#140RVW
Equaling the heights of the reboot was never going to happen, so put that out of your mind and enjoy it for what it is: solid & funny film.
What’s more:
I grew up on the Muppets; I love the Muppets. Their descent into cultural irrelevance was unfortunate, and I was thrilled when the film series was rebooted a few years ago with 2011’s creatively titled, The Muppets. The movie was a modest success and a sequel was inevitable as the franchise had a chance to start up anew.
Most of the creative team is back for Muppets Most Wanted, including director James Bobin, who co-wrote the film with Nicholas Stoller. Bret McKenzie is back as Music Supervisor and songwriter.
The story is good: a globe-trotting crime film hearkening back to The Great Muppet Caper. The jokes are funny; there is always good writing. I felt the movie took some time to find its footing. Despite a great opening number openly addressing the “more of the same” nature of all sequels, it took awhile for me to laugh out loud. Good bits, but nothing really funny. They got there, though.
The template for these movies is well established: a few main actors carry it, then a million cameos of varying quality. So there’s a lot riding on the main (non-Muppet) actors. It would have helped if I liked Ricky Gervais more, or at all, since it feels like he’s in nearly every scene. Ty Burrell & Tina Fey do their shtick and it’s fine.
The cameos are great; I won’t spoil any of them for you, as that’s one of the best parts of watching a Muppet movie.
You know at this point if you like these or not; I recommend Muppets Most Wanted for anyone with kids. Non-parents who grew up with the characters – I’d probably wait for video. I’d say it ranks higher than Muppets Take Manhattan but behind Great Muppet Caper.
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Fail, I’m very sorry to say.
The Representation Test Score: C (5 pts)
I dunno, doing a representation test on a Muppet movie feels a little weird to begin with. To be honest, though, I could have graded this even harsher; I just couldn’t bear to give the Muppets a D…
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Ricky Gervais Dominic Badguy, Ty Burrell Jean Pierre Napoleon, Tina Fey Nadya, Steve Whitmire Kermit the Frog/Foo Foo/Statler/Beaker/Lips/Rizzo the Rat/Link Hogthrob/The Newsman (voice) |
| Rating | PG |
| Release Date | Fri 21 Mar 2014 UTC |
| Director | James Bobin |
| Genres | Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Family, Musical |
| Plot | While on a grand world tour, The Muppets find themselves wrapped into an European jewel-heist caper headed by a Kermit the Frog look-alike and his dastardly sidekick. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 112 |
| Tagline | Taking the world by farce |
| Writers | James Bobin (written by) &, Nicholas Stoller (written by) |
| Year | 2014 |