THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS – Review

Hmmm, “happy” and “murder’ almost bumping into each other in a film title? Something’s just not right. Oh, that’s a true understatement. You see, this action detective mystery parody has…puppets. There are human beings, but much of this revolves around “fabric-Americans”. And if the title’s not enough of a hint, the MPAA has slapped this flick with an “R” rating, so parents of the pre-K set will be warned. Hopefully they’ll heed the rating despite the fact that some of the cast resemble muppets. That’s because, they are…kinda’. One of the production companies involved is Henson Alternative, a subsidiary of the empire created by the “gone-too-soon” genius Jim Henson (can it be 28 years). Oh, and the film is co-produced and directed by his son Brian. Sure, Jim went after more mature audiences with his 1980’s fantasies THE DARK CRYSTAL and LABYRINTH, but they’re tame strolls through the nursery compared to the all-out raunch assault of bawdiness and vulgarity served up in THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS.

The setting is the present day LA, but it’s not exactly this planet. Now, on this nearly parallel Earth human beings live and work beside living puppets, free of their masters. There ‘ain’t no strings on them, nor controllers with their hand up their…ya’ know. Oh, and the “felts’ are treated like second class (or lower) citizens, bullied and abused, left to drown their sorrows in sugar (which numbs and stimulates their different ‘inards”). Much of this is told to us by the story’s narrator and main protagonist, hard-drinking, chain-smoking, ex-cop turned puppet private eye Phil Phillips. As he enters his ramshackle agency HQ, Phil’s human secretary/receptionist “Bubbles” (Maya Rudolph) informs him that a possible new client is waiting in his private office. He’s stunned to see a red-headed puppet bombshell named Sandra who gives him a blackmail letter she received (she’s an “Ima”, which, well, we can’t explain here). That letter has a clue which leads Phil to a “puppet porno shop” that becomes the scene of a blood bath, well more of a “stuffing slaughter”. The human police are called in and Phil is re-united with his former police partner Det. Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy). Neither are happy to see each other. Nonetheless Lieutenant Banning (Leslie David Baker) insists that they work together. When Phil’s actor brother Larry is killed, a pattern begins to form. One of the porn shop victims and Larry were part of an old 80’s TV sitcom called “The Happytime Gang”. Phil and Connie try to track down the other cast members including the show’s sole human star (and Phil’s former lover) Jenny (Elizabeth Banks). When hot-headed FBI Agent Campbell (Joel McHale) joins the case, Phil becomes the prime suspect. Can Connie help him clear his name and bring the real murder mastermind to justice?

Once again McCarthy completely commits to the material, bringing a nearly limitless supply of energy and physicality. This serves her (and the film) well, when the script falls short, settling for a cheap obscenity or a shocking sight gag. This is not the sweet-natured “every-women” we endured in this year’s forgettable LIFE OF THE PARTY, rather it’s the “go for it” hellcat of THE HEAT, particularly in the “sugar hit” sequence. As I mentioned earlier, the puppets have a real big sweet tooth, and it turns out that Connie is “part puppet” (well she has puppet parts, which we learn in a big flashback). McCarthy literally bouncing off the walls before wailing on a nasty band of muppet mobsters. She truly gives it her all, sharing most of her scenes with Phil, and, to very good effect, a frequent co-star: Rudolph. She’s very funny in the detective’s girl Friday cliche (a bit dim, but loyal, and crushing on her boss), but a scene where she and McCarthy break into a suspect’s apartment gives both actresses a chance to shine (and again, much better than their time together in PARTY). Hopefully some gifted film maker will craft a smart buddy comedy (like a gender-flipped”bro-mance”) for these two very talented women. As for the other human cast mates, Banks has little to do, aside from vamping it up on the stripper pole and looking longingly at Phil. Darn it, she’s funny too, but you can’t tell from this ho-hum role. The same can be said for McHale who’s saddled with the straight man/ butt of insults as the up-tight “fed’ (it’s like his “snark” has been muzzled). And Baker does what he can with the standard flustered, agitated cop boss role, that staple of many a police station-set flick or TV show. But kudos to the very hardworking, but unseen, puppet performers, who really help sell this strange concept (especially Bill Barretta as Phil).

Brian Henson directs with confidence, hitting all the usual beats in a buddy/cop thriller while never calling undue attention to some of the clever technical tricks involved in making this fantasy seem real. Unfortunately this story can’t be stretched to feature length, without losing its focus, and its audience’s interest. It’s another example of a great 20 minute or so TV sketch (or a “stand-alone” half hour special) that wears out its welcome in movie time (like many Saturday Night Live skit-based flicks). The private eye parody is nothing really new as the plot and its hero rehash Bogie in THE MALTESE FALCON and even Elliott Gould in THE LONG GOODBYE (and you could get a nagging cough from Phil constantly puffing away). And of course there’s the elephant (or big bunny) in the room, the film’s main idea is a pale riff on the vastly superior, truly iconic, now 30 year-old classic WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (with a nod to ALIENATION where the “newcomers” got hammered on sour milk). We can match up the characters (Connie=Eddie Valiant, Phil=Roger, Sonia=Jessica), along with the story points. But despite the former’s slightly naughty twists, the denizens of Toon Town were still pretty magical and endearing. Not so with these bits of fluff and felt, who exhaust us with the barrage of “F-bombs” and 70’s style “sex talk” (one sugar-addicted puppet’s constant “offers” feels more sad and desperate than hilarious). And that sexualization of beings that resemble plush kiddie toys just gets too “skeavey” after the first few minutes. I know that Jim Henson wanted to break out of the “children’s entertainment ghetto”, but this is far too aggressively crude (though there are several hysterical bits of business that nearly rival the final orgy of SAUSAGE PARTY, a flick that shocked, but has some smart things to say). Despite this, and the spirited efforts of McCarthy and Rudolph, THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS is more listless and witless than outrageous and offensive. If this hits, what’s next? “Punch and Judy, Ted and Alice”?!

3 Out of 5