The Happytime Murders Review

The Happytime Murders was okay. Some parts hit well and some didn’t hit as well as they could have. It feels a lot like The Heat, with Melissa McCarthy playing the same kind of cop she played there, except it’s like they made The Heat but less funny, and that’s not a good thing.

The premise sounded great: two detectives with a history, one human and one puppet, forced to work together again. For about three-quarters of the movie the comedy really lands. It’s outrageous, it takes a big step away from the puppet stuff you see on TV, and it will have you laughing. But it dies out in the last quarter, and some jokes go stale. One scene that was hilarious in the trailer goes on way too long in the movie. Cut it shorter and it would hit just as hard.

My biggest issue is the dynamic between the two leads. They both play the bad cop, and that doesn’t work in this kind of movie. You need a bad cop and a good cop. With two bad cops, they don’t play off each other; it feels like one is just trying to outdo the other. Without an anchor character, there’s nothing that makes you root for these two, so when they patch things up at the end it feels forced and out of nowhere. Most of the movie is them bickering about something that’s already clear.

The villain’s motive also needed to be stronger. The connection to the first victims makes sense, but going after the whole cast of the puppet show felt weird, and some of the connections just don’t go anywhere.

It has a real Sausage Party vibe, but with puppets, so a lot of scenes would probably get cut for TV. If you want to watch it, go in with no expectations and you might find what you need.

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The Happytime Murders (2018) Cast and Details

The Happytime Murders (2018) is directed by Brian Henson and stars Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale and Bill Barretta. It runs 91 minutes and is rated R. You can look up the full cast and crew on IMDb. You might also like my BlacKkKlansman review.