The Muppets:
In a small town in America, two brothers (Gary and Walter, who are fans of the Muppets, and the latter of which is a muppet himself, along with Gary's girlfriend Mary) decide to go on a trip around the world to recollect the original Muppets so they can put on a live show to raise money to save Muppets Studios, which is in danger of being shut down and destroyed by a rich oil company owner due to lack of business. Filled with the series' trademark plethora of celebrity cameos, musical numbers, slapstick, and jokes that will probably go unnoticed by most kids, this was surprisingly good. I would have reviewed it when it was first released in 2011, but I wasn't actually a movie reviewer back then, so I figured with the release of the sequel I might as well touch upon it now. The main human characters are actually pretty well-written. Jason Segel and Amy Adams (who play Gary and Mary, respectively) have good chemistry on-screen, and are relatable leads. Chris Cooper serves as the over-the-top villain, and does a surprisingly good job, he's basically just a prick. Rashida Jones (Parks and Recreation, The Office) has a supporting role as a network executive at a television network. The new muppet character Walter seemed (from the promos I saw) like he was going to be irritating and a forced new character. But he actually was a welcome addition to an already massive cast of characters. He's kind of an outsider to both the muppets and the humans, so he kind of has to find his place in the world, which makes him surprisingly a relatable lead, as everyone kind of goes through a similar thing. The celebrity cameos are funny and well-done, and there's so damn many, here's just a few: Zach Galifianakis, Alan Arkin, Emily Blunt, Jack Black, Whoopi Goldberg, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, Ken Jeong, Judd Hirsch, James Carville, Donald Glover, Jim Parsons, John Krasinski, Micky Rooney, Bill Cobbs, Dave Grohl, and Selena Gomez. A lot of them are self-deprecating, and those are definitely the funniest. The whole movie is just really entertaining and is the definition of a "family movie". As much as I hate the term, as many films have kind of shat on that genre (The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, etc.), it is technically a "family film", as it can entertain anyone of any age group. It's just a well-written movie. Props to Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller for penning a great screenplay. Christophe Beck also composes an upbeat and fun score, which is modern and new, but also very reminiscent of the old Muppets TV show of the 1960's and 70's. Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie wrote most of the songs in the film, and won the Oscar for Best Original Song for "Man or Muppet". I didn't love the music in the movie, but it was catchy and was better than most of the shit we see in musicals today. (Admit it people, "Let It Go" is overrated!) The Muppets is a great movie. It's heartfelt, uplifting, and genuinely touching and funny. 4/5 stars.
Muppets Most Wanted:
After wrapping up the filming of 2011's The Muppets (a fourth wall break which one expects from the franchise by now), Walter and the Muppets immediately sign on for a sequel and get a new agent: the manipulative criminal Dominic Badguy. He is working with Constantine, the "world's most dangerous frog", who disguises himself as Kermit and gets the real Kermit locked up in the Gulag. Without a proper leader, the Muppets run wild as Dominic and Constantine begin their quest to steal the British crown jewels. Kermit all the while, must survive the harshness of the Gulag and try to escape. Sam the Eagle reluctantly teams up with an Interpol agent to track down the thieves and catch them before it's too late. This, while not as good as the first film (which the movie openly acknowledges), still manages to capture the fun spirit of the franchise, especially as a sort of spiritual successor/reboot of the film The Great Muppet Caper. But, now that I think about it, it's not even technically a sequel, as it ret-cons the original by revealing that even in the universe of this film, the first movie was just that: a movie. The human leads are great. Ricky Gervais brings his sarcastic British wit to the franchise as Badguy, and Ty Burrell is great as the obnoxious Interpol agent Jean Pierre Napoleon. He and Sam Eagle have such great chemistry they deserve their own fucking movie! Tina Fey has a supporting role as Nadya, the head of the prison guards at the Gulag, who seems to have a strange interest in Kermit. There are even more celeb cameos this time around, including: Tony Bennett, Ray Liotta, Jemaine Clement, Frank Langella, Hugh Bonneville, Sean Combs (P. Diddy), Rob Corddry, Mackenzie Crook, Celine Dion Dexter Fletcher, Lady Gaga, Zach Galifianakis, James McAvoy, Chloe Grace-Moretz, Sairose Ronan, Usher, Danny Trejo (as a Gulag prisoner who is also known as Danny Trejo), Ross Lynch, Dylan Postl, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Hollander, Salma Hayek, Christoph Waltz, Josh Groban, and Stanley Tucci. They aren't as good as the ones from the previous film, but they're pretty funny. This movie is also full of clever film references (including The Shawshank Redemption and even 2011's The Muppets) and has a cool end credits moment. Nicholas Stoller returns as writer and James Bobin as director. Bret McKenzie and Christophe Beck also return for songs and musical score, respectively. They are better than in the previous film, so hopefully they win some awards. McKenzie's Flight of the Conchords buddy Jemaine Clement (as mentioned above) makes a cameo in the film. Although this film is a little too fast-paced, it's filled with slapstick, subtextual jokes, and visual gags. Muppets Most Wanted may be a little disappointing, but it's a sequel, it's kind of common sense it wouldn't be as good. Putting the negatives aside, it's a funny and charming film I would definitely recommend if you enjoyed the first one. 3.5/5 stars.
(Images: Wikipedia)
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