THE HAPPYTIME MURDERS (2018)
Label: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 91 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Dolby Digital 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Brian Henson
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale, Elizabeth Banks
Synopsis: The Happytime Murders is a raunchy comedy set in the underbelly of Los Angeles where puppets and humans coexist. Two clashing detectives with a shared secret, one human (McCarthy) and one puppet, are forced to work together again to solve the brutal murders of the former cast of a beloved classic puppet television show. A hilarious buddy cop murder mystery comedy at heart, the film is apologetically bold and keeps audiences entertained from start to finish.
The Happytime Murders (2018) is sort of a teenage fantasy of mine turned into reality, the idea of an R-rated Muppet movie was something I would joke about a lot, and now it's happened, and incredibly it's directed by the offspring of Mr. Muppet himself, Jim Henson son Brian Henson, how cool is that?
The story is your average buddy-cop movie type thing partnering Phil Phillips, a disgraced former puppet cop now working as a private eye, with his bitter ex-partner Det. Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy, Ghostbusters), investigating a series of puppet murders in L.A., the victims were all once cast members of a beloved TV show called The Happytime Gang, all of whom have since all fallen onto hard times, with the one human cast member (Elizabeth Banks, Slither) now stripping for the amusement of puppets.
The comedy is raunchy and fairly dumb, but I'm here to tell you that filth coming from the mouth of a puppet is as funny as I've always imagined it would be, this is some funny fluffin' stuff. There's sugar-snorting puppet junkies willing to suck dick for a sugar fix, a sex crazed fluff-filled nympho, a riotous silly-string slinging sex scene, and the very strange sight of an octopus milking a cow, an image that is now burned into my brain!
The Happytime Murders is pretty dang awesome, one of my favorite comedies of the year, I've already re-watched it several times and I'm still laughing at all the same stuff, always a good sign.
Special Features:
- Deleted Scenes (16 min)
- Gag Reel (3 min)
- Line-O-Rama (3 min)
- Virtual Environments: Go behind the scenes to see the transformation of the film’s virtual environments including visual effects through backdrops, action scenes, and the movements of the puppets themselves. (2 min)
- Avatars Demo: VFX supervisors discuss how The Happytime Murders created a new realm of puppet movies by using avatars to make the puppets come to life. (3 min)
- VFX Breakdown: An overview of the impact of visual special effects in the film. (4 min)
- Theatrical Trailer (5 min)
- Feature Commentary with Director Brian Henson and voice actor Bill Barretta
There's probably a lot of multi-layered ideas that could have been exploited here but they keep it simple-minded, funny and raunchy, and that's just fine by me, I laughed by ass off, very highly recommended for raunchy comedy fans.
