12.21.2011

Knee-jerk review: "The Muppets"

1. We were the only person in the theater not seeing it with a small child.
2. We were also the only person in the theater seeing it alone.
3. We probably looked creepy.
4. Sweet and charming. And for Generation Xers who remember watching "The Muppet Show" in syndication back in the late 1970s, also a bittersweet nostalgia trip.
5. Which connects nicely to one of the movie's unexpectedly dark themes: a worry that one's glory days can never be recaptured or bettered.
6. We'd follow Jason Segel anywhere. Dude's way underrated. A minor genius.
7. Watching a re-enactment of "The Muppet Show" opening number? Goosebumps.
8. In a way, all you really need to know about this movie is that the arch villain played by Oscar-winning actor Chris Cooper raps. If that idea amuses you in any way, this movie is for you.
9. We always liked Kermit, sure (though we still can't accept his new, non-Jim Henson voice) but mostly just tolerated Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear. Real fans know it's Animal and Beaker that deserve our full attention.
10. It's a Disney movie, so it stands to reason that the film's "Muppet Theater" is really the Disney-owned El Capitan theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
11. We sometimes wish we could travel by map.
12. Strong original songs here, some tender and poignant, others goofy and ridiculous. None will be noticed by the Oscars.
13. As much as we enjoyed it, we probably liked the Pixar "Toy Story" short that preceded it even better, especially the way it cleverly skewers something that so richly deserves skewering: the cheesy, cheap, one-gimmick plastic toys that come with fast food meals.

1 comment:

  1. We finally saw it on Christmas Eve. I loved it. It was a walk down memory lane.

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