The Happytime Murders is a decent movie with a flawed script that does have its moments and a solid cast that make the best of it. Personally, I do not think this movie deserves the annhilation it has received from critics, I think it has a lot of good about it, I personally thought Melissa McCarthy taking on a role very different from her usual typecast, playing a straighter, more stern police officer, was very interesting to see and she did a great job. I also thought Bill Barretta was terrific as Phil Phillips, taking on a challenging role in that he is, of course, a puppet, but not particularly flamboyant or eccentric. I feel he deserves more credit for what he did with the part, he made him human, there were parts where I genuinely forgot I was watching a puppet. The puppeteering all around was terrific, Brian Henson and the rest of the Jim Henson Company did a great job of creating a universe co-inhabited by puppets and humans.
It does fodder in several areas, the actual mystery aspect of the film is immensely weak, it never managed to surprise me or do anything interesting with this fun concept of puppets trying to solve a crime. It also never gave me a reason to care about the Happytime Gang, who should have been established from the get go, but instead are immediately tossed to the side and then later on I am expected to care about them as characters.
It also has far too many unnecessarily sexual and explicit moments, the worse one of which features in the trailer, that just felt like they were doing it for a reaction and not for any other reason. there was never an authentic or potent point for them being there.
Stumbles, but is consistently entertaining. Immensely flawed, it is very unfortunate how mediocre The Happytime Murders is, cause it could have changed the game for puppet films, but it is consistently fun, and an older generation of fans of The Jim Henson Company's Work will appreciate it.
Two detectives investigate the murders of several members of a hit kids television show.
Best Performance: Bill Barretta
It does fodder in several areas, the actual mystery aspect of the film is immensely weak, it never managed to surprise me or do anything interesting with this fun concept of puppets trying to solve a crime. It also never gave me a reason to care about the Happytime Gang, who should have been established from the get go, but instead are immediately tossed to the side and then later on I am expected to care about them as characters.
It also has far too many unnecessarily sexual and explicit moments, the worse one of which features in the trailer, that just felt like they were doing it for a reaction and not for any other reason. there was never an authentic or potent point for them being there.
Stumbles, but is consistently entertaining. Immensely flawed, it is very unfortunate how mediocre The Happytime Murders is, cause it could have changed the game for puppet films, but it is consistently fun, and an older generation of fans of The Jim Henson Company's Work will appreciate it.
Two detectives investigate the murders of several members of a hit kids television show.
Best Performance: Bill Barretta