‘Bad Monkey’ Series Review: Vince Vaughn helms this deceptive crime-comedy

A still in Vince Vaughn from ‘Bad Monkey’ Photo credit: Apple TV

What is the possibility of a severed hand stuck to a tourist’s fishing hook, tagging along with the behind-the-scenes lives of a detective-full-food inspector, a forensic pathologist, a young fisherman, as well as countless other characters? bad monkeyStreaming on Apple TV+, this arm brings the owner together and tells a story about greed and corruption.

Based on Carl Heassen’s 2013 novel of the same name, the 10-part series created by Bill Lawrence (five of which are available for streaming, and the rest drop weekly) is set in Florida and stars Vince Vaughn, Natalie Martinez, Rob Delaney , Michelle Monaghan, Meredith Hagner and Ronald Peet.

Mounted as a crime-comedy and taking the form of a hyperlinked narrative, part of the story unfolds in the Florida Keys, an archipelago off the southern tip of the United States, where Vince Vaughn’s Andrew Yancey works as a food inspector. The other part takes place 450 km away in the Bahamas, where local fisherman Neville, played by Ronald Pitt, lives a comfortable life of drinking and fishing by a new resort project. The third strand of the story takes place on the US mainland in Miami while the fourth is the narrator’s voice.

Despite multiple story threads, bad monkey Primarily during the first three episodes, it reflects its beach setting and Truges’ lazy nature. A byproduct of witty dialogues, the playful humor often fails to hit the mark, leaving the viewer to take solace in coastal life and warm color tones.

A still in Vince Vaughn from ‘Bad Monkey’ Photo credit: Apple TV

However, there’s only so much the visuals can compensate for before the awfulness begins It then boils down to trivia, like how red lights have replaced traditional street lamps for turtles, replacing bad writing.

Fortunately, things take a turn for the better by episode four. The backstories unfold, the crime-caper nature of the narrative kicks in, and the show is in full swing. Major characters, including Vaughan’s Yancey, who had appeared one-note until then, took on a well-rounded form, while others, who would continue to drop, assumed significance.

Being set in Miami and the Bahamas, the show, like many contemporary Hollywood projects, boasts a cast of diverse ethnicities, including White, Hispanic, and African-American. Rounding out the inclusivity roster is John Ortiz’s Roe – Yancey’s gay best friend, who is raising two children with his partner.

Aiming to be a comedy and starring Vince Vaughn, it’s ironic that the jokes are the chink in its armor. Vaughn’s motor mouth goes into overdrive, but the laughs are few and far between when his character becomes annoying. Redemption for Yancey then lies in his stubborn adherence to morality. His insistence on doing good and acting like a ‘world cop’ became his endearing traits.

A fixed | from ‘Bad Monkey’ Photo credit: Apple TV

Even better is how Yancey’s steadfast core contrasts beautifully with Michelle Monaghan’s performance as her questionable on/off partner Bonnie. His moral awakening about accountability is a pleasant surprise of the show. Other surprises are also served up by the two female characters – Natalie Martinez’s Rosa Campesino and Jodie Turner Smith’s Dragon Queen – with their fleshed-out character arcs, working in the show’s favor as well.

Also helping the story for good measure are its villains. While most shows deploy ‘evil’ villains as a simple means, the primary emotions that drive the antagonists are bad monkey Greed is born from mutual misery. Greed, an emotion more basic to man than evil, makes its villain bad monkey related to

It goes without saying bad monkey is brimming with innovation. The show has a lot of flaws that are made up for in an organic way to an extent where the narrative threads come together nicely towards the end. The fun lies in the discovery that a show that started on a middling note and lingered halfway through, manages to pull its act together in the latter half — something achieved with a little trickery with the story, much like the original Badass that the title ultimately demands. not

Bad Monkey is available to stream on Apple TV