Bad Monkey Is a Beachy Crime Drama Drowning in Ted Lasso Quirk

As a seasoned viewer with over two decades of TV-watching under my belt, I must confess that “Bad Monkey” left me feeling somewhat divided. On one hand, the tropical setting, the intricate plot twists, and the colorful characters were alluring, much like a tantalizing piña colada on a sunny beach. However, on the other hand, I found myself grappling with some elements that felt a bit off-kilter, similar to when you accidentally bite into a pineapple slice with a pit still in it.

Bill Lawrence consistently creates characters with a specific profile. Known for his success in the 2000s with the surreal medical comedy “Scrubs,” and more recently for creating “Ted Lasso” on Apple TV+, Lawrence tends to favor protagonists who share certain traits. These are typically middle-aged men, often white and straight, carrying a significant amount of emotional baggage, particularly in romantic matters. To mask his deep sadness, this character employs humor, telling jokes, doing impressions, self-deprecating, dropping cultural references, and often presenting himself as if he’s hosting a talk show, even during supposedly private conversations.

In nature or my usual experiences, I’ve never encountered a character like this. However, in Lawrenceland, we have Jason Sudeikis’s Ted Lasso, transforming an underdog football club into a united team of winners despite being estranged from his own family and emotions. This character is Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) in the series Shrinking, a therapist and father who experiences a nervous breakdown following his wife’s death, which might lead to both personal and professional growth. Similarly, we have Andrew Yancy, the suspended police detective portrayed by Vince Vaughn in Lawrence and Matt Tarses’ Bad Monkey, premiering Aug. 14 on Apple TV+. This series is an adaptation of the 2013 novel by Carl Hiaasen, a darkly comedic, Florida-centric crime drama that represents a departure from Lawrenceland’s usual sitcom format. Unfortunately, like his recent comedies, the series seems equally enamored with its eccentric protagonist and just as exhausting in its constant quirkiness.

One effective approach in rephrasing the given text is as follows:

A previous Miami police officer, now living in the Florida Keys and temporarily banned from duty due to a violent altercation with his ex-girlfriend’s husband (Yancy), finds himself idle and antagonizing a pretentious real estate developer (Alex Moffat) constructing an oversized yellow mansion near his seaside residence. However, his tranquil life is disrupted when his former partner Ro (John Ortiz) arrives with a severed arm—middle finger extended—that was retrieved from the water. Though it seems like a shark attack, Yancy senses something fishy. Despite needing to keep a low profile to resolve his legal troubles and reclaim his job, he becomes entangled in the mystery. As others often remark, Yancy has difficulty letting go of things.

Simultaneously, about two hundred miles off in the Bahamas’ island of Andros, another tale revolves around a self-entitled real estate developer named Neville Stafford (Ronald Peet). A young fisherman who relishes the easy life – shared drinks with friends, carefree flirtations, and companionship with a lovable pet monkey – learns that his beach shack was sold by his half-sister to an outside investor planning a luxury resort. To save his home, Neville seeks aid from Gracie (Turner-Smith), a powerful witch rumored as the Dragon Queen. As it turns out, the show’s laidback boat captain narrator (Tom Nowicki) clarifies, “I’m not weaving two tales; I’m telling one.”

In simpler terms, the plotlines of Yancy and Neville don’t seamlessly intertwine as expected. The Black Bahamian characters in Andros are portrayed in a way that seems somewhat mystical and not central to the main storyline. However, Thuso Mbedu (who plays Yancy) gives a commendable performance, making her character, Rosa Campesino, more relatable despite her enigmatic qualities. Unfortunately, the author tends to develop characters who are not the charismatic leads as thoroughly as they do the protagonists. For instance, in shows like Ted Lasso, a gay character’s entire journey revolves around his identity, while a Nigerian character’s arc is focused on his connection to Nigeria. Similarly, mature female characters often find themselves waiting for their romantic interests who are significantly older, as seen in the cases of Jessica Williams’ Gaby in Shrinking and Rosa here.

It’s important to acknowledge that Bad Monkey shares some of its issues with Carl Hiaasen and the broader trend of TV adaptations. The characters Bonnie and Eve, portrayed by Meredith Hagner in a more exaggerated fashion than her role in Search Party, are problematic, using sex and dependence in ways that could be seen as misogynistic. The narrative voice is overused and frequently falls back on tired tropes, such as “You can only push a man so far before he decides to fight back” or “Trouble always seems to come looking for him.” The use of Tom Petty covers in 21 instances may have been more fitting for a Southern stoner story than an island-set detective series. Additionally, the series is lengthy, consisting of 10 episodes, with the finale setting up potential future seasons.

Long seasons on streaming services are frequently criticized due to the platforms’ desire to keep subscribers for extended periods. This criticism often focuses on insufficiently interesting plots, but it can also be due to unengaging characters that fail to hold our interest for numerous hours. In the case of Lawrence, one’s enjoyment of his shows is more about personal taste than quality. Many fans of Ted Lasso and Shrinking appreciate his quirky, melancholic talk-show hosts and their supporting characters on a journey to find midlife satisfaction. If you’re among them, you’ll likely find Bad Monkey and its eclectic group of island inhabitants an enjoyable experience.

As a movie enthusiast, I must express that I find Lawrence’s persistent focus on personal development, the frequent inclusion of therapists and philosophers in his series, seems to clash with the excessive quirkiness. It becomes challenging to extract authentic psychological depth from characters who behave inconsistently or irrationally. I can’t help but cringe at scenes like the one where our beloved, compassionate Rosa, inexplicably steals a “super-cute top” from a corpse she’s examining and wears it out for drinks. The climax of Yancy’s self-realization, when it eventually happens, feels as jarring as finding a waterlogged limb on the end of a fishing hook.

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2024-08-13 23:06