The Muppets 2011
The Muppets are an interesting phenomenon, starting as early as the 50’s, making their way on to Sesame Street in 1969, but also the Ed Sullivan Show and early episodes of Saturday Night Live, before getting their own TV show and movies in the late 70’s before kind of going away again in the 80’s as the TV show ended its run and the movies were less successful. Then in 2011 a new Muppets movie was released, using that history as part of the story, along with subplots of an evil oil man, a romance between Jason Segel and Amy Adams, and a story about two brothers, one a muppet and one human. They needed to cram a lot in since none of those are enough to support the whole movie. I recently went back and watched The Muppet Movie from 1979 and was a little disappointed, but I am glad I saw it since this movie references that one a few times. In some ways it also follows that formula, with cameos, self-aware humor, a road trip, and a big show.
With all of the plotlines and themes keeping things busy, and some decent jokes, this movie is entertaining, but still not great. The Muppet characters (Kermit, Piggy, and a new character named Walter) explore their feelings more but the movie is still a little flat with a lot of tired cliches. Chris Cooper doesn’t do a funny villain very well (though I liked his maniacal laugh) and while Segel and Adams are fine, other human actors like Rashida Jones and Emily Blunt are just not that good. Even most of the Muppet stuff is the same old thing with Miss Piggy a prima dona, Animal just being crazy, Gonzo with the weird chicken thing, etc. Most of the side characters are just there doing their thing, but not building on it in any way. Maybe it is too much to expect, especially with a re-boot like this where they are trying to reintroduce people to the Muppets.
The Blu-ray extras are decent, but a lot of the interviews with the stars are just praising Jason Segel. It might be nice to have talked to some of the muppeteers about taking over after Jim Henson and Frank Oz. They even talk to stars who didn’t make it into the movie, and those deleted scenes are actually pretty decent, though you realize they had a lot of scenes and ideas, but still not a cohesive story.
Written: 11 Jun 2019
Owned on: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital