Viewed in
2011
Formats
Movie theater
Premise
Jason Segel and Amy Adams try to bring the Muppets back.
Loved
Muppet spirit, hilarious comedy.
Liked
Cute human performances, music.
Hated
"We Built This City"
Thoughts
Like most Muppet fans, this was a beautiful film that updated the franchise and maintained Jim Henson's legacy at the same time.
I didn't expect to get weepy at a Muppets movie, but I did. The scene of Kermit literally walking down memory lane just brought back so many nostalgic emotions for me that I couldn't help myself. Whenever the film echoed its past, like playing old show clips or the showed the old Muppet stage, it always felt touching and never forced.
At the same time, it made me laugh out loud, maybe more than I ever did at a Muppet project. In the vein of previous titles, it extracted every ounce of comedy from its crazily-fantastic characters, as well as poking fun of movies, musicals, and show biz. One of my favorite moments was when Kermit rejected the humans' pleas, and Adams sighed "Oh this is going to be short movie". The inside jokes were equally hilarious.
Quite often in "creature features", the human characters are second thought. Here, they were well-written and adorably performed by Segel and Adams. They were as squeezable as any felt character onscreen, and easily pulled their weight in song, dance, and comedy. Chris Cooper was deliciously slimey, and blew my mind with one of the greatest musical numbers in recent memory. Newcomer Walter was also very likable and instantly felt like one of the Muppets.
Much in the vein of previous titles, there were fun cameos and interesting song selections, including a barbershop version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". My only complaint was the use of that gorram-awful song "We Built This City", and I don't think it was done ironically.
I was way too hyped for this film, but The Muppets not only met my lofty expectations, they exceeded it effortlessly. Even with it wonderful tribute aspect, it had the right stuff to show off to the new generation that Muppet spirit of entertainment.
