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| MUPPETS, THE (2011)
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SBD Star Rating:
by Nik Khosla
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The revitalization of the Muppet franchise with The Muppets has received positive reviews from critics. This is due in no small part to Jason Segel who both co-wrote and stars. Gary (Segal) lives with his best friend Walter who is the world's biggest Muppet fan, which is unsurprising given that Walter is in fact also a Muppet. Gary is preparing to celebrate his 10th anniversary with girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) and head to Hollywood with Walter tagging along. When the trio visit the Muppet Theatre, they are aghast when they discover that it is in ruins and about to be demolished so oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) can drill for oil. In an effort to save the theatre, they decide to put on a telethon to raise the $10 million to save the theatre and reunite Kermit and the gang, who have all gone their separate ways. Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times says "The Muppet franchise is revitalized with The Muppets, a funny, wickedly self-aware musical that opens by acknowledging they've outlived their shelf life." Claudia Puig of USA Today notes "blending self-deprecating comic asides with high-spirited showmanship, the movie captures the essence of Jim Henson's classic 1970s TV show and 1979's The Muppet Movie" Betsy Sharkey of Los Angeles Times comments "there are a few stumbles, but not too many, and by the time Gary and Walter get to a showstopping number that asks the burning question - "Am I a man, or a Muppet?" - you are completely hooked." Of the few negative reviews, Melissa Anderson of Village Voice says "desperately trying to appeal to not just the Gen Xers who grew up with Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Dr. Teeth, but also the tykes who've never even heard of Jim Henson, The Muppets has none of the easy confidence of the original TV show or the 1979 movie. Overall, Tom Charity of CNN.com concludes "a mixed bag then: The Muppets isn't the best or the worst of Kermit's big-screen capers. At least it's a reminder that here's one frog who isn't about to croak." |
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SBD Star Rating:
by Chiara Adorno
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The Muppets is a winning combination of nostaglia, muppetry and good times according to critics. It is about the now decaying Muppet Studios which is in danger of being torn down by a conniving oil man (Chris Cooper). The Muppets put on a telethon to save the studio. They have gone to seed, or most of them - Kermit lives in a huge empty mansion in Bel Air, Fozzie Bear is a performer in Reno with a Muppet tribute band, Animal is in anger management classes, Gonzo is a plumbing supply tycoon, while Miss Piggy is a high-powered fashion editor - of course, her assistant is Emily Blunt. Jack Black is captured and tied to a chair as the celebrity guest star of the show and he spends most of the time screaming or commenting on the onscreen action. Laremy Legal of Film.com has this to say about the film, "... the brand of comedy The Muppets offers isn’t built from the newly minted awkward realism of Ricky Gervais, or of the old-school anger and fury of the late, great Bill Hicks. It’s something kinder, gentler, and more broad — willfully detached from ego but still earnestly comical." Amy Biancolli of The San Francisco Chronicle appreciates the film for, "... simplicity, innocence and goofy jokes. It's a triumph of felt. It's a triumph of childhood and childishness, of pratfalls and belly laughs, of the plain stupid joy in watching Jack Black get bound and kidnapped by puppets. To call it a great film would be missing the point, because the Muppets never aspired to greatness. The only "-nesses" they ever aspired to were niceness, funniness and old-fangled vaudeville corniness designed to make us smile." As for its human lead character, played by Jason Segel, Bilge Ebiri of New York Magazine says, "Segel turns out to be curiously perfect for the role of Muppet savior. The actor’s cinematic persona has always hovered between good-natured earnestness and calculated artificiality (as in I Love You, Man, where he kept us wondering if he was the hero’s best friend or just a hustler after an easy mark). His purposefully awkward song and dance numbers, his overzealous vivaciousness help give the movie a homespun quality that smooths over — or rather, justifies — its many rough edges." Bruce Diones of praises, "the movie is clearly a labor of love, and [Director James Bobin's] joyous feeling for Jim Henson’s puppet creations is infectious." |
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