"Just be patient" might be the most dreaded phrase in streaming television, so when a narrator—scruffy fisherman Captain Fitzpatrick (Tom Nowicki)—utters it at the outset of Bad Monkey, it's reasonable to get nervous. Fortunately, there's no cause for alarm, as Bill Lawrence's Apple TV+ adaptation of Carl Hiaasen's 2013 bestseller hits the ground running and maintains its jaunty pace for the entirety of its 10 episodes. A breezy and amusing Florida detective yarn that has personality to spare and never overstays its welcome, it's a vehicle tailor-made for its leading funnyman Vince Vaughn—and one of the year's sunniest surprises.
In a role that plays to his every strength, Vaughn is Andrew Yancy, a good-hearted Miami cop with a pesky habit of getting in his own way. At the start of Bad Monkey, which premieres Aug. 14, Andrew's comical assault on the abusive husband of his current paramour Bonnie Witt (Michelle Monaghan) has gotten him suspended from the force.
This comes on the heels of another incident that resulted in his relocation to the Keys, where he's now whiling away the days sitting behind his house, staring at his majestic ocean view and the deer that roam his property. Those sights, alas, have been marred by the enormous yellow monstrosity being constructed next door, whose presence is so unwanted that Andrew can't resist repeatedly undermining the sleazy real estate agent, Evan Shook (Alex Moffat), who's trying to sell it. Andrew's attempts at luxuriating in peace and quiet are further interrupted by the arrival of his former partner Rogelio Burton (John Ortiz), who has a task from the sheriff that might earn Andrew reinstatement on the force.
A severed arm (its middle finger permanently raised courtesy of rigor mortis) has been found by a tourist fishing expedition, and Andrew's boss—not wanting another headache—wants him to take it to Miami to find out if it's related to any missing persons cases. Andrew agrees to this request and visits medical..
. Nick Schager.
