97% The Muppets

Were I to rate the film based purely on nostalgia and enjoyment, I'd have to go beyond 5 stars (interestingly enough, I think many folks my age will remember the cartoon "Muppet Babies" more than "The Muppet Show," though I got my fair share of both, thankfully). It truly captures the absurd, self-aware, and sentimental humor that Jim Henson use to dazzle young and old audiences alike for years and years, and posits a very tough question: why we haven't made room for these little creatures in our world today? Have we opted for a new brand of irony, one which cannot be wrapped in light humor and empathy (favoring apathy and distancing effects, perhaps)? Or have our attention spans become so fleeting that we require digital spectacle and an aesthetic quality simply unachievable through live action puppets and theatrical sketches? The film's opening sequence, complete with misdirected camera tricks a la vintage David Zucker and a jovial song and dance number that involves an entire suburban community, feels simultaneously captivating and bizarre -- appealing to muscles in our head and heart we may have neglected to exercise in quite some time. Yet any critique the movie aptly makes about the state of entertainment today gets charmingly adorned by clever gags and heartfelt storytelling, all which ask us for a suspension of disbelief somewhat unseen in modern entertainment (particularly of the comic variety). It's only shortcomings lie in the attempt to cram so much nostalgia into one too many plot lines -- somehow, the "weight on Kermit's shoulders" dilemma and his appeal to Mrs. Piggy doesn't quite land as strongly as Walter's identity crisis ("Man or Muppet" blends hilarity and pathos in the best of ways), and we can't help but want more time just visiting with Gonzo, Fozzie, Statler, and Woldorf -- which, you could argue, is a success in itself. You'll leave having had a wonderful time and hopefully reaching on the shelf for those old Muppet Show VHS's. Can the franchise move forward, though? One can only hope.

December 20, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_muppets/

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