Hurried plot points, character discrepancies only flaws in latest installment of classic series
There are a few things in this world that people universally adore: baby animals, ice cream and the Muppets.
Naturally there are bound to be a few outliers, but without those social degenerates we would never have TNT dramas.
But rational people can all agree that the Muppets are nothing short of spectacular, and upon learning about this latest installment, I approached the film with the fervor usually reserved for a frozen pizza or unguarded cookies. Fortunately, my anticipation was only matched by my child-like glee once the film started.
For a children’s movie to be successful — artistically, not commercially, because God knows all that requires is 3-D and fart jokes — it needs to spark a feeling of reconnection with an otherwise suppressed inner child; Pixar’s “Toy Story” franchise is the foremost example of this.
“The Muppets” manages to achieve this through nostalgia and an appeal that doesn’t stop at capturing the attention, but goes deeper with clever humor and universal themes that engage a much wider audience.
The film opens on a cookie-cutter town that would only exist in a Disney film (think the opposite of Detroit), where Gary (Jason Segel) and his Muppet brother Walter (voiced by Peter Linz) live.
The two are enormous Muppet fans, bordering on life-devouring obsession, and when Gary offers Walter a chance to tag along on his anniversary trip to L.A. with his girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams), neither can contain their excitement. However, upon arrival they learn that the theater is in shambles and on the verge of being bought out by an evil oil tycoon named Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) unless they can raise $10 million.
Not ready to give up on their childhood heroes, Gary, Walter and Mary round up all the Muppets for one last show to raise the money.
“The Muppets” works for two reasons; the first and most essential to the film is Jason Segel’s performance.
Working with puppets can be problematic; it tends to lead to actors overacting and sounding generally cheesy. While Segel does fall into this trap occasionally, his extreme, genuine enthusiasm bolsters the film.
The second most important factor of the film are the cameos and “The Muppets” does a good job of finding new and emerging stars to include along with the more tenured and recognizable celebrities.
Critiquing this film feels a lot like kicking a kitten, but “The Muppets” did have some flaws that were too large to just completely ignore. While the film does an excellent job of setting up the primary conflict, it seems to hurry through the final act and doesn’t do certain plot points justice with the hurried resolutions.
As an enormous fan of “The Muppets,” there were times I felt like the script did compromise the integrity of its characters (Fozzie Bear being the main victim) to align with what is considered popular humor these days.
However, these are some small slights that will be quickly overlooked in favor of the irresistible warmth and nostalgia Kermit and the gang provide throughout the film.