So Muppets Most Wanted was one of my must sees for 2014, simply because I enjoyed the crap out of the first one. I grew up watching the Muppets at a young impressionable age when you didn't question the biological sense behind a pig and a frog getting it on. Everything makes sense when you're a kid. Did it take me back to my childhood? We'll see. Advanced warning that there will be spoilers in this review beneath the ****SPOILERS**** line. Got it? Good. Let's begin.
Okay moment of truth.....I enjoyed the movie while I was watching it but I left a little.....empty. To quote Simon Cowell (dang since when did people start quoting him?) from a previous episode of American Idol (RIP Idol), it was like having "ice for lunch". You feel good while eating it but you're left with nothing. I know I've watched a good movie when I walk out feeling super happy, satisfied, sad it's over, ah it's hard to explain. It's a feeling you feel when you leave and you know what that feeling is when you feel it. So for this movie, I'm going to make a list of things I liked and a list of things that took me out of the enjoyment of the movie.
1) The Songs
The songs are super fun and catchy and act as a good filler throughout the plot. The songs were cute and Disney-Broadway-esque which will somehow find a place in your brain and stay there, making an appearance from time to time when you start thinking about something but you're supposed to be thinking about something else. Miss Piggy singing Celine Dion was so bad it was good. It was one of the saving graces of the movie. Also if you're like me and wonder how an amphibian and a mammal can procreate, get ready to receive an answer, in the form of a song. To celebrate let's look at cats listening to music......
The songs are super fun and catchy and act as a good filler throughout the plot. The songs were cute and Disney-Broadway-esque which will somehow find a place in your brain and stay there, making an appearance from time to time when you start thinking about something but you're supposed to be thinking about something else. Miss Piggy singing Celine Dion was so bad it was good. It was one of the saving graces of the movie. Also if you're like me and wonder how an amphibian and a mammal can procreate, get ready to receive an answer, in the form of a song. To celebrate let's look at cats listening to music......
Well......that was quite an experience.
2) Celebrity Cameos
Does anyone else's mind revert back to this when you read that phrase?
Does anyone else's mind revert back to this when you read that phrase?
Alright back to Muppet talk. Like the first movie and most Muppet movies, this one has a fair share of celebrities. I went in looking forward to Tom Hiddleston and his Wendy (Hiddlestoners will know what I mean).
But instead I accidentally fell into a fan girl trap when one of my favorite actors, James McAvoy came in for a small cameo. My mind = blown and my mouth = screams. Yeah I may have made too much noise when he showed up but that's what I love about the Muppets and their cameos, especially the ones you don't expect. I had a similar reaction (as did the rest of the cinema), when Jim Parsons showed up in the last Muppet movie.
Christoph Waltz was there dancing the waltz......there's a pun in there somewhere.
Josh Groban's "cameo" was pretty hilarious too. You'll know what I mean when you watch it. Yeah cameos!!!
3) These Two
I just loved the chemistry between them though one's technically a puppet. You know the whole Miss Piggy's singing is so bad it's good thing, yeah the same applies to Ty Burrell's french accent. It took me back to Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau (I liked the first Pink Panther, sue me!). It was campy and fun to watch. I almost wish the didn't put the bigger badge fight in the trailer because that could have been hilarious for us to see in the cinema. Nevertheless, they're still a joy to watch.
************************************SPOILERS************************************
The reasons why I think this movie came undone requires me to delve into the plot line. So if you're still here reading when you've got spoilerphobia (yeah I just made up a word), then you are responsible for facing your fears darling. Still here? Okay you asked for it.
No lists here. Just a long paragraph filled with explanation. So here's my problem with the film. I just didn't buy the fact that Kermit gave in to his friends forgetting about him so easily. The muppets were so oblivious to the fact that Kermit had been replaced by Constantine. I initially suspended my disbelief because hey it's a kid's show and dumb things like this happen all the time. However, the writers decided to address this when Kermit asks Walter, Animal, and Fozzie how they couldn't seem to notice he was not himself. When they did explain, I feel that Kermit gave into the apology easily. I don't get why this bothers me so much. Maybe if they hadn't brought it up, it would have been easier to digest the story but this just irked me. Remember in Iron Man 3 when Pepper Potts seemingly plummeted to her fiery death and Tony Stark didn't seemed to be moved by it at all? Yeah small details like that can make or break a story-line for some of us. Don't be lazy writers, you should have made Kermit a little more hesitant to accept that apology.
I know I said I liked the celebrity cameos but these cameos didn't have the magic that the first movie did. I was only excited for the cameos listed above. They tried to recreate the magic of "Man or Muppet" with Miss Piggy and Celine Dion but it just didn't come together as nicely. Was it just me or did Celine Dion just do runs in the song? I hardly got to hear her sing. And Nadya being in love with Kermit kind of freaked me out (hello bestiality). I love animals but I don't love them that much. The last time I checked, the warden doesn't decide if you can get out of a prison sentence. Prison Break would have been a whole other series if that was the case. Again, yes it's a children's movie but if you decide to incorporate some form of adult like themes or decisions (like Kermit's confrontation about not experiencing his absence), then you need to find a proper balance between the cartoonish and the realistic.
Other than that, it was a good movie to pass the time. Will I remember this movie and force my kids to watch it? Probably not but if it's playing on a random channel in the distant future and me and the kids have nothing else better to do, then yeah we'll watch it. Honestly, 2014 has been a huge bummer for me in terms of movies so far. 2013 was a GREAT year for cinema and here's hoping the summer blockbusters save 2014. So let's stretch out my hands, crack some knuckles and rate this bitch:
Don't expect the magic from the first movie but it's a good popcorn film (aka 3.5/5 stars)
Don't expect the magic from the first movie but it's a good popcorn film (aka 3.5/5 stars)
Well that being said, hope you guys had a Reel Good Time reading this and I'll see you at the next review.
- Vidya