Apple TV+’s Bad Monkey Wouldn’t Work Without Vince Vaughn

Apple TV+ is one of the newer streaming services but has been delivering hit series after hit series since it launched in 2019. The popular shows keep coming, with the latest hit, Bad Monkey, continuing the trend. The black comedy crime drama based on the Carl Hiaasen novel of the same name and directed by Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Shrinking) stars Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, a former police detective desperate to get back onto the force.

The series, which streamed its first two episodes on August 14, 2024, with new episodes released weekly through October 9, 2024, has already been receiving positive reviews. A large part of that comes down to Vince Vaughn, who nails the role, which seems to be tailor-made for him.

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Why Vince Vaughn Is the Perfect Andrew Yancy

Andrew Yancy, the protagonist of the series, is a former police detective. After angrily driving his car into the golf cart of his girlfriend’s wealthy but abusive husband, pushing him into the water, he is suspended. His new job? Conducting restaurant inspections. While he makes peace with his new role and is somewhat enjoying the peace and quiet in Southern Florida, he also yearns to return to the rush of his more demanding job.

Luckily, Andrew finds himself thrust back into the world of police work when a tourist pulls a severed human arm from the water on his fishing line. Through a series of circumstances, the arm ends up in Yancy’s possession for transport, and he sees an opportunity. Vaughn is known for being typecast in roles of fast-talking, sarcastic, yet charming and playful characters. From movies like Old School to Couples Retreat and The Break-Up, it has become his signature style. And he brings that same energy to this role.

From his towering presence to the way he intentionally tries to irritate the smarmy real estate agent Evan (Alex Moffat), who is desperate to sell the house next door, and his breezy, laissez-faire attitude, even in the face of extreme danger, it’s Vaughn’s character archetype to a tee. Yancy comes across as irritating to everyone, from his former partner and friend Rogelio (John Ortiz) to Rosa (Natalie Martinez), a beautiful medical examiner with whom he crosses paths. Yet no one can seem to resist his charms.

It’s reminiscent of so many other characters Vaughn has played in the past, and arguably the personality he portrays in real-life interviews and appearances as well. The character has a certain no-care aura combined with loud confidence, suggesting he can get away with almost anything. And he often does.

Interestingly, while roles are sometimes written with specific actors in mind, Yancy was written by Hiaasen in the 2013 novel as a unique character. There was presumably no expectation of the story ever being turned into a movie or series. Yet somehow, the character fits Vaughn like a glove.

Andrew Yancy Combines Comedy With Drama

While Vaughn is mostly considered a comedic actor, he has taken on some dramatic roles, too. One example is in the series True Detective, where he plays an intimidating career criminal. There are also movies like Hacksaw Ridge, where he portrays an Army Sergeant. In both cases, Vaughn proves he has the acting chops to do comedy and drama. But it’s dramatic roles with a comedic twist like Yancy where Vaughn really shines.

Movies like The Break-Up demonstrate how he navigates this shift from comedy to drama in a singular role. While the movie is a romantic comedy, there are some wrenching argument scenes that Vaughn delivers with convincing disdain. In the same manner, Yancy manages to deal with difficult situations, from someone trying to kill him to learning disturbing information about his lady friend, with a level of humor.

The fast-talking nature of Yancy is one element of the character where fans wonder whether it’s part of the novel or if that element of his personality was brought to life by Vaughn (and the writers) himself. Only those who have read the books featuring the character would know. But considering that Hiaasen’s version of Yancy describes his new job as a restaurant inspector as “Roach Patrol,” it’s safe to assume that the character is true to the novel series as well.

Hiaasen, for his part, is known to write novels that are classified as humorous crime thrillers. They all have eccentric characters and are designed as a satire of popular culture. This sounds like a perfect fit for Vaughn, a consummate pro at playing eccentric characters. In Wedding Crashers, for example, he is a divorce mediator who spends his weekends using false IDs to crash weddings and meet and bed women. In Dodgeball, he’s the owner of a gym who doesn’t pay much attention to it, leading to foreclosure.

Vaughn has a frat boy energy that has existed since his role in Old School, and that reputation has stuck. It’s the same vivacity Yancy demonstrates in Bad Monkey, whether he’s paying a pest control worker to purposely infest a house with bees to annoy Evan and mess up his viewings or guilting a veterinarian into saving the leg of an injured baby deer in the middle of the night, without being paid for his services.

There’s something endearing about Vaughn when he plays these iconic comedic roles. While Vaughn admittedly doesn’t stand out as much as a dramatic actor as he does in comedy, Yancy allows Vaughn to show both sides of the acting game. Even in the most serious moments, he manages to find humor. And in the most humorous scenes, he delivers everything with a dose of sarcasm, sometimes with serious undertones.

The “does things his own way” attitude of Yancy has Vaughn written all over it. Casting was brilliant in choosing him for the role, and it’s the main reason why Bad Monkey is performing so well. How well? With only five episodes released at this time of this writing, the series already has a 92% critics score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes and a respectable 75% audience score. Steve Murray of ArtsATL thinks Vaughn is too old for the role but still calls the actor an “always engagingly sardonic presence.” Marty Brown of Common Sense Media says Vaughn is “charming if you’re into Vince Vaughn.” Ruth Maramis of FixChatter Film Blog praises Vaughn’s “easy vibe and his gift for improv.”

Bad Monkey is the purest form of Vince Vaughn, exactly as fans would expect him to be in a role. Those who love the actor will appreciate everything he brings to the free-spirited, obsessive, troubled character of Yancy. And those who read the Hiaasen book of the same name will be pleased as punch at how he brings Yancy to life in a way that arguably no other actor could have. Stream Bad Monkey on Apple TV+.