REVIEW: The Happytime Murders Delivers Raunch, Laughs & Puppet Sex

It's no Avengers: Infinity War, but The Happytime Murders has somehow turned out to be one of the most anticipated movies of 2018, if only because it seemed to have two options: Win big, or fail even bigger.

The film marks the first mainstream appearance of Brian Henson's Miskreant Puppets, and the first major motion picture produced in part by Henson Alternative, the adult production and distribution arm of the Jim Henson Company. Those facts, along with its all-star cast including Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Elizabeth Banks and Bill Barretta, makes The Happytime Murders the first high-profile adult puppet film from the most recognizable names in the industry. Those who wondered whether 90-minutes of puppet doing drugs and sex jokes and potentially sullying a beloved brand in a highly visible way could work can rest easy -- The Happytime Murders might not be great, but it is very, very good.

The premise is reminiscent of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but in a way that evokes fond nostalgia rather than being a direct derivative. A series of murders targeting puppets attracts the attention of the LAPD, along with a washed up former puppet-cop-turned-private-detective named Phil Phillips. He left the police force in disgrace after failing to shoot a puppet holding his partner Connie Edwards (McCarthy) hostage. He missed, hitting an innocent puppet bystander and the criminal escaped, after seriously wounding Edwards. Phillips' failure sparked rumors amidst a society already mistrustful of puppets that he missed on purpose, so the city enacts legislation in response that forbids puppets from serving on the police force from there on out. It also resulted in his wounded partner getting a puppet liver transplant, a running gag that never ceases to pay off.

The film takes place about 15 years later, when Edwards and Phillips are reunited to solve a series of murders involving cast members of an 80s puppet sitcom called The Happytime Gang. Phillips' brother was one of the stars, so both Phillips' and Edwards have a personal connection to everyone involved. There's till considerable animosity between the two, but they still work well together and the LAPD sanctions their limited partnership under the circumstances.

It's the establishment of the above that makes for the movie's weakest moments. The first quarter or so dedicates itself not only to setting up Phillips' history, but also to setting up a puppet/racism metaphor that's only marginally better executed than the orc/human/elf hierarchy in Netflix's troubled Bright. Puppets are marginalized members of society, but there's no backstory as to why other than that they are visibly different species (who can exchange organs). Phillips stops human kids from bullying a puppet street performer and then tells the busker, "[they] don't have to do that anymore" referring to the song and dance routine. If you work hard enough, you can imagine a history in which puppets were developed/bred/sewn for entertainment and then eventually won their freedom, but if that was truly the case, we could've used one more scene to shore it up.

There's also a dearth of jokes in the first act, as The Happytime Murders focuses more on the pathos of Phil's life and the decline of The Happytime Gang. That, combined with relatively weak world-building, make for a sluggish and imbalanced introduction. Luckily, once Phillips and Edwards actively start their investigation, both the pace and the humor pick up considerably and the film starts to cohere into something G*dd*mn delightful.

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The mystery at the core of The Happytime Murders isn't Agatha Christie, but its trajectory is compelling, and the solution is decent twist that cunningly calls back to an early gag. It does its job, which is to prop up Bill Barretta and Melissa McCarthy as they meander their way through Los Angeles, stopping in at puppet drug dens, strip clubs and even an inbred BBQ joint just outside the city (you'll love it). Barretta and McCarthy have phenomenal comedic chemistry, but they also establish a relationship that's based in genuine affection which ensures THM has a soul and isn't simply 90 minutes of dirty puppet gags.

The rest of the cast is populated with Miskreant performers who've worked together in Henson Alternative's Puppet Up! adult improv comedy show, so even the film's cheapest bits are delivered with enough skill to make you belly laugh. For what it's worth, the silly string sex scene from the trailer isn't the funniest moment in this movie, by far.

Maya Rudolph is an unexpected joy who's thankfully given plenty of time to shine. While the promotion's focused heavily on McCarthy and Barretta, Rudolph's comedic genius as Barretta's stereotypical daffy noir secretary quietly steals the show. Rudolph and McCarthy are smartly given a decent amount of screentime together, and their shared Groundlings history shows in their hysterical repartee -- the real crime here is the fact that these two women don't work together more often (the only other movie they've starred in together besides Bridesmaids has been 2018's Life of the Party).

On the flip side, THM should be applauded for its lack of starpower. In an age in which celebrities have virtually overtaken the motion picture voiceover industry and iced out trained voice performers in exchange for name recognition, Henson's created a movie that achieves the best of both worlds. He's made a film that can capitalize on household names without sacrificing the massive contributions that uniquely skilled, but lesser known performers like Barretta bring to the table. Using the phrase "lesser known" regarding a man who's performed iconic characters like the Swedish Chef, Rowlf the Dog and Pepe the King Prawn feels like sacrilege, but here we are.

It's worth noting that the film's humor isn't exactly as subversive as it would have you believe. For all the "No Sesame, All Street" rhetoric, Avenue Q is probably edgier. But seen through the lens of the Henson legacy, The Happytime Murders is simultaneously a huge departure from the wholesome Muppets we know, and a return to Jim Henson's original roots in adult comedy and late-night television. Brian Henson's repeatedly pointed out that his father (like most adults who work in children's entertainment) had a wickedly dark sense of humor, and THM pays tribute to that and then some. Luckily, it also pays tribute to Jim Henson's skill as a comedic storyteller -- the puppet prostitutes are just icing on the cake.

The Happytime Murders opens Friday, August 24.