Friday, November 25, 2011

Movie Review: The Muppets


After a full day of driving and sitting and eating/gorging, sometimes you just want to unwind with some warm and fuzzy lulz. That's exactly what we did on Thanksgiving evening, watching The Muppets. I was taking a chance with this flick, hoping for some mindless fun and not a wretched train wreck. I grew up watching The Muppet Babies cartoon show and remember having The Muppet Christmas Carol on VHS but other than that, I'm wasn't too familiar with the original Muppets cast from the 1970's. I put my worries on hold though, after I recalled Jason Segel's awesome work with puppets in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Luckily, Segel and Kermit didn't let us down.

So the film...it's a movie about muppets. It's funny because it plays on the cheesiness/absurdity of human/muppet interaction. It helps if you have some vested interest in the muppet brand (nostalgia goes a long way) but not entirely necessary. We went with some friends of ours who have never watched the muppets before in their lives yet enjoyed the movie all the same. The characters constantly burst into song and break the fourth wall, reminding us that it's all a movie. It's one thing when humans give a wink wink to the audience but when Fozzie Bear does it with his mouth agape, it's awesomely entertaining. I won't divulge much of the plot, since that isn't really all that important anyways. Lets just say, the muppet crew has been MIA for years but get reunited thanks to Jason Segel's character Gary and his muppet-ish brother Walter (yes, the little dude in the blue suit pictured above is supposed to be Segel's brother! ha) who want to save the old muppet theater from getting destroyed. Amy Adams' song and dance numbers are still enchanting (see what I did there?!), Chris Cooper plays a gnarly villain and the dozen or so celebrity cameos should surprise and delight even the snarkiest cynic. Dave Grohl and Selena Gomez were my favorites. Oh, Gomez...

So if you have a soul and like smiling, I'd recommend The Muppets to just about anyone.

18 comments:

  1. That's a great movie!

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  2. I like smiling. I'm not too sure about the soul part, but whatever, I'll give it a try.

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  3. The Muppets! <3 Always liked those crazy fuzzy things as a kid and now my kids love 'em too... There are few things I think will be around until the end of forever, but The Muppets are one of them... Damn, I hope I didn't just jinx it. :O!

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  4. It does look kinda good, been years since I watched anything to do with the muppets.

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  5. I have to watch it!

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  6. It does look good for a change, compared to the last crappy ones with them. I will definitely be seeing it.

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  7. I suppose I'll check it out, for nostalgia's sake.

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  8. oh man, i have to watch this. :D

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  9. I've never been a huge fan of the Muppets but this actually seems like a really good film so it's seriously tempting to me.

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  10. This doesn't get released in my country till February 1st. :-/

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  11. I actually saw it last night but sadly enough there were a few kids in there that would keep making noises through the entire thing!!

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  12. Oh no not ANOTHER Mupppets movie?! Brings back those childhood memories :)

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  13. I saw this a couple days ago and it was pretty cute. :)

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  14. Oh YAY I'm so glad that you did a review on this film!! I'm even more excited to see it and not only for the Muppets but also for Jason Segel (love him) and apparently Dave Grohl- uh awesome!!

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  15. this is great news i think, ive been wanting to see the muppets :D

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  16. I remember seeing a preview for this a long time ago. I'm glad to hear that it's good. I'll have to see it when I get back. I remember watching Muppet Babies and always loved the muppet movies. My favorite was Muppet Treasure Island. I wonder what that guy's obsession with puppets is~ :]

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  17. Didnt know that people really love muppets. Sesame street creeps me out. And my kids are more interested in cars and trains now.
    But I will sure check this movie out, even if it drives me crazy like Drive , my kids would enjoy it for sure I think. Will let you know :)
    Thank you for the review

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  18. I actually won two souls in games of chance and I do like smiling. I'll add this to my movie list. Thanks.

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