“Please, dear God…make the Happytime Murders a date night excursion, and leave the kiddos at home!” – Kathy Kaiser, Matineechat.com
THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS: Rated R – 1 hr. 31 mins.
DIRECTOR: Brian Henson
WRITERS: Todd Berger and Dee Austin Robertson
STARRING: Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, Bill Barretta and Ben Falcone
As we enter into this world of “Adult Muppet Mayhem” ~ it seems that Muppets have found a way to co-exist in our human world, when we meet former LAPD police officer, now private eye Phil Phillips (Bill Barretta), who has been thrust into the middle of a new case, as the stars of a hit 80’s TV show are meeting their demise, one by one…
When ex-partner, Detective Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) is put on the case, it seems that Phil and Connie are going to struggle through this working arrangement yet again, which neither of them is very happy about…
As our loveable, and very provocative Muppets continue to perish ~ it’s up to Phil, Connie and
Phil’s lovely secretary Bubbles (Maya Rudolph) to figure out who has it out for the members of this cast, and to stop this killing spree…before they all meet their maker…
I give THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS a rating between MUST SEE ON THE BIG SCREEN and WAIT AND CATCH THIS FILM ON DVD OR NETFLIX: Brian Henson, and Henson Alternative have brought to the big screen one entertaining, but “oh so wrong, in so many ways” film with this latest creation. From its Columboesque feel and storyline, to its sexual connotations at every turn, THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS is a film that does manage to tantalize the Muppet-lover in you, the whole way through. McCarthy is just as brilliant playing a detective this time around, and she was playing opposite Sandra Bullock in 2013’s THE HEAT! And Banks and Rudolph are enjoyable to view in their respective roles along the way too. Even McHale, in his small, but pivotal role, manages to bring it, playing the aggressive A-hole, FBI Agent Campbell. But, love as we might these new characters, and this films adult-film flare, I beg of you…please, please, please don’t take your children to see this film, as it’s definitely not suited for them in any way! Having loved not only Sesame Street growing up, but the Muppet Show too ~ and if you are right along with me on both accounts ~ then you might love heading out to a theater this weekend, and catching THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS on a big screen near you. But if “Muppets aren’t your thing”, and you are hoping that the R-rating of this puppet film is going to make up for that, then I strongly suggest you wait to catch THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS when it comes out on DVD or NETFLIX, as even the raunchiness that ensues throughout almost every inch of this film, still won’t keep a smile on your face, the whole way through…I guarantee it!
Kathy Kaiser
This humble opinion is brought to by you T. K. Edwards
THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS – Rated R – 1 hr. 31 mins
Director by: Brian Henson
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Joel McHale, Maya Rudolph
A disgraced puppet detective must team up with his old human partner to solve the mystery of who is murdering the cast of an old children’s tv show from the 1980s.
SPOILER – THE PUPPETS CUSS IN THIS MOVIE
THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS had the opportunity of being an extremely funny film and possibly even one that would go down in the history books as a classic comedy, but instead the film fell short to it’s vast potential. Instead of laughter, I was filled with this awkward feeling of “am I watching someone’s weird fetish for puppets?” THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS based everything on the fact that puppets could now be vulgar and disgusting, which…to be honest…is funny, but it loses its edge pretty fast. It was almost like they came up with the idea for this movie, the studio gave it a greenlight, they kept it a secret for a while, the secret got out, then they were worried someone else might steal the idea for the movie, so they put out the movie as fast as they could and the story suffered. It almost became funnier to listen and watch the audience during the movie because they didn’t know when to laugh out loud. There was this sense of awkwardness floating in the air throughout the film. Here you are watching puppets that resemble some of your beloved Muppet characters (not totally but enough to make you a little uneasy) and they are doing things that should be taken as funny, but because the comedy rhythm of their jokes is so off, YOU are put off too. For example, when you’re watching a comedy and someone in that movie says or does something that is hilarious, the next line from the next character is usually something very tame or forgettable, which allows the audience to laugh and then get right back into the movie. The problem with THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS is they give you that pause, but it’s just a little bit too long or just long enough so that the joke now becomes uncomfortable. Like when you’re at a party with a group of friends circled around together and one of those friends stands up to say something funny, but it’s not something that they should have “stood up” to say, so now they have to awkwardly sit down while the conversation moves forward (Yikes!, been there…lol). The other problem with THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS is the interactions between humans and puppets. If you’re going to create a world where both co-exist, then there has to be an unsaid connection between the two of them. A connection where the audience believes this has been going on for a very long time. Not only does it make the story more believable, but it just adds more credibility to the jokes and makes them even funnier. Just because you see someone walking down the street holding hands with a puppet doesn’t make the reality of this world more realistic, it just makes the tone of the movie feel creepier and gives the film more of a puppet fetish vibe. I really wanted this movie to be great…I really did, but sadly in my opinion, it dropped the ball. My suggestion is don’t see this one in theaters. Wait and watch this one at home, but be warned…watching it at home may add to its already prominent fetish vibe and you may get questionable looks from your loved ones. LMAO. Until next time, thanks for reading.
P.S. – There is no post credit scene, so go home and DO NOT watch Sesame Street for at least a week after this movie.
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 