The Happytime Murders

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In a world where humans and puppets co-exist in everyday life, the world's first puppet cop, named Phil Phillips, is now a private detective who had been disgraced as a cop. When someone starts killing the cast members of a puppet-led sitcom called The Happytime Gang, Phillips must team up with his old partner (played by Melissa McCarthy) to solve the murders. This movie was a solid way to kill 90 minutes. I honestly found it genuinely funny, despite being torn apart by most critics. There were some moments where I genuinely belly-laughed, though I will admit there weren't a ton of those. That said, I did laugh a lot throughout. I also actually bought the chemistry between Melissa McCarthy and the puppet, which is something that can easily be difficult to do. The sense of humor leans heavily into raunch territory, which is going to be off-putting for a lot of people. This is something that could have backfired, but it really worked for me. Some of the jokes with Joel McHale did get old after awhile because they just felt like variations of the same joke. The Happytime Murders worked in a lot of the areas where it should have worked. The performances worked for me. The mystery worked for me. Occasionally, some of the jokes don't land (which is typical for a comedy). This is a movie I recommend seeing, but only as a rental, and not in theaters.

7 / 10