The Muppets Reviewed!

After a few months out at theaters, I finally get to review The Muppet Movie. The first thing I have to say is that I can remember the Muppets and all of their zany antics. Something that the youth of today may not get. The movie tries to fix this problem by feeding us as many celebrity cameos as possible.

Jack Black, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Alan Arkin, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Neil Patrick Harris and several more make appearances.

Bazinga!

So the story goes like this. Gary(Jason Segal) and Walter(Puppet) are brothers who grow up together hanging out and watching The Muppet Show. The years go by and the Muppets have long been forgotten except for Walter who dreams of meeting Kermit the Frog. He gets that wish, or so he thinks when he is goes with Gary and his girlfriend Mary(Amy Adams) to Los Angeles who are celebrating their 10 anniversary.

When they get to L.A. however, they find the the Muppets are long scattered and not together and the set for the Muppet Show is run down and set to sell to evil business man, Tex Richmond(Chris Cooper), who is going to tear down the set to drill for oil.

Maniacal Laugh

Turns out however that Walter overhears a loophole in which if the Muppets can raise 10 million dollars they get to keep the sets, so the trio decide to go looking for the Muppets to save the day. First stop? Kermit the Frog of course. And after a little persuasion, he agrees to get the Muppets together for one final show to raise the money for the studio.

After some clever montages all the Muppets are together again except for Miss Piggy who decides against the cause to stay in Paris as the "Full Figure Designer" a clear rip off of the movie The Devil Wears Prada.

So I found that the jokes are funny, even the subtle ones and the musical numbers are catchy. The cameos did feel a little over the top but that is forgivable in my opinion. I never saw a Muppet movie on a big screen so it was neat to see characters from the tv in the 1980's up there. There were a couple kids in the audience during the set I saw and they seemed to enjoy it(a little loud sometimes. But you know what, you expect that in a movie like this) so hopefully most of the kids will get the Muppets proving my original thoughts above incorrect.

If you liked the Muppets back in the day, you should enjoy the Muppets today. I know I did. So go see it and maybe they'll make another one in a couple of years.

Oh, bonus. I saw The Muppet Movie at a second run theater and they were still using 35mm film. The way God intended.

The Second Reel--Underworld: Awakening

In an effort to get the opinion of other people who like watching movies without waving their degree in "stuck up critic school" in everyone's faces, the MRFNH has created The Second Reel. The Second Reel will give an alternate review of movies already reviewed. Just another way to get the word out to people who are sick of having movies bashed because it's not foreign or has a low budget.

So, let thread up the projector and start The Second Reel.

Direction of this movie is fantastic and artistically pleasing (aside from the constant slow-motion). With that said I'm still disappointed in the lycan design. I know at this point in the game they're going to stay consistent but still... it bothered me then; it bothers me now.

Fun fact with the lycans though, if you're a fan of 'Lost Girl' on the SyFy channel, the character Dyson (Kris Holden-Reid) is also in this movie! He plays a pivotal point in the plot.

Last little bit of contention; India Eisley (aka Eve-Selene's daughter) is best known for the tv series "the secret life of the american teenager" but has also been in Headspace with a minor role in Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
I personally thought she was MUCH younger than what she was and I even told my husband, 'that girl will be impressive some day.' She's very expressive but unfortunately she doesn't have a lot of lines. Hopefully in the next movie she will have a stronger role for being such an important character.

Overall: the 3D did nothing to aid the movie so if you have a choice (we didn't) don't waste your money. The matrix slow motion scenes were slightly tedious but I really did enjoy the movie. It kept moving, which kept my interest and the concept was interesting. It's just a fun movie to lose yourself in for an hour and a half, especially if you're a fan of the series!


Becky