(They‘re baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack…)
CAST: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, Walter The Newbie, Kermit The Frog, Miss Piggy, Animal, Fozzie The Bear, The Swedish Shef, Rowlf The Dog, Gonzo, Those Two Old Farts Waldorf and Statler, That Big Blue Sasquatch-Looking Thing, Camilla the Chicken, Rizzo The Rat, and more Muppets than you can shake a foam hammer at.
DIRECTOR: James Bobin
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and a whole legion of out-of-control puppets, er, Muppets -straight ahead….
And the hilarious GIRL WITH DRAGON TATTOO Trailer spoof by our lovable Muppets:
IT’S LIKE THIS: It’s been about twenty years since the Muppets were considered “hot” and “A-List”. Consequently, their current status on the pop culture radar is somewhere above “rolled-up blazer sleeves and shoulder pads” but a few notches below re-runs of “The Facts of Life”. Which, frankly, is not a good place to be if you want to launch a telethon to raise $10,000,000 to help save the Muppet Studios. Which is exactly what Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Gonzo, Animal, and the rest of the furry whackjobs plan to do. Seems a dastardly Texas rich man named, uh, Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) wants to raze the building to tap into the virgin oil well underneath it - and they need to raise the money to buy the building from under him. Only in a fucking Muppets movie would that even be suggested with the seriousness often reserved for International Treaty Signings.
Anyhow, determined to save the place they became famous at, the Muppets reunite and race against time to clean up the long-unused theater, round up celebrity guests, and sharpen their acts for opening night. Some of the preparation includes, but is not limited to: (1) The Swedish Chef practicing sounding unintelligible; (2) Animal practicing demolishing his drum set; (3) Kermit practicing spazzing out and fainting from fear; (4) Miss Piggy practicing screaming at anything that moves; (5) Gonzo practicing killing himself in various insane stunts; and (6) Fozzie practicing telling jokes that even my cats stoned on catnip wouldn’t laugh at.
Speaking of jokes: hey, Fozzie… I got a joke for ya: What’s long, green, and smells like pork?
Kermit’s finger.
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Everyone gets to pitch in - but will this award go to Walter, the newest muppet? Does he have some skillz that will save the Studio?
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Jason Segel as Gary, Walter’s real-person brother, is kind of cute. And so is Amy Adams as Gary’s fiancee Mary. But no one’s winning this award in this kind of flick. Unless you somehow have a hard-on for Miss Piggy - in which case, you best not let Kermit know.
MOST INTENTIONALLY HILARIOUS SCENE: Gary, Mary, Walter, and Kermit going on a cross-country trip to round-up all the Muppets from their, ahem, “day jobs.” Who would’ve thought Gonzo could run a plumbing empire? Or Animal participate in an Anger Management Class? But Miss Piggy working as the “plus-size” editor of Vogue? That, I can buy. Just call her THE DEVIL EATS PRADA.
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY HILARIOUS SCENE: Neil Patrick Harris complaining about Jack Black getting selected to host the telethon over him. Guys, take this outside, please…
HOTTEST SCENE: Miss Piggy and Kermit reconciling after years of hiding their love for each other. Am I sick to get turned on by a pig and a frog making googley-eyes at one another? Don’t answer that…
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: Will the Muppets succeed in raising $10,000,000 to save their Studio? Or is the ball-busting TV exec Veronica (Rashida Jones) really correct when she says the Muppet are “not relevant anymore”? How will Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, and the rest of the gang react? Will it discourage them? Or just make them even more determined to succeed? What happens when they kidnap Jack Black to be their host? Do they now have a chance in hell of succeeding? Or will Tex Richman have the last laugh? And the most vital, pressing, urgent question of all: what will Kermit and Miss Piggy’s kids look like. Shudder….
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “THE MUPPETS”: If you loved the original TV show and the subsequent films. And if you like musicals with large doses of comedy - or is that comedies with large doses of music?
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “THE MUPPETS”: If you don’t get the Muppets. If so, go watch THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO instead….
BUT, SERIOUSLY: I’ve been a fan of the original Muppets TV show ever since I was a kid, and I’ve seen all the spin-off movies based on the show. And as I grew older, my affection for the characters of Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Animal and the rest of the gang stayed strong. If anything, maturity led to an even greater appreciation of the Muppets - because I understood the jokes better. Much like the original Looney Tunes cartoon series (which I also love), the Muppets’ brand of humor was actually geared towards adults with a “wink, wink” attitude.
It’s this sly, knowing humor that is abundantly present in THE MUPPETS, the latest film in the series. Based on a script co-written by star Jason Segel, this movie expertly blends juvenile gags with more sophisticated gimmicks - with the latter being much more prevalent. Indeed, in the screening we attended, there were hardly any children in the audience, and mostly adults. You could argue that this is because the Muppets are, as Rashida Jones’ icy TV exec says in the film, “no longer relevant” and most present-day kids don’t know who they are. You could state that the people who made this movie a hit are the kids who used to watch it - and are now all grown up. And you might have a point. But I tend to think it’s also because the humor of THE MUPPETS is as sophisticated as it always was - and adults are tuning in to it.
The aforementioned Segel does double-duty as co-writer and star of this movie. He’s an engaging lead who blends innocence and smarts in an expert way. Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, Jack Black, and other recognizable stars in bright cameos, all match Segel’s energy and charm. They mesh well with the Muppets.
Speaking of those lovable furry puppets, they are the main reason this film rates a **** (very good) rating. The reason they are so popular is the same reason the Looney Tunes gang is so popular: each of the characters is not only hilarious - but also hilarious in their own, distinctive way. In other words, they have vivid personalities. Who can forget Kermit’s gentlemanly tentativeness, Miss Piggy’s melodramatic fire, Gonzo’s reckless charm, Fozzie’s goofball humor, Animal’s volatile energy, the Swedish Chef’s incomprehensible babbling, or the acid banter between Waldorf and Statler? Just to name a few…
Bottom line: this movie succeeds because the Muppets are just as funny and entertaining as ever. What’s even more satisfying is to see them come together as a family in their goal to save their Studio. THE MUPPETS may charm us old-timers more than the younger crowd - but you don’t have to be familiar with their history to enjoy them. The great thing about the humor is how it’s spread around to everyone. It’s not just the principals like Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie who get the comic-gold gags and bits. Even second and third-string players like Bunsen, Burner, Teeth, and the Chicken Squad get great exposure.
In the end, there’s never really any doubt as to whether these guys will raise the money they need to save the Studio. But it’s the exhilaratingly hilarious journey getting there that matters. And believe me when I say: it is indeed hilarious…
GO, GANG!
