At this point, another review of THE MUPPETS seems superfluous, but hell, the movie is so damn good, it can't really hurt. I'll admit, I held my breath when I saw the "Smalltown, USA" sign, marking the community where Gary (Jason Segel, who also co-wrote the film with Nicholas Stoller) and his pal Walter (the film's new Muppet character) grew up together as huge fans of the Muppets TV show. That little details seemed a little too quaint, but it took about five minutes and one catchy tune to win me over. Segel and Stoller are such devoted fans that they know what about the Muppets is sacred ground and what they can play and tinker with a little bit.
Gary has been dating Mary (Amy Adams, displaying the same kind of graceful playfulness she did in Enchanted), and for her birthday, the couple are going to take a trip to Los Angeles to tour studios, search for celebrities, and maybe, just maybe, seek out the old Muppet Theater. Much to Mary's chagrin, Walter is along for the ride. When the three of them arrive at the theater, they find it rundown and largely off limits. They find out that unless the come up with $10 million very soon, the Muppets will lose the lease to greedy oilman Tex Richman (the snake-like Chris Cooper, chewing up yards of scenary). Walter, Gary and Mary decide to reunite the scattered Muppets players for a big telethon event to help save the theater and rekindle the old magic.
It's this journey finding each Muppet cast member that was one of my favorite elements of the movie, finding out how each character turned out, and some of it is not pretty but all of it is very funny. Perhaps no Muppet fate seems more predestined than seeing Fozzie Bear in Reno doing stand-up and singing in a Muppet tribute band called The Moopets. Almost too good to be true, Miss Piggy is now the plus-size fashion editor for Paris Vogue; Gonzo became a wildly successful plumbing executive; and Animal is forced to stay away from the drugs as part of his anger management therapy.
But THE MUPPETS is so much more than a joyous nostalgia trip. It's a sweet and perfect reminder that friendship trumps everything, and with the right group of friends, you can accomplish anything. Sure the celebrity cameos are great fun, the musical numbers are exceptional as Segel evokes the simple yet touching spirit of Paul Williams (I know he's not dead) and others who wrote some of those great numbers from previous Muppet movies. Segel has been given the absolute greatest gift imaginable: the chance to bring his heroes back to prominence, and he pulls it off without turning it into a movie that is too much about him or other humans. THE MUPPETS is a film about connection, or more specifically, re-connection--with old friends, with your childhood, with imagination, with the part of you that existed before cynicism entered your life.
As much as kids will probably love the hell out of this movie, I will go to my grave maintaining that Segel, Stoller and director James Bobin (a veteran behind the camera of "Flight of the Conchords" and "Da Ali G Show," both the British and American versions) made this movie for adults who grew up loving the old "Muppet Show" and other Jim Henson projects from "Sesame Street" to THE DARK CRYSTAL to "Jim Henson's The Storyteller." People can point to Spielberg or Lucas as the architects of their childhood, but for me it was Henson and his army of Muppeteers. The movie is a wet, sloppy kiss aimed right at those creative masters whose felt creations came to life effortlessly.
Segel is smart enough to couch this tribute in a decent story loaded with fun supporting actors, but he knows that without the emphasis being on the Muppets themselves, this movie wouldn't mean anything. Every once in a while, something that should be perfect turns out to be exactly that. Please let Disney put Segel in charge of its Muppets franchise that it largely ignored since it purchased it years ago. He gets it, and he might not always get it as right as he does with THE MUPPETS, but he'll die trying. I'd almost forgotten what passion for ones work looks like; thanks for the gentle reminder, Mr. Segel.
