The Muppets - Review

I think the first few lines of the opening musical number for this movie pretty much summed up my reaction after hearing that a new Muppet movie was in development: "Everything is great, everything is grand, I've got the whole wide world in the palm of my hand!" Okay, well maybe I don't quite feel like the world's in my hands, but news of the long awaited theatrical return of Jim Henson's legendary characters sure got me excited. As a kid, the Muppets never failed to make me laugh, be it the TV shows, the movies, or the television specials. What surprises me is how, as an adult, I still find them funny. Alright, I guess some of the Muppet productions haven't quite held up (the cartoon spin-offs and some of the later movies haven't exactly gotten better with age), but even the worst of the Muppet movies are, at the very least, entertaining on some level (Muppets From Space). Does the new Muppet movie live up to Jim Henson's legacy?

The Muppets, while more or less in line with the series' previous movie canon, is something of an in-continuity reboot. It's been well over a decade since the last theatrical Muppet movie, and since then the Muppets have all split up and gone their separate ways. Kermit lives a most secluded life in his Hollywood mansion, Miss Piggy is a famous fashion designer in Paris, Gonzo has become a plumbing magnate, Fozzie is the lead singer of Reno Muppet impersonation group called The Moopets, Animal is in a celebrity anger management group, and... the list goes on. When 3 Hollywood tourists, Gary (Jason Segel), his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams), and his Muppet superfan brother Walter (who happens to be a Muppet himself) discover a plot by a greedy Oil tycoon named Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to tear down the Muppet studios to drill for oil, they form a plan to reunite the Muppets to band together and save their beloved studios.

I'll be first to admit that the plot for the movie isn't really groundbreaking. There's nothing inherently bad about it, but it's just been done before. It's basically The Muppet Movie meets The Blues Brothers. In the end, that doesn't really matter because the script delivers on where it needs to. In other words, the movie is really funny! The film was mainly pitched by the film's star, Jason Segel. Apparently Segal has been a long time fan of the Muppets who co-wrote the script with Nicholas Stoller. Make no mistake, this is probably the funniest film I've seen this year. I admit that might have something to do with the fact that the comedy scene has been somewhat lacking in 2011, but I don't want to sell the movie short because I was laughing almost the whole way through.

As funny as the movie is, there are more than a few things to nitpick. First off are some of the non-cameo human characters. I kind of hate to criticize any of the non-Muppet actors, since nobody gave a bad performance or anything like that. It's just that almost all of the funniest lines and parts went to the Muppet characters, and whenever they weren't on screen, the movie lost a little steam. Jason Segal and Amy Adams are both good actors with great comedic ability but most of their scenes without the Muppets at times would lead to the occasional chuckle, but nothing more than that. Plus, the romantic subplot between the two was mostly unnecessary, tacked on, and irrelevant (although, it did lead to one of the more enjoyable musical numbers).

The other character I have mixed feelings about is Chris Cooper as the villainous Tex Richman. While Cooper was clearly having fun with the role, his character was pretty forgettable. He's little more than a generic evil rich person whose recurring joke was saying the words "Maniacal Laugh!" whenever he was discussing his evil plans. I can see that they were going for a tounge-in-cheek generic villain, but it didn't really work. He lacks the goofy appeal of Doc Hopper from the first movie (a fast food tycoon who sells fried frog legs) or the natural comedic abilities of Charles Grodin's jewel thief from Great Muppet Caper. These are relatively minor nitpicks, but worth mentioning nonetheless.

The direction is hit and miss too. Like I said, the actors are all mostly solid when you consider the film's tone. That might be perceived as a flaw in other movies, but with the movie's inherent hammy tone, everyone fits in pretty nicely. Still, some elements of the production design look a little too cheap and inconsistent. Plus, there wasn't a whole lot of visual flair to the cinematography. None of it is in-your-face awful, but rather just kind of meh. That said, the puppetry work is as solid as ever and some of the dance choreography is well done. Again, these are mostly little nitpicks that are fairly insignificant to the big picture.

There are only a few things a Muppet movie needs to get right, and this movie nails every single one of them. It's a back to basics and return to formula Muppet movie that succeeds in their signature sense of humor and storytelling. Were you hoping for catchy musical numbers? How about the characters trademark slapstick or fourth wall humor? Or maybe you're a fan of the celebrity cameos? This movie has all of the above. The music is appropriately catchy, the jokes are spot on, and the cameos are plentiful. It features a soundtrack of new songs as well as reprisals of a couple classics, Rainbow Connection and Mahna Mahna. The jokes are appropriately goofy but also clever enough to not be annoying. As for the cameos, Jack Black, Alan Arkin, Emily Blunt, Neil Patrick Harris, Zach Galifinakis, Sarah Silverman, and many others all bring their comedic charm for their brief appearances. It's a classic Muppet awesomeness the rings back to the glory days of The Muppet Show and the first movie.

In short, I loved this movie! It's not a perfect film, but it succeeds in everything it needs to. It's a fun comedic romp that both adults and kids can enjoy. All I can say is that it's great to have the Muppets back. Highly recommended!

My Score: 4 out of 5!