Ralph's Movie Reviews: THE MUPPETS

Sunday, December 4, 2011

THE MUPPETS

84th Academy Award for Best Original Score

Musical comedy

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan (voice of Peter Liz)
Jason Segel: his brother Gary
Amy Adams: Gary’s schoolteacher sweetheart Mary
Chris Cooper: evil oil baron Tex Richman
Kermit the Frog, spokesman and leader of the Muppets (voice of Steve Whitmire)
Fozzie Bear, perfomer with a tribute band called the Moopets (voice of Eric Jacobson)
Gonzo, plumbing magnate (voice of Dave Goelz)
Animal undergoing anger management counselling (voice of Eric Jacobson)
Jack Black as celebrity host
Emily Blunt: receptionist at Vogue magazine
Miss Piggy: plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris (voice of Eric Jacobson)
Rashida Jones: television network executive Veronica Martin

REVIEW
Getting the old gang together to put on “The Greatest Muppet Telethon Ever” to raise $10 million provides lots of opportunities for the many song and dance routines leading up to the big event. Although things start off a bit slowly once Walter and his friends get to Los Angeles we’re on a roll. And what good fun it is.

The producers have retained several of the essential elements of the original television series: high-profile cameos (including Mickey Rooney, Alan Arkin, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez and a host of others) as well as witty dialogue and occasionally breaking the fourth wall.

As one movie-goer was heard to say “Jim Henson would be pleased with what they’ve done”.

CLASSIFICATION

for some mild rude humor.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Miss Piggy may be the prettiest of the bunch but her geography is a bit off as she said she had travelled 5,000 miles to get to Los Angeles from Paris. In fact these two cities are over 6,000 miles apart.

P.S.
A short film called Small Fry precedes the movie and is an added bonus. Also I suggest you stick around for the closing credits to see "Mah Na Mah Na" sung by various cast members.

P.S.S.
In a traditional stage setting of three walls the so-called fourth wall is an imaginary one between the performers and the audience. Speaking directly to the audience through this wall breaks the established parameters between the two and as such generally is to be avoided.

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my ratings system

I've always thought that telling too much about a movie or warning someone about a "twist" at the end deprives the person the pleasure of seeing it as it unfolds, so I don’t do it. You may not always agree with my rating of course, but at least it is an unbiased opinion unlike some of the full time professional reviewers who are on the studio’s payroll.

A few movies you won’t see any review from me:

Scary movies: I’m the world’s biggest chicken and just hate getting the crap scared out of me. I can handle an unexpected door slam, that kind of thing, but a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat…not for me. Sorry.
Movies geared to the young teen and pre-teen crowd with dialog comprising mostly of crude remarks, awful jokes and lots of rude, socially unacceptable body noises. "The Spy that Shagged Me" comes to mind. (I wonder if the kids know what the British verb to shag someone really means? They probably do; I bet you it’s the parents who haven’t a clue).
Sometimes Hollywood gets on a roll and they produce a series of movies that are all very much alike. For example movies about the CIA were very popular and so we had The Bourne Identity and Bad Company and The Sum of All Fears. They all had the same basic theme and it becomes repetitive. I will see some, but not all of them.

FYI this is my rating system:

0 stars = Terrible: so bad it’s not worth talking about; in fact, I’d pay you not to go
= Lousy: I actually got up and walked out before the end it was just that bad (no kidding)
= Not so good: thought about walking out but hung in just in case it got better (but it didn’t)
= A so-so good movie: I enjoyed it somewhat but wasn’t all that crazy about it
= A really good movie: I recommend seeing it
= An excellent movie you just got to see! I suggest you put it on your "To Do List" it’s that good.

some favourite websites

For those into it, Nitpickers at

has more movie mistakes than you could ever imagine. My contributions can be seen if you check out the Nitpickers Registry and click on the link Nitpickers Listed by Nitpicker Number, select the group 45,401 - 45,500 and drill down to number 45411. Although I have 56 nitpicks to my credit, some have almost 2,000. You wonder sometimes where they find the time to do it.