The Happytime Murders
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The Happytime Murders |
| Original title | The Happytime Murders |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2018 |
| length | 92 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Brian Henson |
| script | Todd Berger |
| production | Brian Henson, Jeffrey Hayes , Melissa McCarthy , Ben Falcone |
| music | Christopher Lennertz |
| camera | Mitchell Amundsen |
| cut | Brian Scott Olds |
| occupation | |
| |
The Happy Time Murders is an American comedy film from the year 2018 . The director is Brian Henson . The film combines human actors with puppets.
action
The Happytime Murders takes place in a world in which muppet- like dolls live in coexistence with people, but are regarded by them as second-class citizens.
Phil Phillips is a private investigator based in Los Angeles. Until twelve years ago he was a police officer and as such the first doll in the service of the Los Angeles Police Department . During a joint operation with his human service partner Connie Edwards, he accidentally shot a passerby instead of a criminal. He was charged with deliberately missing the criminal because he was also a doll. Edwards testified against Phillips that he was fired and that a law was passed prohibiting dolls from working in the police force.
A new client seeks out Phillips: Sandra White, a doll, claims to be blackmailed by a stranger because of her nymphomaniac tendencies. One of the first leads leads Phillips into a sex shop. While he is researching there in the office, the business space is attacked by a stranger who shoots everyone present. Among the dead is Mr. Bumblypants, a doll that formerly starred in a children's sitcom called The Happytime Gang . Connie Edwards is on the rushing investigation team and the hostility between Edwards and Phillips resulting from what happened twelve years ago breaks out again. A little later, Larry Phillips, Phil's brother and also the star of the Happytime gang, is murdered . At the urging of his former boss Banning, Phillips and Edwards investigate together. They find out that the stars of the sitcom are entitled to $ 10 million in secondary exploitation rights, and that if one of the actors dies, that amount would be split between the rest of the cast. They conclude that the perpetrator must be one of the actors who wants to increase his share in this way, and seek out the remaining people.
The people Phillips visited, including the only human happytime gang actress with his ex-girlfriend Jenny, died shortly before or after Phillips' visit, so that the investigating officers targeted him and was finally arrested; Edwards as his companion is suspended from duty. Suddenly he is accused by Sandra White of having committed the murders: she was married to Jenny, which is why she deserves the $ 10 million, and Phillips wanted her and the money. Edwards and Phillips secretary Bubbles want to help him and break into White's apartment to investigate, where they learn the real reason for the series of murders: The money was just a minor factor. Sandra White is the daughter of the passerby who was accidentally shot by Phillips twelve years ago. She killed all of the Happytime cast and suspected Phillips to get revenge.
Bubbles finds out that White wants to use the money to move abroad. Edwards manages to get Phillips out of jail. Both rush to the airport. Phillips can put White there, but she takes Edwards hostage. In a replay of the situation twelve years ago, Phillips is forced to fire a rescue shot that fatally hits White. Phillips and Edwards will be rehabilitated and the law preventing dolls from entering the police force will be lifted.
History of origin
The Happytime Murders was announced as a project by Jim Henson Co., Jim Henson's production company, back in 2008 . At this point in time, Todd Berger was the scriptwriter and Brian Henson (Jim Henson's son) was the director. Jim Henson Co. announced the film as a film noir crime comedy with dolls and announced plans to rebrand the release because the film is aimed at an adult audience. The project initially fell asleep, but in 2010 the production company Lionsgate acquired the rights to Berger's script and announced a release for 2011. Cameron Diaz and Katherine Heigl were in discussion for a female lead . In 2015, STX Entertainment bought the rights to the script. In May 2017, Melissa McCarthy was cast in the female lead. In September of the same year filming began in Los Angeles . The film cost at least $ 40 million to produce, of which at least $ 10 million was paid for by Melissa McCarthy. After the release of a promotional trailer, Sesame Workshop, the rights holders of the children's program Sesame Street , sued the production company STX for improper use of its brand name.
In a making-of video, which is available in the bonus material of the bluRay disc of the film The Happytime Murders , director Brian Henson explains : I wanted to show what the dolls are doing when there are no children watching. My dad Jim Henson always fooled around with his Muppets colleagues when the cameras were not on and he had a pretty dirty sense of humor. This film is a kind of throwback to it, no sesame, just street, and the deepest abysses of the doll world. That was great fun.
It was released on August 22, 2018. The Happytime Murders was shown at the Norwegian International Film Festival .
reception
The Happytime Murders received downright negative reviews. The Rotten Tomatoes review database aggregates 210 reviews with a rating of 22%. The Rolling Stone described the film as "pointless grossly and seriously listless" and saw him as a contender for the title of "worst movie of the decade tester". The New Yorker described the film as "primarily disgusting" and a "critic repellant" that caused "allergies" in film critics. Reviewer Richard Brody pointed out that the film's attempt to expose everyday racism completely failed, but conceded The Happytime Murders had some "bizarre personalities" and funny jokes. The Singaporean Straits Times attested the film's misogyne features and criticized the fact that the punch lines mostly missed their target, but praised the “impressive” work of the puppeteers.
The Happytime Murders was nominated for the Golden Raspberry 2019 in six categories . In the worst actress category , leading actress Melissa McCarthy was awarded the Golden Raspberry for her role as Detective Connie Edwards. At the same time, however, McCarthy was also awarded the Raspberry Redeemer Prize, introduced in 2015, because of the Oscar nomination for her role in the film Can You Ever Forgive Me? , with which the actress was artistically rehabilitated.
Trivia
- In the scene in which the scheming doll lady Sandra White sits in the police interrogation room and accuses the detective doll Phil Philipp of multiple murders, the plot parodies the famous cross-leg scene of the character Catherine Tramell, played by actress Sharon Stone , from the feature film Basic Instinct from 1992.
Web links
- The Happy Time Murders in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Trailer on YouTube
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release Certificate for The Happy Time Murders . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 182291 / K).
- ^ A b NewYorker.com: The Fascinating Failures of "The Happytime Murders". Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Slashfilm.com: Happytime Murders - A Muppet Noir. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Collider.com: Lionsgate Picks Up Dark Jim Henson Co. Puppet Film Happytime Murderers. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Vulture.com: Cameron Diaz Offered a Role in Dark Puppet Movie The Happytime Murders. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Variety.com: Katherine Heigl in talks for 'Happytime Murders'. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Deadline.com: Elizabeth Banks Joins Gang For 'The Happytime Murders'. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Deadline.com: Why 'Happytime Murders' Reps A Solo Career BO Low For Melissa McCarthy In A 'Crazy Rich' Weekend. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ Variety.com: 'Sesame Street' Creators Sue STX Entertainment Over Marketing for 'The Happytime Murders'. Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Making-of video included in the bonus material of the bluRay disc The Happytime Murders , 2019, Universum Film (Munich) + Tobis Film (Berlin) + ha! Henson alternative
- ↑ RottenTomatoes.com: The Happytime Murders. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ RollingStone.com: 'The Happytime Murders' Review: Puppet Raunchfest Is Dead on Arrival. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
- ↑ StraitsTimes.com: Puppets come raucously to life in crime comedy The Happy Time Murders. Retrieved October 14, 2018 .