As a kid I used to watch the original Muppet Show in syndication. I was probably too young to understand who any of the guest stars were, or some of the more subtle aspects of Muppet humour, but I loved it nonetheless and that goodwill carried well into my adult life.
Judging by the number of cameos in this movie alone, I’m not the only one with a sense of nostalgia for this lovable group of eccentrics. The Muppets plays like a love letter to fans of old, and as one of them I couldn’t help but feel that glowing sense of history in every shot.
This outing introduces us to Gary (Jason Segel) and his brother Walter (played by an extremely Muppet-looking actor), two lifelong Muppet Show fans who, along with Gary’s girlfriend Mary (yup, they rhyme), travel to Los Angeles to visit the old Muppets studio.
When Walter overhears evil businessman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) divulging his plans to drill for oil under the theatre, the three find Kermit and set out to reunite the Muppets and save the theatre.
And therein lies the true brilliance of this movie. Jason Segel’s script is simple enough that any kid could understand it easily, but it also loves to call out many of its typical movie conventions, which makes it just as entertaining for adults. Whether it’s the Muppets deciding that the individual reunions were taking too long and they needed a montage to finish things up, or the hilarious travel-by-map sequence, the film is constantly breaking the fourth wall, much to the delight of the parents in the crowd... and you know, the twenty-somethings reliving their glory years.
I was also a big fan of the new Muppet Walter. He fit in really well with the rest of the Muppet cast and he and Segel played off each other quite nicely, in part because of the hilarious premise that the two of them are brothers. But just as importantly, they don’t overuse him either. Segel and co-writer Nicholas Stoller were smart enough to realize that the real stars of this show are the original Muppets themselves, and they allocate screen time accordingly.
And you’d be surprised just how much life these characters have left. Kermit’s straight man act, Miss Piggy’s divalike behaviour, even Fozzy Bear’s terrible jokes make a triumphant comeback. These performers were clearly brought up in the classic school of comedy and it doesn’t take long until you start to wonder why the Muppets haven’t got the big screen treatment since 1999. Watching now as an adult, it’s just fun to see how wonderfully subversive a lot of these jokes can be. You certainly don’t need a kid to justify going to see this one.
But blatant nostalgia aside, if you’re a lover of comedy, of song and dance, or just superfluous celebrity cameos, then you are going to like The Muppets. It’s a testament to just how universal these lovable little creatures are that they still have this kind of staying power after so many years. Here’s to a new generation of fans.
