DAVE DAVIES, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. Actor Vince Vaughn, whose ability to toss off sarcastic, rapid-fire dialogue was established in such early films as "Swingers" and "Wedding Crashers," stars in a new 10-part mystery series premiering on Apple TV+. It's called "Bad Monkey," and it's based on the novel by Carl Hiaasen. Our TV critic David Bianculli has this review.
DAVID BIANCULLI, BYLINE: Carl Hiaasen specializes in lighthearted mystery stories that are set in Florida and populated by very colorful characters. You know the headline shorthand phrase Florida man, usually used to describe someone from that state who has done something especially outrageous? Well, Hiaasen's novels are full of Florida men and Florida women, too.
The larger-than-life behavior of those characters is one thing that distinguishes a Carl Hiaasen story. Another thing is the setting itself. The author knows Florida so well as a longtime resident that each book is loaded with references to local landmarks, foods, animals and annoyances. "Bad Monkey" - both the book and the new Apple TV+ series - serves up generous helpings of it all like a heaping bowl of conch chowder.
This Florida flavor permeates the series, especially visually. The action takes place in Key West, Miami and the Bahamas, and the palm trees and beachfronts are everywhere. In the sky, there are menacing clouds forming as a hurricane approaches. Underwater, there's the unexpected grace of a giant manatee and the stealthy patience of floating alligators. And on land, there are iguana, deer and one creature we hear about frequently in "Bad Monkey" but never see - the baby sea turtle.
When their eggs hatch, buried in the sandy South Florida beaches, the baby turtles find the sea by navigating by moonlight. But bright streetlights by the beach disorient the baby turtles. So Key West beaches are now illuminated for months by red lights instead. And some scenes in "Bad Monkey" take full advantage of that, bathing their action and characters in an odd and surreal glow - not that these characters need any help coming off as odd or surreal.
The most normal character in the entire story is Andrew Yancy, a Miami detective who's been demoted for bad behavior and shipped off to Key West, where he works as a health inspector for local restaurants. Yancy is played by Vince Vaughn, who plays him as a wisecracking charmer who doesn't care about much of anything. But he cares a lot about certain things, like the predatory real estate investors who are building a monstrous eyesore of a McMansion right next to his quaint Key West beach house.
And he also cares about being reinstated to his old job on the Miami Police Force, which is why, after local cops mention to him that a fisherman reeled in an unidentified severed arm, Yancy puts the arm in an ice cooler and drives north to Miami. He hopes to get the local coroner to match the arm with any dismembered corpses there. Yancy sees that as his way back onto the Miami Police Force. But Rosa the coroner, played by Natalie Martinez, is difficult to persuade, especially after examining the arm in her morgue as Yancy looks on.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SERIES, "BAD MONKEY")
NATALIE MARTINEZ: (As Rosa Campesino) Did you notice his watch is missing? You see this? If someone took that, you know, that could make it a homicide.
VINCE VAUGHN: (As Andrew Yancy) Yeah. Well, my sheriff is not going to love the word homicide. How about this? Maybe the shark that mangled the poor [expletive] also likes to eat watches. I mean, if someone took the watch, why would they not swipe the wedding ring, too? That looks like it's platinum.
MARTINEZ: (As Rosa Campesino) Look at you - making a good point.
VAUGHN: (As Andrew Yancy) That's not the first time. Ask around.
MARTINEZ: (As Rosa Campesino) You know what? That humerus is hacked up pretty bad.
VAUGHN: (As Andrew Yancy) Now we're talking. You know, maybe the guy went out fishing by himself. He's a lonely gentleman, and then he backed into the boat's propeller. That's how my grandfather died.
MARTINEZ: (As Rosa Campesino) No, he didn't.
VAUGHN: (As Andrew Yancy) Yeah. He's still alive - but, you know, could have happened.
MARTINEZ: (As Rosa Campesino) Yeah, maybe. It does look a little like a propeller wound.
VAUGHN: (As Andrew Yancy) Definitely propeller-like, if not all the way. Yeah, it's a propeller. You're good.
MARTINEZ: (As Rosa Campesino) Still doesn't make it my problem.
VAUGHN: (As Andrew Yancy) You're killing me, Rosa. Please don't say what I think you're about to say.
MARTINEZ: (As Rosa Campesino) Sorry - not my case.
BIANCULLI: But Yancy continues to follow the clues wherever they lead. And where they lead eventually is to the Bahamas, where he finds some greedy land developers and a Vodou priestess and a bush pilot seemingly addicted to conch fritters and so, so many more Florida characters.
These 10 episodes of "Bad Monkey" come from eight different writers and five different directors, but overseeing them all is Bill Lawrence, who created and developed the TV version. This is his third series for Apple TV+ after "Ted Lasso" and "Shrinking," and his other credits include NBC's "Scrubs." All three of those series made room for and even lovingly embraced misfits and eccentrics. So Lawrence is on familiar ground here even if the ground is a bit sandier.
Zach Braff, the star of "Scrubs," even shows up here for a few episodes. But like many of the characters in this TV series, I can't even describe their occupations, much less their relationships to one another, without spoiling some of the many increasingly pleasant twists and turns. But I can say this. In addition to Vince Vaughn and Natalie Martinez, other standout, playful performances here come from "Saturday Night Live" cast member Alex Moffat, from John Ortiz and Ronald Peet and especially from the supporting women - Michelle Monaghan, Meredith Hagner and Jodie Turner-Smith, who turns in my favorite performance of all. She plays the Vodou priestess called Dragon Queen, and she steals the show. In this scene from a later episode, she frightens a pair of real estate villains without raising a hand or even her voice.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BAD MONKEY")
JODIE TURNER-SMITH: (As Dragon Queen) I've been watching you. You've been busy bees, you two - busy building, busy stealing, yes, busy, busy, busy. You're thriving on my island because I allow it, but it can all go away with a whisper.
BIANCULLI: "Bad Monkey" isn't a great series, but it's fun. It gets better as it goes along. And even those who already read the book will be surprised in spots because some of the characters in this TV series meet different fates than in the book. And speaking of books, Hiaasen wrote a sequel to "Bad Monkey" called Razor Girl, featuring the same character of Andrew Yancy. So if viewers and Vince Vaughn have an appetite for more, there's already another source novel on the shelf.
DAVIES: David Bianculli is a professor of television studies at Rowan University. He reviewed the new series "Bad Monkey" on Apple TV+. To find out what's happening behind the scenes of our show and get our producers' recommendations for what to watch, read and listen to, subscribe to our free newsletter at whyy.org/freshair. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Roberta Shorrock, Ann Marie Baldonado, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Susan Nyakundi and Joel Wolfram. Our digital media producers are Molly Seavy-Nesper and Sabrina Siewert. Thea Chaloner directed today's show. For Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley, I'm Dave Davies.
(SOUNDBITE OF BUCKY PIZZARELLI AND THE JOHN PIZZARELLI TRIO'S "THREE LITTLE WORDS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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