Melissa McCarthy and Puppeteer/Director Brian Henson join forces for the neo-noir comedy The Happytime Murders.
The trailer opens with Detective Connie Edwards, played by the Oscar-nominated actress, engaged in a back-and-forth with an addict puppet about “sucking dicks.” Apparently, all the characters in the film seem to think she’s a man (maybe they wouldn't be so confused if she wore pink?). “Hey Handsome. Looking for some rotten cotton?” asks one of the puppet streetworkers. “I’m a woman!” Edwards lashes out.
The film is being called a dark comedy, but it looks more like a silly ride. Maybe that’s because audiences hoping for a PG film will be disappointed. Instead, the movie is about to get deep, at least to Hollywood standards.
The film takes place in a world where humans and puppets coexist, except people are considered second-class citizens. This isn’t particularly foreign territory, but it is a spoof on Will Smith’s Netflix flick, Bright, where humans and mystical creatures battle for power and status. As with all plots, Edwards isn’t a fan of her colleague, a puppet private eye named Phil Phillips (played by the puppeteer, Bill Barretta), whom she’s summoned to work with; probably because – gasp – they share a secret. But they’ve got work to do; they're assigned to solve the brutal murders of the former cast of a beloved classic puppet television show. Sesame Street, maybe?
This isn’t a film for a faint of heart. Edwards is forced to snort candy-coke with Twizzlers at gunpoint in front of a gang. And horny muppets shoot cum everywhere, literally.
This probably isn’t going to be a first-date film, but it will be fun as hell.
The Happytime Murders will be in theatres on August 17th, 2018
