WAUKESHA - There's something
wonderfully refreshing about "The Muppets," a
big-budget enterprise that is this sweet, sentimental and
sincere. The word that kept occurring to me on my way out of
the theater was showmanship. In an era of so many family films
that feel like technical exercises in 3-D animation, here was
a crowd pleaser that set out to win us over with good
old-fashioned wit and charm.
I'm the first to admit that I am in no way impartial when
it comes to the Muppets. I can still remember watching
"The Great Muppet Caper" over and over again in my
Hartland home, wearing out the magnetic VHS tape as I watched
Charles Grodin sing opera to Miss Piggy. So I went into
"The Muppets" hoping for a throwback to the
innocent, euphoric days of old. I was not disappointed.
This movie is so endearing and alive with creativity, so
committed to convincing a new generation of kids that
old-school song-and-dance comedy can still work that I'm
pretty sure I was smiling from the first minute on.
Unlike many of the previous Muppets films, the humans here
get equal screen time. At the center of the story is a trio.
Walter (Peter Linz) is the new Muppet living out his life in
Smalltown, a huge Muppets fan of dreams of one day visiting
the cherished Muppet Studios. His brother, Gary (Jason Segel)
is a human who almost seems like he wishes he were a Muppet.
Gary has booked a trip to California with girlfriend Mary (Amy
Adams) to celebrate their 10th anniversary. At the last
minute, he tells Walter that he's bought a third ticket; they
are all going to see the Muppets together.
What they find in Los Angeles is a Muppet empire shuttered
and forgotten. Muppet Studios is defunct, and an evil oil
baron (Chris Cooper) is thinking of buying and bulldozing the
lot and digging for oil underneath. The only way to stop him
is to raise $10 million in a matter of days.
Walter and Gary convince Kermit to round up the gang and
put on one last TV marathon to raise the funds. What ensues is
a hilarious reunion comedy, as Kermit tracks down Fozzie
(doing comedy in Reno), Gonzo (the CEO of a plumbing company)
and Miss Piggy (editor of Vogue in Paris) and convinces them
that America has not forgotten about them.
Sporting a half-dozen musical numbers that meditate on
everything from the joy of friends to the fact that deep
within all of us is a Muppet soul, "The Muppets" is
as much a throwback as its furry stars. And the movie never
tries to hide that fact. Sporting '80s rock songs on the
soundtrack and numerous scenes that speak to the old-fashioned
quality of a couple of puppets sitting around singing songs,
there's something novel about "The Muppets'" retro
appeal.
It's the execution that ultimately sets "The
Muppets" apart. The songs are catchy and brought to life
via elaborate dance numbers. The Muppet reunion show that we
see unfold - complete with numerous celebrity cameos - is
inventive and infectious. And the jokes here, self-referential
about the Muppets' age and the conventions of family films,
will strike younger fans as silly and older fans as pretty
smart and shrewd.
At some gut level, you ever love these furballs or you don't.
And I do. By the time the comedy came to an end, I realized I
could have kept going for another 30 minutes and that, to me
is the real victory: The Muppets have been revived, and they
leave us wanting even more.
email: snyderreviews@hotmail.com
