More: 'Happytime Murders' shocks with raunchy puppets (not Muppets) 
 
 Also: How Melissa McCarthy really 'snorted' puppet drugs in 'Happytime Murders' 
 
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 There is definite artistry in the puppeteering for director Brian Henson (son of legendary Muppets creator Jim Henson): Phil, his client/love interest Sandra (Dorien Davies), pervy rabbit Mr. Bumblypants (Kevin Clash, formerly Elmo) and others have lived a hard-luck and/or oversexed life, and it shows in their felt bodies. The social commentary about puppet discrimination and marginalization isn’t subtle but it gives The Happytime Murders a claim to being more than a raunchy look at what happens on Sesame Street when the cameras are turned off. Set in a world where men and puppets co-exist, though the latter are second-class citizens, the noir-ish narrative centers on blue-skinned former cop (and now private eye) Phil Phillips (puppeteer Bill Barretta) and his human ex-partner, L.A. detective Connie Edwards (Melissa McCarthy). (Photo: HOPPER STONE/STX ENTERTAINMENT) 
 
 A robbery gone wrong at a puppet sex store and a series of dead bodies (usually with stuffing falling out of them) leads Phil to believe that the stars of cheesy 1990s-style sitcom “The Happytime Gang,” the first hit to feature both human and puppet stars, are being targeted. McCarthy is as sharp-witted as ever with one-liners and caustic put-downs, Maya Rudolph boosts the proceedings as Phil’s loyal secretary Bubbles, and Elizabeth Banks has a fun role as an exotic dancer also connected to the resident gumshoe. The situation is only a little better with Maya Rudolph and Elizabeth Banks (whose role, as The Happytime Gang’s only human, is small). "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is the gold standard for portraying cutesy personalities as a disenfranchised population, and "Happytime Murders" completely fumbles that theme.
– Remember the hubbub over this trailer with NSFW puppets? Well, The Happytime Murders is out Friday, starring Melissa McCarthy as a detective probing a series of puppet murders with her puppet partner. Critics, meanwhile, are busy investigating why the R-rated film is, in their opinions, downright awful. (The film has a 26% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.) What they're saying: While "there's a cheeky freshness in the early scenes," the film "too often comes across as a skit that runs for too long … probably because the plot is nonsensical and pointless," James Berardinelli writes at ReelViews. McCarthy surprisingly doesn't help, he writes. She "has the life of a piece of background furniture." Brian Truitt argues "McCarthy is as sharp-witted as ever," but his praise basically ends there. With gags that "make Fozzie Bear a comedic genius by comparison," this "scattershot comedy isn't nearly as clever or subversive as it thinks it is," he writes at USA Today, adding "there are much better uses of your time than this travesty." "There's more fun to be had watching a kid play with some socks," Johnny Oleksinski writes at the New York Post, noting the film is "as stale as a neglected saltine." The prevailing problem: "It's not funny," Oleksinski writes. In fact, "the only cast member who earns some giggles is Maya Rudolph." Mara Reinstein is just relieved her viewing experience is over. "The Happytime Murders simply goes for the lowest common denominator of comedy from beginning to end. And those 90 minutes in between are excruciating. Let me put it in italics for emphasis. Excruciating," she writes at US Weekly, calling out the "lazy use of gross-out humor."