Last week Cami and I took Wednesday off. Largely to prepare for Thanksgiving and all the cooking we had offered to do for family. But we made sure to take a little time for ourselves to check out an afternoon matinee of The Muppets.
I’ve been wrestling with what to say about The Muppets in my review because (if Twitter is any indication) everyone already seems to be on the same page.
The movie is magical and left me smiling from ear to ear. It sounds trite, like a pull quote from a movie reviewer on some obscure CBS-affiliate. But its true. I don’t think this is spoiling anything for you, because they’re using the song on the TV ads, but by they time they break out “The Rainbow Connection” in the third act, The Muppets had me in a nostalgia headlock and it wasn’t going to let go anytime soon.
But there’s an intrinsic problem with nostalgia – it has a somewhat limited audience. I read a few reviews this weekend that said adults in the audience seemed to enjoy the film more than children. They wondered aloud if that would be a problem. The weekend box office seems to suggest as much.
The Muppets came in second place this weekend with $42 million. Breaking Dawn added over $62 million to its $221 million dollar take in its second week.
I think positive word of mouth with help buoy The Muppets over the holidays. But I can’t deny that I really wanted to see Kermit and Piggy bash Edward and Bella’s heads in at the box office.
What can you do? Breaking Dawn is for teenagers with lots of disposable cash and time to kill. The Muppets is a fantastic family film, but it’s really more for the 30-somethings out there that barely have time to step away from their responsibilities.
Or maybe I’m projecting.
For what it’s worth The Muppets isn’t a perfect movie and I’d say the blame falls mostly on the shoulders of the human actors. Amy Adams was stunningly wasted as the token girlfriend/prop. She has a few good lines and sings her heart out, but I would have love to seen more.
Chris Cooper was cast as the heartless villain – an area where he typically excels. But for some reason, his performance left me a little cold. It was a little too much wink-wink, nudge-nudge for my liking. His rap song in the middle of the film was cringe-worthy. Also, was anyone else entirely confused by the subtitles they threw in there?
Jason Segal was more than capable as the film’s leading man. Although there were contrivances in the plot that moved him away from the action in the last third of the movie to create false tension.
These are minor complaints, though. No one really goes to a Muppet movie to watch the humans. I’m just pointing out the things that distracted me a little bit.
As for the Muppets themselves, they were fantastic. I was continuously amazed at the lengths the movie went to present the Muppets as being free from any puppeteer manipulation. I was also very surprised how quickly I warmed up to the newest Muppet – Walter.
Segal made a smart decision in making Walter the proxy for the audience. Through his eyes, we were reminded of the enthusiasm we feel for the Muppets and what makes them special. Segal’s script is keenly aware of the reality that the Muppets have essentially been lost to a generation. And while the film is primarily a nostalgia trip for the majority of the audience, it also has to serve as a reintroduction to the characters.
Look, all I know is that I’ve been singing “The Rainbow Connection” in my head over and over again for the last 5 days. It might be eroding my sanity, but I’m totally not complaining. The Muppets was fantastic from top to bottom and if you didn’t enjoy it, you might be soul-dead. Just a head’s up. Seriously. No smiles? You might want to get that checked out.
Did you see The Muppets this weekend? If so, what did you think? Leave your comments below!
I saw it with an wide age range family group – two in their 60’s, two in their late 20’s/early 30’s, my wife and me in our mid-30’s, and two of my kids at 6 and 4. Everyone loved it. My Cars-obsessed 4 year old boy announced it was the greatest movie ever. My 6 year old girl was singing and dancing. It really was magical. It hit home for everyone in at least my group.
Co-worker just came in and said that her kids said almost the exact same thing the ER’s kids said…greatest movie ever. I can’t disagree with them.
It will be interesting how it performs this weekend.
I saw it. Loved it. I smiled the entire movie. My 5 year old and 2 year old loved it too. We have got them up to speed on all the old muppet movies the past month or so. My daughter, the 5 year old, declared this one the best.
I’d put it just behind The Muppet Movie and Muppets Take Manhattan, but in front of the others.
I loved it, Its being a while since a movie make feel like a kid. And I really hope that this is not the last thing we see of the muppets.
The Muppets was exactly what I expected it to be. Nothing more, nothing less. You can’t not leave the theater smiling, but there were also some very odd choices they made in the film. Like the two human leads were apparently dating for a decade, but he wakes up in his childhood bed every morning. Like that atrocious rap sequence. Like Animal being basically taken off screen for no apparent reason. Some of the tongue-in-cheek moments were just a bit over the top (explosion, maniacal laugh).
The highlight of the film, for me, was Kermit’s solo-ensemble song in the first act. That was a nearly perfect Muppet moment, and Kermit sells it better than most human actors. The Rainbow Connection was perfect, as though it had been shot 30 years ago. And the human characters sell the Muppet characters as being “real” in a way I haven’t seen since Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
It was a fun nostalgia trip for anybody over the age of 25. And it was a nice introduction to the world of the Muppets for those under the age of 10. But the big bucks comes in the space between those age groups, and I don’t think the movie does enough to sell itself to those consumers.
Well I think your examination is spot on. There’s no way a good natured family-oriented story like Muppets was going to compete with a marketing juggernaut aimed at self-absorbed teens like Twilight. The Economics just don’t work out, sadly.
Which is a shame, because right now, we all need a lot more foam rubber and smiles, and a lot less sparkplepires and navel gazing. The movie was fun, largely without being saccharine (okay, there were spots) and how could you not leave with a smile that made your head hinge like a puppet?
I think I felt the same way you did. I so much wanted to share this with my kids and brought all 3 of them. I don’t think I stopped smiling once (except for that rap scene; I almost think it was intentionally cringe-inducing). Anyway, my kids had mixed reactions. My 12-year-old thought he was too cool to be there and made every effort to not enjoy himself. My 9-year-old thought it was okay, and my 6-year-old daughter was thoroughly delighted, laughing and clapping the whole time. So we’ve got at least 1 new fan in the family. I recommend it to anyone who has any nostalgia for the Muppets; you won’t be disappointed.
The movie doesn’t open here until next year, but I am so looking forward to it.
I have no idea if they’re shown in the US as well, but in the UK we have these joke shorts that play before each movie made by Orange, and the current one is a very charming Muppets short. If you don’t get those – or just haven’t seen it – I highly recommend looking for it on Youtube. Search for Muppets and Orange.
We were treated to a new animated short featuring the characters from Toy Story and it was quite good.
I loved it, but the ending seemed a little forced. I guess they cut a bunch of stuff from the film to get it where they wanted time wise? Like the Oil Tycoon was suppose to have a flashback to his childhood where the muppets came and did a show at his birthday and everyone was laughing but he can’t laugh (thus him just saying “menicial laughter”) but at the end that part of his brain is knocked back into wack. But they cut it all.
Jim would be proud.
Yes to this.
Also, my super-pontificating review: http://cliqueclack.com/flicks/2011/11/26/muppets-2011-review/
Please please please, Tom, lose the St. Lucia ad that pops up, and won’t shut up, and has no close button. I know you didn’t design it, but its very i irritating and distracting from the site
I haven’t seen the ad myself, but you’re the second person to report to me about it.
I’m no fan of auto-playing ads. I believe I’ve located it and turned it off.
Thanks for the head’s up!
Ahhh so jealous it’s not out in the UK till FEBRUARY!!!!!!!!!!
had to go and watch 50/50 and immortals instead I feel soo wrong (with immortals, 50/50 was awesome both incredibly funny but heartbreaking at the same time!)
Oh, man, loved this movie. It had that muppety hope that makes optimism more than just a cheesy attitude and more of a cherished character trait.
I just saw the Muppets movie this past Friday. I have to say I was smiling the entire time.
I have to say I have yet to warm to Amy Adams in any major role she’s ever had. She’s just not convincing to me and all of her acting seems forced.
My biggest Laugh out Loud moment of the movie is when the 80’s robot made the dial up sound. Working in the IT field and using dial up to connect for so long it brought back memories. Granted most of those memories were about how painful it was to wait for dialup but memories none the less.