In “The Happytime Murders,” the basic tale of the disgraced cop turned private eye as murders hit close to home adds the element of humans interacting with puppets. Featuring Melissa McCarthy as Southern California detective Connie Edwards, when a series of murders tie to a classic television show, she is paired up with her former puppet partner Phil Philips (Bill Baretta) to solve the crime.
I had a lot of hope going into this movie and sadly was let down. There are some moments where the audience did react as a whole with laughter and ‘oh my’ but there was too much in between those moments for me to recommend paying to see this film. McCarthy does what we have seen her do many times before as a rather masculine female with a raunchy sense of humor, out to prove that she is better than the rest. Maya Rudolph as Bubbles, Phil’s secretary, is one of the bright spots of this film with great comedic timing and not overdoing do the airhead bit, shown especially in one moment with Joel McHale in Phil’s office after a visit with Ms. White.
There are a few things that could have been cut that would not have effected the story, like a scene where McCarthy is playing poker and takes offense to a derogatory term for women. I think stronger dialog with some moments of higher intelligence would have saved this movie for me, but I could tell they had a lot of fun making it and I would like to see them try again. So, really wait for cable or streaming for this one, and DEFLINTELY without the kids.