(Please note: the following blog was originally posted on my old blog
Why Yes I Am Quite Random, Why Do You Ask?, a blog I can no longer
access for some unknown reason. This is being put at the start of
each blog I'm uploading, in case anyone comes across the blog and
accuses me of plagiarism. This is explained further in my
introduction blog.
The following was originally posted on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at 9:31 pm )
After doing my three part blog on the
movies I saw in 2011, it gave me the drive to get out to the cinema
more often and get these movies seen as soon as possible, and also to
blog about each movie I see. Now, while I have been wanting to see
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows, that is not what kicks off my
film season for 2012. I'll get to it, but when you're organizing
movie days with friends, it's not so easy to get everything lined up.
No, I have something else lined up for the first film of the year
(and second, that will be covered in the next blog). What did I see
first off? Well, as you might have guessed from the blog title, it's
The Muppets.
I should preface this review by saying
that I never saw much of The Muppet Show when I was a tyke. A few
things here and there but it was never something I watched
consistently. Same with Muppet Babies. Now, Muppets Tonight, that I
watched and I really enjoyed it, and I credit that for my interest in
The Muppets. I still have to check out their entire film series, but
as of writing, I do have the first season of The Muppet Show in my
seemingly never-ending “to watch” pile, so that will tide me over
for the time being.
What's the plot? Well, Walter (voiced
by Peter Linz) is a huge Muppet fan, as is his brother, Gary (Jason
Segel). Upon visiting the old, run-down Muppet Studio, he uncovers a
plot by oil magnate Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to destroy the studio
and drill for oil if the Muppets are unable to come up with ten
million dollars. Walter, Gary and Gary's girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams)
seek out Kermit the Frog to explain the situation and stop the
drilling. This inspire Kermit to get the gang back together and
reclaim their studio.
Yeah, the plot's not breaking new
ground but I don't care. It's like the Super Mario games: the song
remains the same but that doesn't mean they don't tinker with it to
produce a different experience every time. After being away for so
long, it's just good to have them back in the limelight.
It's sometimes worrying when an old or
long-running franchise gets some new blood running the show, you
worry that they'll try and “modernize” it or do something for the
younger crowd, like dropping loads of slang or references to things
the characters shouldn't rightly know (I'd have probably come out
punching a Muppet display if they had mentioned twats like that Nicki
Minaj or Jersey Shore), it'd be like if Bugs Bunny teamed up with
Myley Cyrus, you'd have huge fan revolts for including people who
have no right being there. But it's like Jason Segel (who had a hand
in writing the script) and the crew knew this going in and kept that
feel-good Muppet charm. And that to me is how you go about it, it's
like remaking a song: you don't change the song to suit you because
the song may not work in that style and it shows arrogance. But you
can't change yourself to suit the song because you compromise your
own beliefs. Rather, you meet the middle ground and stay in spirit
with the original work while adding that touch that makes it stand
out. And that's exactly what has happened here, it's got the
family-friendly charm while referencing the changing of times and the
absence of the Muppets and the effect its had in entertainment as a
whole.
Staying with the family-friendly charm,
its so good to see that the Muppets can still be funny and keep it
clean. A lot of the humor comes from the constant fourth-well
breaking (“If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were reciting
some sort of important plot point”) and just the general madcap
world that the Muppets inhabit (like Gonzo having a remote with one
button, whose only function is to blow up his plumbing business. It's
even labelled Automatic
Destroy Plumbing Business Button!)
Now, one of the best aspects of this
film is how it wants to connect with its new audience, the young ones
who have never seen or barely know the Muppets. Through Walter, they
learn the basics of the Muppets but he also represents the lifelong
fans as well, since he and Gary have been watching since they were
kids. Walter, in a sense, is the gateway between the old and the new.
He has the fan mentality of someone who grew up with the show (fan
mentality in a good way, not a troll or stalker kind) but he's also
possibly the first Muppet for many youngsters, and with this being
his debut, he's new to all of us.
Walter is extremely likable and never
comes off as a creepy fan, which also heightens the idea that the
Muppet world leans toward the positive. Kermit never dismisses him,
he's never looked down upon or treated as inferior. In fact, Kermit
seems very eager to have him be a part of the show, which is also
something I praise this movie for. While he's always been nice and
non-confrontational, seeing that Kermit hasn't changed, regardless of
the way things have turned out. He's still as humble and dedicated as
always. And the fact the so willingly becomes the mentor to Walter,
even when Walter wasn't expecting anything, just reinforces why he's
so beloved.
And that's actually my favourite aspect
of Walter, too. He didn't get the Muppets back together just to
perform with them, and he didn't come with some big talent to show
off, he just wanted to save something he loved. He didn't even think
he should be a part of the show, he just wanted to help. Now,
everyone's going to have their own opinions on what make a true fan
for any franchise but I believe Walter displays one of the signs of
true fandom, in that he doesn't want to join, at first, for fear of
ruining something he loved. Much like his mentor, Walter is humble
through and through.
While the humans (rightfully) take the
backseat to the Muppets, they are far from useless. Both Jason and
Amy as Gary and Mary are positively wonderful and their relationship is so sweet and
innocent. While we're cheering Gary on in his attempts to help the
Muppets, we're still sympathetic to Mary's desire to get Gary to pay
more attention to her and maybe settle down. And displaying their
feelings through song, it makes them even more sympathetic.
Speaking of the songs, oh my stars and
garters are they fantastic! Life's A Happy Song is so cheery you
can't help but bop along, Pictures In My Head is soulful and
introspective, with glimmers of hope, Party Of One has Amy show off
the best dancing I've seen in ages and Man Or Muppet is both deep and
hilarious (also, Jason Segel's puppet double is awesome).
However, some of the songs also
contribute to a couple of the gripes I have with this movie. OK, one
song: Bad To The Bone. Yes, it's used to establish that one of the
minor antagonists is bad and they don't play it long but really, that
song is overused and I hate it. Whenever the song gets to the
“B-b-b-bad” part, it always makes me think of a helicopter for
some reason, or someone imitating one and for the life of me, I don't
know why but I hate the song regardless. True bad boys don't boast
about being bad, they let their actions speak for themselves. So piss
off with your song.
Another thing: what the Hell is Selena
Gomez doing in this movie? Does she even know who the Muppets are?
She's part of the generation that thinks “old sucks, new is kewl,
lolzor!!1” Hell, the first (maybe only line, can't quite remember)
mentions that her agent told her to be there, all with a look of
disdain on her face. Selena Gomez, leave the entertainment industry.
NOW.
Also, fart shoes. This movie has Fozzie
wearing fart shoes. That's just not funny. The Muppets are better
than that.
On the flip side, here's my favourite
joke from the movie: Rowlf's asking why, during the montage of
getting the Muppets back together, they skipped over his story. We
cut to that: it's Rowlf sleeping in a hammock, with Kermit coming up
and saying “You wanna get back together?” Rowlf says “OK” and
then it cuts back to the car with the rest of the Muppets, with Rowlf
giving a chuckle and saying “Classic”.
To say this is the ultimate love letter
to any fanbase is an understatement. If you are a Muppet fan, I'm
sure your favourite is there (mine were, and incidentally, mine are
Statler, Waldorf, Beaker and the Swedish Chef). If you're not, but
only because you know little of them, I urge you to see it. It's fun
and heartwarming. 4/5
No comments:
Post a Comment