Bad Monkey, on Apple TV+

Andrew Yancy tries to be laidback, but he just can’t do it. You would never confuse him for Jeff Lebowski, even though he has a Sam Elliott-esque narrator in the salty tourist boat captain, Fitzpatrick. On the other hand,, Yancy’s dad Jim is very Dude-like, but we must wait several episodes before we meet him. However, everyone is extremely Florida in executive producer-showrunner Bill Lawrence’s ten-episode Bad Monkey, based on the Carl Hiaasen novel, which premieres today on Apple TV+.

Yancy will be the first to admit he always compulsively does the right thing, but usually in the absolute worst way, especially when it comes to being diplomatic or politically sensitive. His crusader zeal got him transferred from the Miami police department to the Key West-(stone) cops. Then it got him demoted from a detective to a restaurant inspector. He might have gotten his old job back if he’d just made an inconvenient piece of evidence disappear for tourist-conscious police chief Sonny Summers, but he figured someone might be looking for whoever was once attached to the severed arm one of Fitzpatrick’s clients hooked in the Gulf.

It turns out there are no matching body parts in the Miami morgue, but Yancy finds Rosa Campesino, a medical examiner, who is surprisingly fun to banter with. Against her better judgement (and her worse judgement too), Campesino starts unofficially investigating the non-case with Yancy. Initially, it is not romantic, because Yancy is technically still seeing Bonnie Witt, the game-plying wife of a rich but abusive older man. However, their relationship essentially ends when an out-of-state cop turn up, looking to extradite Witt for a statutory crime involving a former student.

Logically, Yancy first suspects Eve Stripling, the very merry widow who shows up to claim the arm. He is not wrong, because Stripling is a truly evil and manipulative femme fatale. However, Nick Stripling is not entirely dead—just one of his arms. Having faked his death, he is trying to salvage his real estate development in the Bahamas. To that end, he bought Neville Stafford’s beachfront shack out from under him. Normally, Stafford is defiantly unambitious, but to reclaim his lazy lifestyle, he declares war on the Striplings, primarily by hiring the “Dragon Queen” to put a curse on the Striplings. Stafford also owns the titular monkey, Driggs.

Fans of Hiassen will be happy to see Lawrence and company finally get it right, making up for the bitter disappointment that was Striptease. First and foremost, Vince Vaughn’s sarcastic but likable persona perfectly suits the colorful eccentricity of Hiaasen’s Florida. As Yancy, Vaughn might even deliver his rapid-fire dialogue faster than in Swingers. Yet, he is consistently laugh-out loud funny.

Vaughn also has terrific chemistry with Natalie Martinez’s Campesino. She holds her own opposite Vaughn—and then some. The two of them put on one heck of a show. Scott Glenn adds a great deal of crusty charm as Yancy’s old man. As a bonus, it is loads of funs watching Yancy feud with Evan Shook, the sleazy developer erecting an eyesore McMansion next to his tasteful beach house and Mendez, the crooked cop who contributed to Yancy’s fall from grace in Miami. Played by Alex Moffat and Gonzalo Menendez, they contribute big Florida vibes, without descending into silly cartoonishness.

Into the Grizzly Maze: Hear Billy Bob Growl

Remember the Reagan commercial warning there might be a bear in the woods, so we should prepare for every contingency? Well, there really is a grizzly in this forest and he is super pissed off. Even Billy Bob Thornton might not be enough to stop him in David Hackl’s guilty pleasure Into the Grizzly Maze (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Rowan the recently paroled ex-con had no intention of telling his sheriff’s deputy brother Beckett he was back in town, but an untimely brawl foiled that plan. The only reason he slunk home was to find his old friend, Johnny Cadillac. The Native American guide had not been seen since taking a dicey group of poachers into grizzly country. As Rowan heads off in search of the buddy who is probably pretty darned dead by now judging from the prologue, Beckett’s deaf zoologist wife Michelle also ventures out to monitor some of the bears she has tagged. Although she refuses to talk about the years she spent in a Ukrainian boarding school, Beckett fell for her hard, swearing off hunting to please her.

Soon the remaining pieces of a group of illegal loggers are found. Basically, they are just a couple of hands still attached to their chainsaws, but even Sheriff “Sully” has to admit this was no boating accident. Slightly concerned, Beckett rushes into the forest hoping to find his wife and brother. Kaley, the town doctor who happens to be Rowan’s ex, tags along, so they will have a fourth hand for bridge. Unfortunately, once they all awkwardly reunite, the bear cuts off their escape route, forcing them to traverse the treacherous Grizzly Maze. Meanwhile, understanding this is one highly motivated bear they are dealing with, Sully recruits the services of Douglass, a weird creepy guy hunter, who has a particular thing for bears.

So yes, the bear is definitely the smartest character in Grizzly Maze. Yet, despite the conspicuous CGI grizzly attacks, there is a primal effectiveness to the film. The colorful supporting cast certainly helps, particularly dudes like Scott Glenn and Billy Bob Thornton. As soon as we see them, we know what to expect from Sully and Douglass, respectively. To be fair, the latter is given a bit of backstory, but it basically boils down to: he hates bears.

As Beckett and Michelle, Thomas Jane and Piper Perabo look suitably outdoorsy, but James Marsden’s Rowan maybe not so much. It is also a shame Adam Beach is so quickly dispatched as poor Cadillac. Still, Bart the Bear is fully capable of carrying the film as the predator known as “Red Machine” in some listings.

To recap, Grizzly Maze has a big honking bear, much death and dismemberment, and Billy Bob Thornton. It’s rather fun in a meathead kind of way. Recommended for b-movie fans with modest expectations, Into the Grizzly Maze is already available on VOD and opens this Friday (6/26) in select theaters.