Director
Brian Henson
(MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND, THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL)

Stars
Melissa McCarthy, Leslie David Baker, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph and puppeteers Bill Barretta, Kevin Clash and Dorien Davies

The Henson name goes back a long way when associating it with puppetry. James Maury Henson, better known as Jim Henson, became famous in 1969 when he joined television program Sesame Street. He then went on to produce TV series The Muppet Show and is the creator of Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog and Ernie. Continuing the puppetry works of his late father, albeit in adult-only fashion in a world where puppets and humans co-exist, Brian Henson writes and directs crime comedy, THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS.

An LAPD private eye puppet, Phil Philips (Bill Barretta) and a human detective, Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) join forces to find the serial killer behind a spate of murders whose victims all appeared on the 80’s television show The Happytime Gang. The investigation becomes a personal matter for Phil when one of the next victims could be Jenny (Elizabeth Banks), the only human cast member of the series who was once his love interest. But before Phil and Connie can collaborate productively on the case, they’ll need to sort out some irreconcilable differences and overcome their mutual animosity that began several years ago when they first worked together.

This story has been around for decades in the Henson workshop, and it’s been just that long since Brian Henson directed his last feature film too. Judging from what is spoken and shown on screen throughout this infantile comedy, it appears to have also been decades since the story was developed further and written.

THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS is witless, flat and lacks any form of variety in humour. Its brand of comedy is purely that of the vulgar taste that expects its audience to be constantly laughing out loud at who the vulgarity is coming from, above all else. These characters and the entire film are so decidedly rude and lowbrow, it could almost make Puppetry of the Penis appear suitable for families! Simply put, comedy has progressed and expanded greatly beyond the kill that THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS is going in for. It would’ve even been mediocre at best if released decades ago. Moving on, the one-way traffic nature of the writing doesn’t just go for repetitive laughs that are as cheap and stale as an abandoned happy meal, it also doesn’t manage to compliment the amalgamation of the crime and comedy genres. That is its prized possession, where there is definitely an appropriate space for inappropriate and darker ways of humour that has been completely overlooked by the writers. At times, watching THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS can be likened to seeing Muppets co-star in a Naked Gun movie. But these moments are infrequent and always very short-lived.

An outdated, unfunny and unwelcome guest to the big screen you ought to avoid.

1 ½ stars

Viewer Discretion
MA15+ (Strong crude sexual humour and coarse language)

Trailer
THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS

Moviedoc thanks Roadshow Films for the invite to the screening of this film

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc
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