Florida noir? “Bad Monkey” nails it

There’s a genre that we might call “Florida noir” and “Florida Gothic.”
Or we might not. “Noir” and “Gothic” imply darkness and gloom; Florida implies blue skies, clear water and open possibilities.
That contrast helps propel these tales. They include some of the novels by Carl Hiaasen, Dave Barry and Elmore Leonard and occasional mini-series. Last year was Netflix’s “Florida Man”; now the delightful “Bad Monkey,” with Vince Vaughn (shown here) is Wednesdays on Apple TV+, starting Aug. 14.
In real life, we’re told, Florida might be sort of standard Americana. It’s a home of Mickey Mouse, Harry Potter, Cape Canaveral, spring training and the Orange Bowl.
But this genre focuses on other types – offbeat outsiders who move to Florida for its aura of sunny chaos, or Florida natives who overindulge.
Humor is rampant – and doubles up here. This is from a novel by Hiaasen and is adapted by Bill Lawrence, creator of such comedies as “Scrubs” and “Cougar Town.” Vince Vaughn – a master of verbal comedy – stars; Zach Braff (the “Scrubs” star) arrives in the third episode.
Vaughn plays Yancy, who — in the tradition of all fictional crimesolvers – is down on his luck and alone. He attracts lots of women, some good and some truly awful, and is slow to discern the difference.
Soon, he’s propelled into a case hat starts with a stray arm. He comes across killers, schemers and two sets of evil developers; Hiaasen, we’ll assume, is not a fan of Florida gentrification.
The result is sometimes loud, sometimes violent, often profane and generally entertaining. And it expands the genre slightly by adding the Bahamas, pseudo-voodoo and a bad monkey.
Okay, that makes it Florida/Bahamas Gothic noir, a weird and appealing mix.