The Happytime Murders review: More of a gross-out, unfunny time than a happy one

Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy) and Phil Phillips (Bill Barretta) during the climax of The Happytime Murders.

The Happytime Murders (R)

Directed by Brian Henson

Starring Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie David Baker, Joel McHale

Voices/puppeteers: Bill Barretta (Phil Phillips), Dorien Davies (Sandra White)

Caution: Some spoilers ahead!

My favorite thing about The Happytime Murders (besides the poster tagline "No Sesame, all street") is the fact that none of the famous Muppets appear in this movie. The inclusion of Kermit or Miss Piggy in this story would tarnish the great Muppet name.
This movie brought upon the opposite feelings I usually feel watching a movie with colorful puppets under the Henson name. I suppose that is the point, however, I do think it's possible to deliver an adult-oriented puppet movie without being so aggressively vulgar and graphic.

The cast of a 90s sitcom called "The Happytime Gang" starts to get killed off one by one.

The Happytime Gang including Jenny (Elizabeth Banks). 

Phil Phillips (Barretta), a puppet ex-cop and active private detective, is in the porn shop when the first cast member is murdered. Phil was there investigating a blackmailing case brought to him by Sandra White (Davies) who turns out to have ulterior motives. This connects Phil with his old police partner Connie Edwards (McCarthy). They begin to work the case together in order to save the rest of the gang.
McCarthy, who is incredibly talented and funny, is certainly not given the best material to work with here. Connie and Phil are constantly insulting each other which fills the movie with much more negativity than needed.
I also enjoy the works of Elizabeth Banks and Maya Rudolph who, again, were fighting a losing battle in this movie. Rudolph is still probably the funniest person in the movie. It was also nice seeing Joel McHale and Leslie David Baker, known best for playing Stanley on "The Office." The point is the human cast is loaded with great talents, but in the end they had to work with the script they were given.
Brian Henson, son of Muppet creator Jim Henson, directed The Happytime Murders and has also directed two of the classic Muppet movies (1992's The Muppet Christmas Carol and 1996's Muppet Treasure Island). The Happytime Murders was produced under the Henson Alternative brand and it's easy to see what Brian Henson was trying to do with this movie. And I like the idea of a puppet movie aimed at adults. Much of the original "Muppet Show," and the movies to follow, contained many adult jokes that flew over the heads of the children watching and made mom and dad laugh. So I know they could produce a good one, but this isn't it.

Sandra White (Dorien Davies) seduces Phil.

The most intriguing angle in the movie, and one that could have been used in a much better fashion, is the fact that puppets coexist with humans in this world but most humans consider them inferior. Phillips was the first puppet police officer in the LAPD until he was fired for accidentally shooting a victim. There are plenty of social issues that could be utilized to tell a believable story even with puppets. And you can make it actually funny!
Think about the way mutants are perceived in the X-Men world or the way predators are thought of in the Zootopia universe. That, to me, would have been the angle to work with to make this movie more watchable. Instead you get silly puppet sex, McCarthy snorting sugar like cocaine and more than one puppet ejaculation joke. Spoiler alert, it's silly string.
Overall, this is a dumbed down puppet movie with no character (besides Rudolph's Bubbles perhaps) to care about. I don't know how it makes sense to target an adult audience while piecing together a ridiculous narrative with idiotic and tasteless humor. They have the talent and the formulas in place to make a good adult driven, puppet based movie. A few clips during the credits shows some of the innovative techniques used to show Phil and the other puppets living in the human world. And these techniques are something Henson and the crew should be proud of. The effort and know-how is there. Simply put, they just need to put together a better movie next time.

Phil blows smoke in the face of Agent Campbell (Joel McHale).