The Muppets Review

The Muppets is an entertaining return to form for a group of characters that haven’t had the best decade. I love the Muppets and this film has reminded me why I love them so much.

Oh, Muppets, where have you been? Why has it taken so long for you to return to me? Sure, you made that terrible made-for-TV Wizard Of Oz movie, but the fact that it starred Ashanti as Dorothy is enough to make anyone want to slit their wrists in disgust. Not since the (also terrible) Muppets From Space has this gang of crazy creatures had a big screen feature film to call their own. Who would have thought that the guys behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall would be responsible for their big comeback and actually make an entertaining and moving movie that is deserving of the Muppet name?

The Muppets comes to us from a screenplay by Jason Segel and Nick Stoller and is directed by James Bobin (Flight of the Conchords, Da Ali G Show). These three people have created a film that is true to the spirit of the Muppets, but at the same time brings them into the modern day and isn’t afraid to point out just how much their popularity has declined since the late ’90s. The plot of the film centers around Walter, a puppet who loves the Muppets. His brother is Gary (Jason Segel) and he is in love with Mary (Amy Adams). Gary decides that he’s going to take Mary to L.A. for their anniversary and Walter is going to come along so that he can visit the, now defunct, Muppets Studios and see where the Muppets used to perform. While there though, Walter uncovers a plan to knock down the old Muppets studio so that an evil oil barren (Chris Cooper) can dig for, what else?, oil. It’s up to Walter, Gary and Mary to find the Muppets so that they can put on one last show and raise the money to buy their studio back.

What I’ve just described makes up the first 20 or so minutes of The Muppets and it’s easily the weakest part of the movie. Not a whole lot happens, there’s too much set-up and not enough Muppet. Mary and Gary aren’t very interesting characters, they’re really only in the film to kick start the rest of it, and if you look at their names you’ll see there’s only one letter separating them, which could be a joke on the part of the filmmakers, but I’m here to tell you that it just means that they’re dull. Walter is a little more interesting than the other two, but he’s the least interesting Muppet, so he’s stuck in a spot just being kinda ok. Once Kermit enters the picture though, things start to pick up and the film becomes a true Muppet movie with road trips and hilarity ensuing.

This is easily the funniest and most accurate depiction of the Muppets since The Muppets Take Manhattan. The jokes all come from the characters just being themselves and it doesn’t rely on constant pop culture references like the last few Muppet movies. That being said, you’ll definitely get your fill of pop culture if you’re into that sort of thing, but it’s all with a Muppetty twist. The film also features some decent songs that, while not very memorable, are still entertaining and will be sure to leave you smiling. Except for maybe one song by Amy Adams and Miss Piggy that I felt was a little out of place.

There are many special guest cameos to find sprinkled throughout the film. I won’t spoil them for you, but you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled because these aren’t the kind of cameos that draw attention to themselves. For example, one of my favourite rock stars shows up in one scene to play a song with ‘The Moopets’ (You’ll need to see the film to find out who they are) and that’s it. He doesn’t say anything, he’s just there, and I like that because it’s like the filmmakers put him in there just for me. If you see him you’re a fan and if you don’t then that’s ok because they’re not trying to shove his appearance down your throat. There’s even an appearance by some kid towards the end that I’d never seen in anything before, and Kermit looks at him and wondered why he was there just like I did, which was a great little nod to just how long the Muppets have been away and how they’ve been keeping up with popular culture about as much as I have, which is to say, not a whole lot.

The Muppets is an entertaining return to form for a group of characters that haven’t had the best decade. I love the Muppets and this film has reminded me why I love them so much. Their humour is wacky, they love to break the fourth wall and they’re not afraid to throw some more subtle humour in for the adults. The Muppets was a work of love by everyone involved and it shows. It may start a little slow, but stick with it and you’ll be rewarded handsomely. Maniacal laugh!

Aaron

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Aaron runs this joint and writes stuff, like this amazing biography. He likes geeky things. @aaronrosstwit

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