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Friday, February 24, 2012
ARTS
The New Hampshire
Dueling reviews: The Muppets return
This week in the MUB
The Muppets A decent film, is a touching, with some nostalgic film truly hilarious one-liners By ARJUNA RAMGOPAL staff writer
courtesy photo
Disney’s The Muppets (2011) stars Amy Adams and Jason Segel alongside Jim Henson’s legacy. The film is great for all ages, offering a nostalgic throwback for adults and an introduction to beloved characters for kids. The film features an original song that’s up for an Academy Award at Sunday’s Oscar ceremony.
The new Muppets movie, simply titled The Muppets, is not a groundbreaking movie, but it is a heartwarming, classic throwback that anyone can enjoy. It’s the first Muppets movie since Muppets in Space, which came out back in 1999. So it’s been a while since we’ve seen our favorite puppet friends. Much like their long hiatus, the movie doesn’t dilly dally around their absence. It actually embraces the fact and goes on a tale on how the Muppets try to get back to what they used to be. But the great part about it is that the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously. It has touching moments, but also goofy ones. The film features an overthe-top villain and a mock Muppet crew. The two main human characters, played by Jason Segel and Amy Adams, are not too imposing and over the top, but they’re not too shallow and invisible either. Their storyline intertwines nicely, and they provide much of the satirical content that ultimately results in the film poking fun at itself in an obvious and intentional way. The songs are top notch as well. There are the classic Muppet songs like the original theme song, “Rainbow Connection,” and everybody’s favorite, “Mah Na Mah Na.” There are also some great originals, like “Man or Muppet” (which also features a great cameo). The song is so popular that it has been nominated for an Oscar, and a Twitter campaign has been started to allow the Muppets to perform it live at the ceremony this weekend. The movie implements a lot of classic stuff that older fans of the Muppets will appreciate, while younger fans will appreciate the Muppet humor that still holds up today. In a world of 3D and eyepopping animations, The Muppets is still bright and colorful and holds up well to all the gimmicks. The Muppets’ one misstep might be the pacing of the film. While its runtime is under two hours, the beginning of the movie drags on a bit, making the exciting second half feel a little too short. Ultimately, this film is a touching new addition to the Muppet family that should revitalize the brand. Here’s hoping that we get some more Muppet films soon. Who knows, maybe a Muppet halftime show for next year’s Supebowl is in the cards as well. Final score: 4 out of 5 stars
By COURTNEY MILLS contributing writer
Just as Toy Story 3 was made for aging fans, so was The Muppets. Not to say the movie is not for children, because it is, but it’s also a nostalgic journey for adults. It pulls on your heartstrings and just like Toy Story 3, tells you to let go and move on. The plot is what I like to call “meh.” It’s your typical “let’s get the (fill in the blank) back together and shake things up” reunion film. It’s even comparable to the “washed up (fill in the blank) making a comeback” movies, such as The Wrestler. In the movie, the Muppets have to come up with $10 million to save the Muppet Theatre from the greedy oilman, aptly named Tex Richman. FOX and friends had a field day with this one, by the way. They criticized The Muppets for its liberal agenda that brainwashes children to hate wealthy people. And to that, I say, “no comment,” as that’s for you to decide. Just because the plot was recycled and the characters were one-dimensional does not mean that The Muppets wasn’t a good movie. It parodied several film genres at different points, made fun of itself, and broke the fourth wall. Though the overall movie was just decent, I found myself loving the reflective one-liners. For example, when Tex Richman revealed his plan to his laughing cronies, he repeatedly said “maniacal laugh!” When Kermit and the gang were rounding up the rest of the Muppets, his robot suggested that, in the interest of time, they use a montage. Also, after a large explosion, Fozzie Bear said, “Wow, that was such an expensive looking explosion! I can’t believe we had that in the budget!” Excellent. Lines like these made the film, in my opinion. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes comedies, the Muppets, and feeling nostalgic and bittersweet. I don’t recommend this movie to FOX News. Overall, The Muppets is light-hearted, fun, self-aware, and doesn’t take itself seriously, just like this review… and that, my friends, is reflexivity, Muppets style. Final score: 3 out of 5 stars
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