The Muppets
Right out of the gate, let me just say that The Muppets is everything I could have hoped it would be. Yeah, sure, part of my job is writing a detailed review leading up to if it was good or not, but there hasn’t been a true-to-form Muppet movie in 27 years and rather than have you readers wait another minute, I thought I’d just get to the point and say “See it”.
Now, hopefully you’ve stuck around for this second paragraph and beyond so I can explain why. I want make it known that I very much enjoyed some of the post-Jim Muppet movies like The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island, but these were adaptations. Muppets from Space was less than stellar and the few TV specials they’ve made since then were disappointing.
Enter Jason Segel.
Never one to deny his rabid fanboy-ism, Segel’s script treats the foam-made icons with the balance of silly kid-fun and smarter adult humor found in the original movies and on The Muppet Show.
Brothers Gary (Segel) and Walter (a new Muppet) are as close as can be, but Walter always knew he was different. Walter found a comfort when watching The Muppet Show, so when an opportunity for Walter, Gary and Gary’s fiance Mary (Amy Adams) to travel to Los Angeles presents itself, their first stop is to visit the Muppet Studios in Hollywood. Unfortunately, the Muppet gang have long since gone their separate ways and the studios have fallen into disrepair. Circumstances force Walter and Gary to convince Kermit and the gang to reunite in order to save the studio from a greedy oil baron and regain the fame and friendships they once knew.
The truth is that the plot isn’t exactly original, but it doesn’t much matter in this case, which is something you won’t often hear me say. Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller’s writing and James Bobin’s direction all have a way of mirroring 1984’s The Muppet’s Take Manhattan, bringing much of the humor and heart from the original Muppet movies to a fresh film audience. Guest star cameos lend themselves to the tradition as well, with kid favorites like Jack Black and Selena Gomez or more mature faces like Alan Arkin and Judd Hirsch.
Embracing music has always been a hallmark of Kermit and his pals, so it shouldn’t come to anyone’s surprise to find this Muppet movie full of musical numbers. The opening scene seamlessly marries a Pee Wee’s Big Adventure-like montage to a Music Man-like sing and dance number. Later on we get a Muppet-rendition (cleaned up a bit of course) of Cee-Lo Green’s F&#k You. And what Muppet movie would be complete without Rainbow Connection, so that’s here too and it’s just as touching to me now as it was 30 years ago when I first heard it.
It’s not all easy being green though. Amy Adams gets a song in the second act that just seems to slow things down. Even worse is a rap number by the oil tycoon, played by Chris Cooper, which comes off as forced. Instead of tastefully appealing to a wider musical audience, it just comes off as a terrible cliché that is almost grating to watch.
They’re both easy to forgive though. As a whole, the movie is very entertaining, full of nostalgia for parents and grandparents who grew up with Jim Henson’s wonderful characters and with plenty of goofy slapstick fun for the kids. This film is a reboot worthy of the franchise and of its ticket price. I can only hope that any inevitable sequel will be treated with as much care and respect as Segel and Bobin have given this one, though perhaps with a smarter, fresher plot. The Muppets is the perfect Thanksgiving holiday movie for the family, so try not to eat so much that you miss your showtime.
