The Muppets is a throwback in every sense of the word. The players are revisited from their 1970s origins; the style emulates fluffy cotton candy musicals out of the 1950s; the plot is taken from 1980s the Blues Brothers (“we’re putting the band back together”); the humor almost entirely consists of making fun of how dated the muppets are; and our non-muppet heroes? Gary (Jason Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) will more closely remind one of Ward and June Cleaver than, say Brad and Angelina.
And it’s delightful. Almost entirely. The big joke is Gary is big brother to an actual muppet, Walter. Gary, Mary and Walter all decide to take a trip to Los Angeles! Wow, how’s that for a dated plot? I mean, when’s the last time you heard anybody desire to vacation in L.A.? While at what’s left of the dilapidated Muppet studios, Walter overhears a plot to destroy these sacred muppet burial grounds and decides to take on The Man.
Taking on The Man seems a pretty good objective for a set of three-foot tall walking socks.
The Muppets is, if nothing else, a prima facie case in quality self-aware humor. Take for instance when Kermit disparages the ability to collect the rest of the old gang and Amy Adams mouths almost mechanically, “this is gonna be a real short movie.” I think there were about 10-12 jokes of this nature. Some of the better ones included “Travel by Map” in which they poke fun at adventure-movie journey gimmicks and an explosion which yields a chorus of “I can’t believe we had the budget for that!” (Even though, of course, nothing is seen on screen but the reactions). Part of the self-aware plot involves the kidnapping of actor Jack Black, who, in turn, shows revulsion at being poorly entertained. Oh, the irony.
Humor aside, the songs in The Muppets are probably the highlight from the opening number “Life’s a Happy Song” to the deliciously evil rap by Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), “Let’s Talk About Me.” I kinda hoped for more here and was slightly disappointed to have original numbers lost in favor of a “We Built this City” montage and Muppet covers of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Forget You.”
I’ve never really thought much of Jason Segel, but I’ll give him credit here. Not only did he help pen this silliness, but he straight-face sings, dances and drives as if there’s nothing more normal than talking to a hand-puppet. If The Muppets didn’t drag in Act II, it might be a film-of-the-year contender.
Rated PG, 98 Minutes
D: James Bobin
W: Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller
Genre: Animation?
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Fans of the original Muppet Show
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: “What the hell is this?”
