably see it and, if you are of a high moral standing, this film will find something to offend your sensibilities be it via language murder, sex and/or drug use. But, if you want to watch a movie that is short, funny and crazy in a way that makes anyone willing to embrace the chaos a break from reality, you by all means should - and probably would - enjoy it.
Just make sure you keep all your silly string to yourself while you're inside the theater.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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