The Muppets follows Walter, Gary and Mary and their trip from their hometown, Smalltown, to the big city of L.A. where they hope to meet with the Muppets, only to find that they have all gone their separate ways. Yet an evil plot is afoot by an evil oil baron to destroy the Muppet studios to drill for oil, Kermit and co. can’t let that happen, so begins the madness.
THE ACTORS
Jason Segel is great as Gary, the man split between his love for his brother and his love for his girlfriend of 10 years. Segel as per usual brings his A game with flawless delivery of the jokes and serious dialogue. Also, who knew he had a decent set of lungs on him, multi-talented bastard.
Amy Adams is equally as great as Mary, the girl who just wants to be happy with her boyfriend yet doesn’t want to split him up from his brother. Adams had to deliver on all fronts here to be convincing, she had to show inner turmoil without getting too dark and broody, she pulled it off with the help of a musical number, hey it is a Muppet movie after all!
That is pretty much it for the main human cast and besides a very sexy Rashida Jones and a hilarious Chris Cooper, who does an amazing rap song, the rest of the humans featured are cameos.
THE DIRECTOR
The Muppets is director James Bobin’s big screen directorial debut and i have to say, he pulled it off with style. It was always going to be hard to film a Muppets movie with camera angles being restrictive and such but Bobin pulls it off perfectly. Some inventive shots stop the film from becoming a boring, same shot film and turn it into something of spectacle, he really helped bring The Muppets into the 21st century.
CONCLUSION
The Muppets re-introduction into modern day cinema could have been a disaster, i certainly wasn’t expecting anything from this film. However it is easy to see that this film was made with love and respect for the Muppets that have come before it. Yet this is also the films biggest weakness, it plays too much off of nostalgia instead of relying on its, honestly good story.
I was never a huge Muppet fan but i loved The Muppets rendition of A Christmas Carol, starring Michael Caine so i was fairly familiar with The Muppets and it is a shame that a film which is meant to bring back feelings of nostalgia and love only gets sentimental over the credits. Do do-do-do!
However The Muppets is a well made movie with strong performances and a strong story which gave me some genuine laughs. Overall i would recommend The Muppets, it’s harmless fun, who knows maybe you will fall in love with The Muppets all over again?
MY SCORE
6/10