With "Good Boys" coming out this week, it's time to look at a particular R-rated raunchy comedy that also came out in August. I was thinking of reviewing "Sausage Party", since Seth Rogan is attached to both films, but I felt that I should give some light to this box office bomb. Phil Phillips is a hard-boiled, puppet detective who has to investigate the ongoing murders of the cast members of a beloved television series, being forced to work with his old partner from the LAPD, Connie Edwards. That's the gist of the narrative which while the mystery is predictable, you wouldn't be able to catch on until the half-way point in your first viewing, which is much better compared to other murder mystery stories. Now, why does this plot matter anyway? Narratives aren't the strong suit in comedies, since the humour takes centre stage in these films. Well, the issue is that the writing thinks otherwise. The story for some reason takes a bit more attention than the comedy in this film, which is not good seeing how the narrative is pretty generic. As for the comedy itself, it is a definition of a mixed-bag. There are jokes and funny moments in the film, but it really depends on if raunchy adult comedy is your thing, let alone seeing puppets swear or do mature things. It's like watching Family Guy. The jokes can either work or it won't. It also doesn't help that the writing doesn't have anything clever to say. "Sausage Party" was hilarious, because the movie has allegories on religion and belief, making the comedy both funny and thought-provoking. Outside of a few jokes relating to prejudice and racism regarding the puppets, there's not much the writing has anything to say.
While all of the acting and voice-acting is good across the board, the characters are just too generic. Phil is your typical grouchy cop that is the way he is due to a traumatic past. Been there, done that. Other side characters that populate the cliched narrative include the bossy police captain, the FBI assholes, the seductive femme fatale who turns out to be the villain, etc. Whether human or puppet, the role is the same. Melissa McCarthy does a great job acting as Connie, but the problem is that it's the standard arrogant yet clumsy McCarthy role that you see in "Tammy" or "The Boss". Originally, Jamie Foxx was supposed to be the partner for Phil, which I feel would have been more interesting of a duo. I like McCarthy as an actress, but the role she's given in this film doesn't work too great. I think her being more bubbly and silly contrasted to Phil's grumpy nature could have been more dynamic than just two angry, bossy characters.
The director of this film is Brian Henson, who is in fact Jim Henson's son. Brian has even worked on some Muppet films prior to "Happytime Murders", which means that he's very experienced in puppetry and is not some random guy who thinks that seeing puppets swear on the big screen is the funniest thing in the world. Brian had worked on this film for 10 years prior to its release and struggled to get it off the ground during that time. You can tell that Brian made this film as a passion project and one that he just really wanted to do as an experiment and something for fun. His directing is bursting with colour and heavy lighting, just like a Muppet film for instance. The puppetry is also fantastic, using all the tricks in the business to pull off the life-like movement of the puppet characters. During the credits, you can see bloopers as well as the making of specific scenes and not only can you tell that they put effort during filming, but they were enjoying themselves as well. This show of passion is why I don't rip this film to shreds like many others did. That however doesn't mean that the final product is good though.
Overall, "The Happytime Murders" is a meh comedy at the end of the day. While there are some laughs with good directing and effects, the characters, story, and writing of narrative and humour are just too middle-of-the-road for me and doesn't make the film pop out much as a comedy of any sort, outside of the puppet aesthetic. It's a shame, since you can tell that this film could have been so much better if the director noticed that the screenplay needed more work. I can only recommend this film for those that are in a mood for adult humour or fans of shows like "Family Guy", since they can get laughs and enjoyment out of it. If you wanted a more clever comedy that needs more than R-rated puppet scenarios though, this is not for you at all.
Verdict: 5/10. I can't dislike or hate this film based on the passion and mild enjoyment I received from the film, but I can say that it's not a good film at all though.
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