‘The Muppets’ Review
A Review by G-FUNK
Director: James Bobin
Cast: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, The Great Gonzo, Fossie Bear, Walter, Jason Segel, Amy Adams
Plot: Walter has always felt left out, due to being a puppet, with his only outlet being watching The Muppets with his brother Gary. When Walter learns that an evil oil baron is planing on destroying the old Muppet Studio he convinces Kermit to get the gang back together for one last show.
Review: Up until now when a doctor wanted to test for signs of life they’d check heart rate and brain activity. Now they can show them The Muppets. If they don’t smile they must be dead. This is a heart warming and joyous movie. Everyone involved in the movie – from the writers down to the cameo appearances – were clearly having a great deal of fun.
The Muppets are a childhood institution. There’s a reason why they’ve sustained a fan base over the decades – they are pure, simple fun with a clever undercurrent satirizing the entertainment industry. This updated version has brought the franchise into the modern era without losing any of the appeal. Jason Segel and Amy Adams represent humanity and they both fit in disturbingly well with their felt co-stars. They both revel in the opportunity to cut lose in the song and dance numbers. As the movie nears racks up it’s running time their side-story goes from a framing device to background noise – the movie would’ve felt a little more full if they’d been offered more screen time.
The real stars of the show are the Muppets and even without their original voice cast it’s as though they had never been off the air. The script is smart and funny, riffing on film conventions such as montages and ‘map-travel’ to comedic effect. All the classic routines are brought back amid musical numbers. You really haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen Cee Lo Green’s song ‘Fuck You’ being performed by chickens. The whole story is tied together nicely at the end with an endearing finale. The movie is also packed with celebrity cameos, some only fleeting (and therefor kinda pointless) while others are cleverly handled. When Walter sees himself in the mirror as a human I laughed my ass off for the remaining part of the song.
If there’s one complaint its that not everyone is going to see their favourite Muppets get all the screen time that you want to see. The movie could be extended by another ten minutes to afford time for characters like The Swedish Chef and Professor Honeydew to perform some routines. Nonetheless it is physically impossible not to have a blast watching this movie.
Score: EIGHT outta TEN
Of course that score will become 10 outta 10 if the Blu-Ray comes with an audio commentary by Statler and Waldorf.
