Kermit has always been my favorite muppet. And, quite frankly, it’s about damn time Kermit was back to center stage in the muppet circus. Here we get a double dose, as Kermit plays good guy and bad guy – hold a sec, I should preface that; Ricky Gervais is the Bad Guy, literally Dominic Badguy (“Ba-gee, it’s French” “oooooooo”). But he’s #2 to Constantine (essentially Kermit with a mole), the world’s greatest criminal. In fact, the two sing an entire number about their power dynamic.
Uncharacteristically susceptible to really bad suggestion, Kermit (voice by Steve Whitmire, body by Michael’s) decides to take the muppets on a bitchin’ Eurotrip and then wanders around by himself in Germany long enough to get Hamburgled. The plot here is the infamous Constantine escapes a Russian Gulag and takes the place of Kermit on tour. Constantine runs the muppet gang as a chimp would run a day care –“sure Gonzo, you can have your Indoor Running-of-the-Bulls sketch any time!” — while Kermit becomes property of Gulag warden Nadya (Tina Fey). Tina seems to be having the time of her life, and who can blame her?
The best part of the muppets is rarely the muppets themselves. I can’t say I’ve found the muppet gang more than mildly amusing since the original Muppet Movie. But what is funny is Kermit entering a Gulag prison population run by roughnecks Ray Liotta, Jemaine Clement and Danny Trejo and having everybody play along as if a green talking stuffed sock is to be taken seriously. One my favorite jokes in all of this is during a lights-out roll call when we realize (thanks to Nadya) that Danny Trejo is 
playing … Danny Trejo.
I always love self-effacing humor, and Muppets Most Wanted is full of it. There’s hardened lifers singing “I Hope I Get It” from A Chorus Line. Better yet, there’s the moment in which Constantine has to explain why Fozzie, Animal and Walter are missing. “They’ve left The Muppets,” he lies. The remaining muppets have a short discussion about how they made an entire movie about Walter becoming part of the gang. The discussion quickly turns into a lamentation: “now that seems like a waste of time.”
Every muppet film has great cameos, but this one really rocks – I think my favorite was either James McAvoy as a delivery boy or Chloë Grace Moretz as Russian newsie. I swear I’d love to be a celebrity just so I can show up in one of these things for five seconds and then watch people argue on-line whether they saw Rick Moranis or Jim Carrey.
Kermit, a bad hand has been dealt
An imposter, it seems in his pelt
Are the fuzzy guys able
To turn the table?
It’s amazing what can be done with felt
Rated PG, 107 Minutes
D: James Bobin
W: James Bobin & Nicholas Stoller
Genre: Cameo, with a side of movie
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Muppets
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: People old enough to remember a time when muppets didn’t exist.
