Bad Monkey: Season 1 – Review

Plot Summary

In “Bad Monkey,” we follow Andrew Yancy, a former Miami detective downgraded to Key West. His career is in flux after an affair led to him losing his cool. Now, while potentially losing his badge, he finds himself enthralled with a case in which his former partner, Rogelio, dropped in his lap, where a local fisherman found an arm.

Unbeknownst to Yancy, as he is often called, this arm belongs to someone involved in murder, scams, a crazy wife, and the gentrification of an island to make a resort.

Review

Our Rating: Positive (Watch This) | 80/100

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Highlights

Natalie Martinez and Vince Vaughn’s Chemistry

Natalie Martinez, who plays Rosa, the medical examiner for Miami Metro, ends up joining Yancy’s investigation as she seeks something more stimulating than dealing with the end result of the crimes detectives investigate. Rosa could easily have become stuck as Yancy’s love interest, but Martinez pushes her to be far more than that by matching wits and being an excellent scene partner for Vaughn.

I’d even say, while Vaughn unquestionably deserves to be lead and reminds you of why he was a go-to for many years, it is as Yancy, doing scenes with Rosa, that we truly get to see his abilities as a leading man and a giving co-star. Rosa has her own journey, from the perfect child to messing around with someone like Yancy, who courts good trouble. Never mind, by the end of the season, realizing the next phase of her journey may need to be solo as she gets off the hamster wheel and realizes she needs to not only explore the world but who she is when not trying to please, live up to some standard, or make someone proud of her.

Her interactions with Yancy may have been the initial pull, but you can see the writers really wanted to put her somewhere on even footing, and with Martinez’s talent, she made sure Rosa did just that.

Andrew Being Annoying But Lovable

If you’ve seen a Vince Vaughn character, Yancy isn’t all that different. He is a motor mouth with questionable timing for adding his two cents, generally believes he is right, and is more than willing to dance around directly telling you he told you so, but as annoying as he can get, he balances this out.

Nearly every character you can mention that shares a scene with Yancy benefits even if he is going a mile a minute. As noted when it came to Vaughn with Martinez, there is a give-and-take there, so you don’t just remember the character but may take an interest in who plays the character. I would even say, even when it comes to some characters who may make your eyes roll whenever they appear,  Yancy can be the silver lining because Vaughn’s shtick still works.

Nick and Eve’s Story and Role As Antagonists

The season’s villains are Nick and Eve, and you’d think that with “Bad Monkey” leaning more toward being a crime comedy rather than a crime drama, they would be buffoons or stereotypes that would be more insulting than appealing. That isn’t the case at all. Nick and Eve are made to be formidable villains without fitting into any trope you think they would.

Nick isn’t some kind of mobster, cold-blooded killer, or someone who stumbled into his situation. He is smart in what he knows, but he sometimes struggles in matters of love and relationships. Eve is the perfect example of that since, to make her happy, he sometimes sacrifices his relationship with his daughter. Yet, there is this push and pull there between you recognizing his kid, Caitlin, was nearly grown and he did his best to raise her, but he is also someone who only had one friend, and with said friend being married, you can imagine the envy and loneliness that caused.

Then, with Eve, she is the worst in the best way. She is selfish, backstabbing, and enjoys banter but will reassert that she is in a power position. She is the epitome of a love-to-hate type of character, and some of her best scenes aren’t when she is at her worst but when she interacts with characters like Gracie, who she tries to befriend.

Rogelio

Rogelio has dry humor and can be a bit stoic or genuinely annoyed when it comes to Yancy’s antics, so there are times when he seems like a wild card. Yes, Yancy is the man who was there for him when he got divorced and started dating men, and his children love him, but Yancy is also a threat to his livelihood, his pension, and his means of contributing to his household.

So as Yancy gets deep into his investigation against Eve and Nick, to the point of going against superioers and rubbing many the wrong way, you’ll look at Rogelio sideways. Especially since he is the one who got Yancy onto this train, yet he expects him to pull the hand brake.

On The Fence

The Dragon Queen & Neville

When introduced to Neville, there is a push to see him as almost an equal to Yancy. His storyline in the islands connects to Yancy’s, and he ends up on a collision course. If Yancy isn’t featured, it is because we’re focused on Neville’s universe, but the problem is there is a huge drop going from Vince Vaughn to Ronald Peet. There isn’t the same charm or humor, and nothing would push the need to take note of him. At best, he is a medium for characters like Gracie, better known as The Dragon Queen.

But, with her being a supporting role, as much as Jodie Turner-Smith has presence and range, she is limited in what she can do. Her arc begins as a means to help Neville fight losing his home and many people their lives on the island, and while things evolve and we get to know Gracie, the woman behind The Dragon Queen moniker, one could submit the storyline doesn’t have the necessary characters to hit as hard as it could.

Gracie losing her parents and being raised by her Ya-ya—all that could have been dove into when it comes to Yoruba practices, Gracie’s year-long transformation into the Dragon Queen, and more—you see the potential. Smith taps into that, but she isn’t the star. This ultimately leaves you with a compelling character dealing with the loss of parts of her island to outsiders, who is made to play second fiddle rather than get her just due.

Bonnie

Bonnie, the woman Yancy was dating or seeing and a factor in his career downfall, suffers a similar issue to Neville – you don’t see the hype. What is it about this woman that has Yancy? Is it some Elektra complex? Is Yancy a bit more morally grey than he likes to let on, and the kink of being with a married woman did it for him?

Let’s remove the sexual part from it. Was it because she pushed him to read, perhaps be better? Heck, remove Yancy; what is it she brings? Throughout the season, it seemed she was exiting, and yet she kept coming back like cockroaches despite you doing everything but setting fire to your home.

The Finale

The way “Bad Monkey” ends is far from perfect. Yes, it sets up a second season, which is wonderful, but how it wraps up everything feels bittersweet. It does end Yancy’s case in a way so that there is some form of comeuppance, but it doesn’t deliver that uppercut, that feeling that you have been rewarded for sticking around through the highs and lows.

It makes it so that, months after watching the finale, I almost want to sweep the case under the rug and just remember how much fun it was to watch Vaughn week in and week out.

Overall

While Vaughn shows himself to be a rare type of leading man who is an undeniable star while giving to his co-stars, between characters with untapped potential to those who didn’t live up to the investment given to them, at times “Bad Monkey” relies too heavily on Vaughn to make it through. But, because of Yancy, Eve, Nick, Rosa, and even, at times, Gracie, the blights and blemishes can be subject to selective memory, for there is far more good than things worth criticizing.

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