The Muppets-- film review

I used to post reviews and kinda got away from it because they were tough to write-- especially knowing barely a handful of people actually saw them.

But I am still interested in pointing people toward good movies and away from bad ones.  And when a film is still in theatres, it's important to point people in a timely manner (something I'm terrible at).

So here's a few quick thoughts about the film The Muppets, which opened yesterday:

First off, I'm not a huge Muppets fan. As a kid, I was more interested in the wackiness of the Gonzo stunts-- or the hosts (like Mark Hamill) of the prime time series.  And, as an adult, I never really watched any of the films even though my kids had periods where they liked watching some of the movies again and again.

But none of that mattered to see this new film. As a Jason Segal fan, I knew getting this film produced was a labor of love, and it shows (not to give Segal all the credit; he's just the guy I know who had a large part in making this).  Segal has a way of completely convincing us that he is sincere (when he needs to be)-- no matter how ridiculous the goings-on of a movie-- and it really worked here.

It's the Muppets, so corny is expected, and there was some of that, but there was also some real heart (and non-corny) humor to this one.  Sure, some of the "heart" was a little too overt, but I'll admit to getting a little teary-eyed a couple of times.  Even though it was rushed at times, the story was organic, and other than tying up the film during the credits, it was a good-start-to-finish film with no lagging scenes.

All in all, this is a great movie for kids-- that doesn't insult adults (actually, adults will "get more" from it).  That's extremely rare. The music is really good, and the songs are funny-- another breakthrough.

And I know old school fans will never accept anyone other than Jim Henson as Kermit, but Steve Whitmire was excellent.  Kermit has no facial features that can be manipulated to express emotion, but the mere moving of the arc of his head showed a lot. It's subtle, but effective.

There's nothing terribly original here-- but it's all done so well, I can't give this any less than a B+.  It's worth checking out.