The Happytime Murders - Review

Presenting a largely family friendly element of entertainment such as puppets in the furthest thing from family friendly has an inherent humor to it in concept. However, The Happytime Murders ran out of clever ideas after the initial conception, leaving a mess that’s hardly worth the effort put into reviewing it. 

In the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, two clashing detectives -- one human (Melissa McCarthy) and the other a puppet (Bill Barretta) -- must work together to solve the brutal murders of former cast members of a beloved puppet TV show.

You would think a comedy would have one goal above all else, actual comedy. Unfortunately, there is none to be found in The Happytime Murders. While it offers up an interesting premise with potential for humor, the “joke” becomes repetitive. Either something along the lines of “Melissa McCarthy is masculine” or “Watch this puppet do something wildly inappropriate and unfunny”, and it gets tiresome over the brief 90-minute runtime. 

The Happytime Murders screams of a film that was pitched as a concept alone, and then everyone involved struggled to fit a story into the box they created. Outrageous and raunchy to a fault, this is a film that actively grates on the nerves as it becomes more and more offensive with each passing minute. 

Recognition must be given to the tremendous work of the puppeteers. The ending credits showcase the work put in to making these felt creations, and it truly is captivating to see them work, it’s just a shame it’s for such a miserable film. 

The Happytime Murders is unsatisfying is every sense of the word. What started as an intriguing premise devolves into a vulgar for the sake of being vulgar slog of a film despite being only 90 minutes. The craft behind the puppetry is impressive, but hardly enough to save this film from being one of the worst films of 2018.