Agenda Movie Club: The Muppets

The Muppets

James Bobin

2011

A good time was had by all.

I always like the Muppets… I’m not sure I’ve seen all their movies, but I’ve seen most of them. Some efforts are better than others, I guess. The last one I remember was Muppets from Space, which I loved (mostly because of Pepe, the King Prawn). I don’t know—is there someone out there who hates the Muppets? I probably don’t like that person too much.

This is just fun, and quite funny. I expect the Muppets to be very self-referential (“Meta,” as the internet likes to say), and this doesn’t disappoint. Am I right that Jason Segel wrote this? I’m too lazy to look it up right now. He did a good job. Amy Adams is so good at being wide-eyed.

Chris Cooper as the evil oil baron—so evil that he can’t even laugh maniacally, he can only say the words, “maniacal laugh… maniacal laugh….”

I still miss Jim Henson’s Kermit voice (i.e., Jim Henson’s voice). It’s just not the same without him.

I liked all the cameos, which Muppet movies are always good for. I was a bit disappointed that the big star they kidnap to host the telethon was Jack Black—not because I dislike Jack Black, I actually like him a lot, but just because we’d already seen him once in the movie and I was hoping for yet another cameo.

My favorite joke in the whole movie is when they stop for the chili dogs. Brilliant.

During one of the early musical numbers I turned to Amy and said, “this is very ‘Flight of the Conchords.’” And then, at that moment, I remembered that Jemaine Clement had written the songs for the movie. I was wrong about that, it was Bret McKenzie, but still, I was right about the Conchords part. Who can’t get behind that?

Seems like everyone involved just had a lot of fun. It’s nice when you can feel that.

NPR’s Scott Simon said his young daughter, after seeing The Muppets, said that someone should make a teevee show out of that. Indeed.