The Happytime Murders

This review may contain spoilers!

I really went into this expecting the crude comedy the trailers had shown, yet I was pleasantly surprised to be entertained with an original take on a comedic film noir. I would give The Happytime Murders a 7.5/10.

The Happytime Murders takes us into a world in which humans and puppets live side by side, yet puppets certainly get the short end of the stick as their often harassed and tormented for the goofy, soft exterior. In this strange yet familiar society, we come to realise that it bears a remarkable resemblance to our own, right down to some of the violent revenge-driven crime that takes place throughout the feature. As puppets start dropping like rag dolls the protagonist, a puppet private investigator known as Phil Philips, races against time and teams up with his former human partner to take down the serial killer behind the killings. This narrative is so unique and fun to watch, there's such attention paid to the construction of the world and the interesting relationships that exist in this film. At the same time, Happytime Murders goes right by capturing that light-hearted energy and approach to comedy that works so spectacularly in Muppets shows and films. The whole thing plays well to a fairly strong plot and sense of humour while hitting all the right notes and tropes of a gritty film noir.  The cinematography is rather dynamic for a film that relies so heavily on puppets, you can see the careful construction and care that goes into making this film an engaging action-comedy. The score had that hard edge noir films often use which worked wonders for the tone, while the soundtrack was an entertaining medley of comedic tracks.

Melissa McCarthy, who played Detective Connie Edwards, was a strong foul-mouthed partner to the film's protagonist; McCarthy really led an interesting role who struggled with addiction and navigated the crooked streets of her city with ease. Elizabeth Banks, who played Jenny, may haven't been given the best end for her role but in spite of this really stood out for most of the feature; Banks' role had a passionate connection with the protagonist and you could feel deep chemistry there ( which is no small feat when half that partnership is a puppet). Maya Rudolph, who played Bubbles, is this very likeable, sweet secretary character; the way Rudolph styles her persona to be so wholesome and good makes her stand out in a positive light. Leslie David Baker, who played Lt. Banning, has a begrudging respect for McCarthy and Barretta's roles which makes for an interesting dynamic; Baker's optimistic outlook towards the future really moves the plot ever-forward to that final endpoint needed. Joel McHale, who played Agent Campbell, has the overzealous tough persona needed for this higher echelon of law enforcement; yet the way McHale plays to his character's moments of awkwardness and confusion makes for several moments of light comedy too. Kevin Clash, who played Lyle, entered the narrative as a cool no-nonsense gang boss; yet his easy-going manner made him a likeable, friendly character.

However, the best performance came from Bill Barretta, who played Phil Philips. This role has a very dour outlook on life when first we meet him, he sees the world through shades of grey and it's hard to disagree. The world of Phil Philips is bleak and it's not an easy one for a puppet. Barretta does a great job of showing the kindness of the role that dwells underneath his hard exterior. The character of Phil is often pushing an indifferent, dispassionate front; yet as the film develops it becomes clear just how driven he is by a need for justice and a desire to protect those closest to him. The moral dilemma Barretta takes his role through right up till the end standoff is an interesting one and one that makes for a truly great protagonist.

the film stumbles most when it takes to muck around with crude comedy, for the most part, this is handled well enough but it does saturate the feature at times. The necessity for such content isn't really there, the purpose just seems to be to shock the viewer, which is counter-productive to the strong narrative at play here. The final act also slips a bit as everything builds to the climax; the most glaring problem being the return of Jenny near the final moments of the film; the death of this role was an excellent scene and the choice of this twist was very jarring. The editing for the film was also quite slow and didn't attempt any interesting transitions; clearly, the film was limited by the types of shot needed with filming puppets but it had the negative consequence of affecting pacing.

Dorien Davies, who played Sandra, didn't make for a great antagonist; her very obvious exploitative nature and playing heavily on the 'black widow' trope from the outset didn't leave much room for any surprises. Victor Yerrid, who played Larry, really hams up this role a bit; you don't spend enough time with the character to empathise with him nor is there any brotherly chemistry between him and Barretta. Drew Massey, who played Goofer, is probably the most over the top performance of the film; this character just pushes the crude sense of humour a bit far and creates one of the more uncomfortable scenes to watch.