MOVIE REVIEW: The Muppets

Film: The Muppets
Release date: November 23, 2011

When I first heard rumors of a new Muppets movie I have to admit I got a little excited. The little kid inside of me remembered watching taped reruns with my family before going to bed. Every year we had to listen to The Muppets christmas album while decorating the tree, much to the chagrin of my younger siblings. They just didn’t get it, somehow The Muppets phenomenon seemed to end with my age group. Then the spoof trailers and posters started to come out and that little bit of hope and excitement blossomed into a full blown Muppet-mania relapse. I couldn’t wait for this movie to come out, and if was anything less than amazing my spirit would be blown to bits like Crazy Harry had been so many times before. The time finally came to see the movie and The Muppets did not disappoint.

The Muppets starts by introducing you to a new Muppet: Walter. He’s a human-esque muppet that lives in our world (well,except that muppets are real and people break in to song all the time). He and his roommate Gary (Jason Segel) are huge fans of The Muppet Show and take a trip to Hollywood with Gary’s girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) for Gary and Mary’s tenth anniversary. It’s made clear early on that Gary and Walter are very close, to the point where Mary doesn’t feel as loved as she should. Don’t worry, the romance does not take away from the amazing comedy. The three visit the Muppet Studios and see that they are run down and dilapidated, merely a hollowed out shell of their former glory. It’s here where Walter overhears the antagonist of the film, Tex Richman (Chris Cooper), reveal his plot to buy the studios and demolish them so he can drill for the oil that is underneath. Walter, Gary, and Mary now have to get the Muppets back together to put on one last show to raise the money they need to save the theater or it will get destroyed along with Walter’s dreams of becoming part of the show he loves so much.

Early on in the movie it’s made clear that the Muppets themselves exist as they do now, mostly forgotten by a generation of CGI and 3D loving kids. It’s this sense of realism that helps drive the story in a hilarious manner and sets up some really great situations like Fozzie singing in a Muppets cover band (with a Dave Grohl cameo as the drummer, dressed as Animal). The musical numbers in The Muppets are all witty and enchanting, even the sad reflective ballads sung by different characters when things come crashing down at the end of the second act. At no point in the movie was there anything less than a smile on my face. Loaded with celebrity cameos (my favorites being Jim Parsons as “Human Walter” and Alan Arkin as the Muppet Studio tour guide) The Muppets keeps you excited throughout, never really slowing down the pacing or jokes. All of the nostalgic characters jump off the screen in more ways than one. The fourth wall barely exists at all as the characters comment on the movie as it happens, leaving you with a sense of involvement and whimsy (maybe they are real!). The plot takes plenty of twists and turns, and doesn’t really end how you’d expect (except for finishing with a big song finale, of course). A true testament to the power of this movie was how nice everyone was leaving the theater. There were pleasant “excuse me”s and “no you first”s. Another moviegoer even smiled at me and held the door for me as I left the theater, and that is not something that happens very often. The Muppets may have been gone for quite a few years, but they still have the power to entertain and delight.

SCORE: 10/10
Review written by: Justin Proper

James Shotwell
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One Response to “MOVIE REVIEW: The Muppets”

  1. Lulu Rose says:

    So glad to see Kermit and the gang back on the silver screen! Such a cute movie. 
    Like Kermie? Check this out http://tinyurl.com/7pcaesg