One of the most enjoyable series I've seen in years, BAD MONKEY is a perfect summer island confection of laughs, intrigue and danger. Vince Vaughn rules over the entire series in one of his best performances as Andrew Yancy, a Key West detective currently busted down to food inspector.
Based on the hilarious best selling book by one of my favorite authors, Carl Hiaasen, every one of its ten episodes spill clever, funny and haunting dialogue. As great as Vaughn is, and he's TERRIFIC, the surrounding cast assembled by show runner Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Shrinking) is just as good.
John Ortiz (Silver Linings Playbook, Ad Astra) is Yancy's former partner and best friend still on the force. He visits Yancy's humble beach side home and delivers a chance to look into something more like police work. It seems a dismembered arm was brought up from the waters of the key during a routing fishing trip. Yancy is sent to transport the arm to the medical examiner's office, starting a chain of events that only Hiaasen could infuse with so much laughter & violence.
Natalie Martinez (Reminiscence, End of Watch) is medical examiner Dr. Rosa Campesino, pulled into Yancy's orbit and the mystery of the arm.
Meanwhile on the island of Andros in the Bahamas, a short flight away, Christopher Stripling (Rob Delaney) leaves a trail of menace as he attempts to take over the island as part of his vision for a mega-resort. Tradition? Generations of ownership? Stripling and his new wife Eve (Meredith Hagner of "Joy Ride", killing it here) could care less, hiring local muscle to barrel over any objections.
Their efforts don't go unnoticed by the locals, including local Voodoo legend YaYa (L. Scott Caldwell from "The Fugitive") and her daughter, the menacing Dragon Queen, beautifully played by the intimidating Jodie Turner-Smith. She scares the hell out of every character in the show, but Smith makes her refreshingly multi-dimensional. A great character+great performance.
Ronald Peete is a blast as Neville, the young man who first stumbles on just how crooked and murderous the Striplings really are. It's his pet monkey that provides plenty of humor throughout.
Michelle Monaghan (Gone Baby Gone, Mission Impossible: Fallout) is a great add as Yancy's ex-wife, on the lamb for sleeping with one of her students and showing more flair as a fugitive from justice than anyone in memory.
Scott Glenn brings homey comfort as Yancy's Dad. Glenn's face and voice are unforgettable and I loved the scenes at his home.
I'm barely touching the depth of this cast. There's not a weak character or actor in the bunch. Hiaasen has always populated his books with unique, quirky characters as strange as real life. It's a testament to Lawrence and his creative team that they're all brought to life so effectively off the page here.
Over ten episodes that run from 40 minutes long to just over an hour, Vaughn pulls you through the case, delivering hundreds of laughs and more than a few powerful dramatic moments that leave you still.
From beginning to end, Hiaasen's words are delivered as narration by Tom Nowicki (The Blind Side), whose voice seems like the perfect comfort food to guide you through the action with laugh out loud comments on what's going on. For Hiaasen fans, it's like having the author on your shoulder making wry observations on the people he's created.
The series also has a distinctly "Sopranos" feel in the way that music is woven into the narrative. All the songs are covers of Tom Petty songs by artists such as Weezer, Eddie Vedder and Fitz and the Tantrums to name just a few. Brilliant.
Apple TV+ continues to produce some of the best content available over the past 5 years. Chalk this one up as another triumph in their cannon.
At its heart, Vaughn's Yancy serves as the heart & court jester of the complicated case around him. Vaughn has never been better and series don't get better than this.
Soaked in rum, sunshine and bullets, BAD MONKEY is a perfect binge watch and gets an A+. Just renewed for Season 2, I can't wait to see what Vaughn, Hiaasen and Lawrence have up their sleeves next time around.
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