Jason Segel and his Hollywood friends had quite a difficult task in front of them. How do you take a franchise that’s both beloved and woefully outdated and make it compelling for audiences both old and new? And make it not suck?
Jason Segel and his Hollywood friends had quite a difficult task in front of them. How do you take a franchise that’s both beloved and woefully outdated and make it compelling for audiences both old and new? And make it not suck?
Here’s the thing: Segel followed The Brady Bunch Movie model. You don’t change the characters, they are who and what they are, but they are out of time and place. They don’t belong in this modern world. Who the hell wants unironic humor in the land of Twitter and Kardashians? And do we really want to live in that world? Oh wait, no choice. Anyway, that’s the point of the movie, and why it works. The movie tackles those questions head on, and answers them.
The story follows Muppet Walter and his brother Gary (Jason Segel) on their vacation to tour Muppet studios where they discover there is a plot afoot to destroy the studio and get the oil underneath by evil oil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) The Muppets need to get back together to save their studio!
The cameos are both fresh and funny and don’t feel shoehorned in. They feel organic, with a few exceptions, and Jack Black does a fantastic job. He pulls off what every good Muppets cameo needs: You never, ever treat a Muppet like it’s not a real character.
The humor is both kid friendly and adult friendly (Thank God) and my favorite new character being “80’s Robot”. There is no way any child in the audience will get his jokes unless their parents own an arcade with Space Invaders and Galaga and still login to CompuServe via their phone line. Notable omission: Clueless Muppet crooner Johnny Fiama and his monkey valet/bodyguard Sal. No Sopranos jokes? Oh, well, next time. Missed ya, fellas.
If you grew up with The Muppets and watched the show with your parents and laughed together, you will be overcome with nostalgia as you watch the movie with your own kids and share the same experience. My daughter loved it as much as my wife and I did, even if, being six, she didn’t get 80’s Robot’s jokes.
Sure, there are some slow parts and the Disney brand machine with CARS 2 billboards everywhere is incredibly annoying, but these are nitpicks at best. What you have is a great family film with characters you either grew up with or found on YouTube, and one film you won’t mind watching a few times with your own children. Even if it’s 10 years from now.
The long and short of it is that the Muppets are in true form, and we’ve missed them. Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzy, and the rest look great, haven’t changed, even though everything around them has. And that’s entertaining, compelling, and even a little comforting.
This movie is both nostalgic, modern, and post modern all at the same time, with a healthy dose of actual funny. Sometimes it just takes the right artist to do the right thing at the right time. And Jason Segel pulled it off. Jim Henson would be proud. Well done.
—Chris Mancini