Happytime Murders...

Space Muppet

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While working as a background puppeteer on 'Muppets From Space,' I approached Brian Henson & asked him a question about a piece of business I was doing in one particular scene. He looked at me like I owed him money. 'And you are...?' That's the vibe he gave off. So you'll have to forgive me if my opinions are colored by my overall negative impression of the man. Having said that, let's begin...

I first heard of 'Happytime Murders' years ago, it was common knowledge that Brian had been shopping it around all over Hollywood & no one was really interested. The only reason the film got made at all is because Melissa McCarthy & her husband came onboard & re-wrote the script. But the original idea was a bad one to begin with.

I'm a fan of low-brow humor, as much as the next guy. But when puppets attempt it, it never really flies, it just seems perverse, like someone drawing a cock on a picture of Big Bird. Brian Henson of all people should know this. You'd have thought he would've learned his lesson after the abysmal failure of the 'adult' Muppet TV series.

I haven't seen 'Happytime Murders' & I never will. The trailer was enough for me.
 

Blue Frackle

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Such a good post, especially the bit about Brian being a condescending ******; like you and him were working on the same project and there was still a wall between you guys as if he was some untouchable celebrity. I couldn't stomach stuff like that.
 

Space Muppet

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Such a good post, especially the bit about Brian being a condescending ******; like you and him were working on the same project and there was still a wall between you guys as if he was some untouchable celebrity. I couldn't stomach stuff like that.
Thanks, pal.
 

Old Thunder

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Also: we've got a thread for this. Why open up a second one just for your opinion and nothing more? It's just a waste of space and these kinds of threads keep clogging up our boards. How about we use existing threads and only create ones that have potential, or a reason for being created, eh?
 

Space Muppet

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Do I have to yell this? If you haven't actually watched the product, your opinion on it doesn't count. You have the right not to watch it, but if you haven't seen it, then how do you know it's actually as bad as you think?
I think the fact that the movie tanked at the box office & also got a lot of really bad reviews is a pretty good indication, pal.
 

Old Thunder

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I think the fact that the movie tanked at the box office & also got a lot of really bad reviews is a pretty good indication, pal.
That may be, but that has nothing to do with your opinion of the film, which should be formed after watching it. I thought it had a pretty mediocre trailer myself, but the final product was much better than expected, even if it had some flaws here and there. Critics and box office figures should mean diddly-squat.

Key example: The Thing (1982). That film was completely trashed upon release, with reviewers calling it "gore for gore's sake" and considering E.T., which came out around the same time, the superior film. Fast-forward to today, where The Thing is considered a genre-defining film, one of the greatest of all time, certainly in horror scene, and E.T. is considered the inferior film.

Another example: Moby Dick, which people thought too boring, long-winded, and nothing compared to Melville's earlier works. These days, it's widely considered one of the definitive American novels.

Critics and figures mean nothing whatsoever. The only thing that does is the individual. No one knows what film will be held in a greater light in the years to come, so just because it's hated today doesn't mean it will be tomorrow.

And I'm not calling The Happytime Murders a masterpiece by any means, but you definitely should watch it and form your own opinion instead of just following the mainstream crowd's.
 

LittleJerry92

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I think the fact that the movie tanked at the box office & also got a lot of really bad reviews is a pretty good indication, pal.
For helpful advice: you shouldn't always rely on those.

And to be fair, there are movies that I (personally) thought were pretty good that got bad reviews and/or did pretty poorly in the box office.
 
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