Can there be too much Vince Vaughn?
After watching "Bad Monkey" you'll think so. You know, the guy with the quips, the man we first saw and adored in "Swingers." I love Vaughn, and I have not read the book, but I'd be stunned if the role wasn't tailored for him.
As for the book... It was written by Carl Hiaasen, who is not known for high brow material. And that's an issue throughout the series, the tone. Or maybe it's just that the tone is continually flippant, which makes it harder to engage and believe. It's a tall tale, and you're required to take it that way. Which is ultimately unfortunate, because we want to dig deep into the gritty side, when Vaughn as Andrew Yancy is employing all of his detective skills.
So this is a Florida novel. And I'll tell you, they make Florida appealing, in that the Keys are off the grid, their own state of mind. Speaking of which...
Steve Barnett hipped me to this Yeti sponsored short film about Key West:
"All That Is Sacred": t.ly/2BCWK
Does anybody remember Tom McGuane, who is still alive in Montana? Well, he was one of the hippest, edgiest writers back in the seventies, and he and his buddies ended up in Key West with Richard Brautigan and Jimmy Buffett and...
Back when writing the Great American Novel was still a goal, before income inequality made authors look like chumps, at best living off their jobs as teachers.
Anyway, they're all drinkin' and druggin' and fishin' and... If you were alive in the seventies, you'll recognize the mood, the groove, if you're a youngster today, it will seem totally foreign. Reminded me of being a ski bum in Salt Lake. Only in this case, these guys lived to fish. Check it out.
So I'm not talking about the Florida of Miami, but the coroner Rosa, does her work there. Rosa is played by Natalie Martinez, who's got an arm's length of credits but was unfamiliar to me. She's great, although I'm not quite sure I bought her as an MD. And she's reluctant to get involved with Yancy, the noted bad boy...
And Yancy is the kind of guy who is driven by the goal, forget the rules. He sinks his teeth into something and won't let go.
As a result, he's constantly getting demoted/losing his job.
But the focus of the story is the shenanigans of Meredith Hagner and Rob Delaney as Eve and Nick Stripling, a grifter couple who keeps testing limits, getting in deeper, with Eve expressing no guilt.
Yes, Eve calls the shots.
And, of course, there's Jodie Turner-Smith as the Dragon Queen. She almost makes the show worthwhile all by herself. She's confident, she's manipulative, you feel her power, and are concerned with her wrath.
So there are twists and turns and by the end of ten episodes I won't quite say you're exhausted, but this is not one of those series where you want more. There's just a twist or two too much. All of which makes it harder to believe. It's not Keystone Cops territory, but you're watching, you're not involved.
Not that the series can't be fixed. The Vaughnisms can be toned down. And his dad, played by Scott Glenn, is fantastic. Wisdom sans attitude, someone who's seen it all and is just trying to enjoy the time he has left.
And a few less pieces of the puzzle would be nice. It's almost like hellzapoppin'.
Not that I want to steer you away from "Bad Monkey," I just want to warn you.
This show got a lot of buzz when Apple released the first episode in August. In the ensuing months it has come down that people either loved it or hated it, or more definitively were angry that it didn't deliver just a bit more, that it stayed with the light tone.
And the funny thing is this series is driven by narration, which is rare, but is also the driver of the other Apple TV series I just wrote about, "Disciple." Adds a level of detachment. That can work, but can be overdone.
So the truth is life is meaningless, we're all looking for satisfaction, isn't that what the Stones couldn't find? And everybody in "Bad Monkey" is looking for their own satisfaction. Rosa is unfulfilled by her work and wants a relationship. Her sister wants to stop being subservient to Heather with the Weather. Sonny and the FBI just want to detach.
But ultimately "Bad Monkey" is just a ride.
When it could have been more.
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