The Happytime Murders (2018)
2018
R
When the puppet cast of an '80s children's TV show begins to get murdered one by one, a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet takes on the case.
User Review
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The Happytime Murders had me wishing I was getting stuffed (take that as you will). What the fluff happened here? As transgressive as this premise was, with its rather pronounced social commentary, it failed on nearly every element. Not only was this boringly unfunny, but it felt like a chore just to sit through it and survive. Puppets and humans coexist in this world, where two disgraced detectives join forces to investigate "The Happytime Murders". A standard buddy cop film, except the twist is that one of the individuals is a puppet. The entirety of this premise relies on one simple gag. Innocent cute puppets performing adult acts. Including but not limited to: smoking, swearing, snorting glitter and ejaculating explosions of silly string. The crude humour dries up faster than a silly string filled sock. I was bored after ten minutes, and unsurprisingly nothing happens after that within it's predictably monotonous plot. A puppet in an adult shop? Someone call an ambulance, I'm dying from the lack of laughter. A puppet ejaculating for five minutes? I'm dead. Resuscitate me. Christ! The narrative infrequently touches upon the inferiority of puppets, indiscreetly likening this social context to perhaps racial discrimination in today's society. Maybe I'm reading too much into it as I try to find positives. Alas, that is where the intelligence to this screenplay ends. McCarthy plays the exact same character once again. Y'know, got to be the centre of attention and all that. I'm starting to wonder if she can actually act. Rudolph brought a few smirks to my cold dead face with her accentuated quirky characters. Also, the puppetry was excellent, an art form with plenty of technical ability that I just have to admire. But that's where the praise ends. Stupidly unfunny with far too much focus on its own vulgarity. Brian Henson attempted a new approach to his father's infamous puppetry, but sadly it didn't work. Move on. If a "comedy" nearly made me fall asleep, then you know it's bad. Urgh, Muppets this is not.0 member like this review.
