The Happytime Murders

This movie tells the tale of Phil Philips, a puppet private eye who used to be a cop. His human partner is portrayed by Melissa McCartney. In case you are wondering, 99% of the cast of this film is a Muppet. That’s right, this is a private eye, film noir, buddy cop movie in which one cop is human and the other is a puppet.

The story of the film involves McCarthy and her puppet private investigator partner investigating a string of murders. All of the murder victims have one thing in common: they were cast members of the “Happytime Gang” show. Who is the killer? And who will be next?

The film takes place in the future, in a society comprised of humans and puppets. The humans are dominant in the society, leaving puppets as second class citizens. The metaphor of racial issues in the United States is prevalent and unmistakable.

The film is a Henson Company production, directed by Brian Henson, son of the late Jim Henson. Muppet fans will recognize the voice of Phil Philips-it is remarkably similar to the voice of Johnny Fiama, a Muppet that made his debut in the Muppets Tonight TV show in the 1990s.

Because it is a Muppet film, the humor is broad. There are many sexual scenes in the film; because the film is mostly Muppets, the scenes are seen as comedy. Yet, if these scenes contained footage of humans doing these sexual acts, these scenes would be found in pornography.

Available on DVD, now on Showtime, 2 stars.