Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller's The Muppets is one of the best all-ages films in recent memory. Clearly coming from their collective love of the Muppets, Segel manages to find the balance between capturing the old charm while injecting new sensibilities creating a new charm as well. It's a great film for old fans feeling nostalgic and new kids looking for some funny puppets.
It actually seems at times to be geared a bit more toward the older crowd, often with subtle humor that is incredibly funny that probably won't be amusing to kids. One of my personal favorite jokes (which I only just caught for the first time) is when, during the show, a bunch of celebrities show up to take the phone calls. Neil Patrick Harris answers a phone during the shot and says, "Yeah, I don't know why I'm not hosting this." Then again, there's plenty for the kids, like Fozzie's discovery of "Fart Shoes." (Ok, so that one might also be for adults as well.) There's also a lot of breaking the fourth wall. In one scene, Gonzo hits a self-destruct button on his toilet factory. The explosion happens off screen but is immediately followed jokes about how expensive that explosion looked. Even earlier than that, Amy Adams responds to Kermit's refusal to put on a show with, "This is going to be a really short movie."
The humor is great for everyone. Additionally, there are some pretty great musical numbers. In the first couple minutes, we're treated the huge musical number "Life's a Happy Song." Though there aren't a ton of musical numbers, they stand out. "Me Party" and "Man or a Muppet" are both extremely clever. It becomes apparent very quickly that the songs have been written by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame (this is especially apparent in "Man or Muppet").
A good chunk of the time will be identifying all of the cameo appearances, both celebrity wise and Muppet wise. Pretty much everyone is in it. Apart from the awesome core cast of Jason Segel, Amy Adams, and Chris Cooper, there are also the cameos from Rashida Jones, Jack Black, Leslie Feist, Zack Galifianakis, Mickey Rooney, Emily Blunt, and a hilarious, Animal-dressed Dave Grohl. At other times, you get a little stuck trying to figure out who some of the Muppets are.
The story involves Gary and his girlfriend Mary taking Gary's brother Walter to Los Angeles. There, they take a tour of the old Muppet Studios. It's been almost thirty years since the Muppets last put on a show. The gang is broken up and spread all throughout the country; the studio is broken down and the buildings are condemned. This is a world where the Muppets have been forgotten and are no longer popular. During the tour though, Walter overhears oil tycoon Tex Richman discussing plans to buy the property and demolish the Muppet Studios to drill for oil. Richman is a typical, simple villain for the most part, right down to his maniacal laugh (which is literally just him saying, "Maniacal laugh!")
In order to save the Muppet Studios, Kermit must get the gang back together and put on one more show. Doing so will raise money to keep the property. In this way, the film is almost literally a love letter to the old Muppet Show. It's a film about the Muppets and more specifically, the Muppet Show. Of course, in the end they save the studio, Walter finds his place among the Muppets, Mary and Gary get engaged, and even Tex Richman finally learns to laugh (albeit from a head injury during the credits).
As someone raised on Muppets movies, it's nice to see the birth of a new generation of Muppet fandom. To say that the Muppets are just kids fare has always been a bit inaccurate. The Muppets are and always have been a family affair. The Muppets is a perfect example of this.
No comments:
Post a Comment