So with glee I traipsed to the movie theater this weekend with a load of family members to see the newly released "The Muppets" starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams. For the first twenty minutes I was perfectly delighted. It was funny and energetic, and the first musical number was a jolly treat. (Despite the obvious choreography editing to keep Jason Segel from "dancing.") After that, the magic petered out a bit (with the exception of a hysterical soul searching song about being a muppet or a man). The energy dropped off significantly, the celebrity cameo's were mostly wasted, Amy Adams was underutilized with her singing and dancing talents, and Kermit was a total downer. A DOWNER! How dare he.
But even after my indignation, I think most Muppet fans will like this movie, and a lot of other movie-goers will enjoy this movie enough to make it worth the price of the ticket. And wouldn't you know, much to my dismay, the movie got a 98% fresh on RottenTomatoes.com.
I'm a huge Muppet fan and have been suspicious of the gushing reviews. Especially when part of the premise is that Kermit has become a wealthy, gloomy recluse. That is a fundamental betrayal of Kermit's essence and I don't think I could stand for it--he was easily exasperated and sometimes melancholy, but he was alway resilient, always quick to scrape together a team of weirdos to save the day. Trying to slap a midlife crisis on him just really bugs me--it's as far out as would be turning Piggy into a svelte, demure wallflower. I was also iffy on the main stars--I love Amy Adams (don't know much about Segel), but the past Muppet movies have had human characters who were edgy (Steve Martin the sarcastic waiter, Mel Brooks trying to fry Kermit's brains, Charles Grodin trying to seduce and frame Miss Piggy....) and when I heard the main human characters described (they sounded like live action versions of Prairie Dawn and Scooter) it felt like they were trying to make the movie too one-dimensionally sweet. The Henson-era Muppets succeeded because they always kept their adult audience in mind, even while being goofy and uncynical. Anyway, this is very long comment for someone who's not seen the movie, but I think you've convinced me to see it on matinee prices, or maybe even wait for the dollar theater showings. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely go for the dollar or RedBox.
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