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theoscarsproject · 5 months
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The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). Kermit and his friends go to New York City to get their musical on Broadway only to find it's a more difficult task than they anticipated.
Not my fave Muppet movie, but still a lot of fun. The puppetry is, as always, top notch, but it really does feel more like a sketch show than a cohesive narrative. Ending on the note of Miss Piggy tricking Kermit into marrying her isn't the best one either, but still, it's always a good time to see these characters. 6.5/10.
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popculturebuffet · 2 years
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Monthly Muppets: The Muppets Take Manhattan: Meh In Mahattan (Comissioned by Emma Fici
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Hello all you happy people and welcome back to Monthly Muppets, your slice of monthly muppety madness funded by readers like you.. you specifically Emma Fici, my friend who funds these and picks out each months selection.
Today we look at the iconically titled Muppets Take Manhattan. While they weren't the first to take the big apple, their the ones who popularized it with everyone from jason to ghostface having taken it ever since. I mean I assume that'll be Scream 6's title , why else set it in new york. C'mon paramount, cm'on radio silence, let it be Ghostface Takes Manhattan. Me's in the area concur it's a great title. Their your target demographic: Aging orangutans who watch a lot of dead meat and children's cartoons!
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Yeah! I feel good about this. So on that high Muppets Take Manhattan is notable for a lot of reasons: It's the last film in what i'm now calling "The Henson Trilogy", the three films starring Kermit and Co done while Jim was still alive, the ones most people think of when they think Muppets movie (along with Christmas Carol and Treasure Island), and some of the works that helped define the troupe outside of the muppet show.
This film is also notable for being the solo directing debut of Muppet maestro and mean green mother from outer space Frank Oz, who co-directed Dark Crystal with Henson. With a massive workload and pure exaustion from directing two films back to back, and that's on top of launching Fraggle Rock around the same time. He needed a second to catch his breath so he put the operation in Frank's first class hands.
This film also had a notable absence: Jerry Juhl, long time muppets writer and the man who wrote the previous and next two films. He was a supervisor down at Fraggle Rock (Clap clap) Down at Fraggle Rock, so it fell on his other Great Muppet Caper Co-Writers, Jay Tarses and Tom Patchett to pick up the pace. Problem was they went in the same direction as caper and while I would've loved that, Frank wanted something more grounded, especially after Caper didn't do great at the box office. So he went in and rewrote himself, and the resulting film was a more grounded take. So what was it all about?
Taking Manhattan
MTM follows our heroes. LIke Caper it recasts them this time as recent graduates of Danforth College, whose graduation show, Manhattan Melodies, was a massive hit. So with big starry dreams in their eyes they take it to broadway.. and instead of taking Manhattan more get taken to the curb BY Manhattan. After a few or so stoppings Kermit is at the end of his rope and snaps at everyone else, who decide the best thing to do is to scatter to the four winds while he writes it. I get their trying not to pressure him but like.. they don't have to leave New York. And it's REALLY dickish they all pressure PIggy into seemingly doing the same despite no reason to. She's Kermit's girlfriend here, not his stalker or some strange he falls in love with all over again. He doesn't HAVE to be cut off from everyone to get a needed break.
So they leave with a very sad, beautiful ballad i'll get to in a moment, and Kermit starts working with Jenny, a kind human played by Juliana Doland, who doesn't have a ton of credits to her name but does a pretty good job. She's thorughly upstaged by Pete, Jenny's dad and diner owner constantly fed up with everyone's nonsense whose hiring of Kermit and a bunch of rats recommended by Rizzo, in his first major role in a muppet production as Pete's waiter, with…
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The Rats are a great addition though and the scnee with them cooking in the kitchen (People were uncomfortable with them as waiters) is a thing of beauty, creative, fun and clearly taking a lot of wizardry. It also turned out the simplest solution was the best a lot of the time: they found out just using actual butter for one of the rats to skate on worked best, and most amusingly , an attempt to make fake pancake batter ATE THROUGH THE BOWL and actual batter was fine just fine. If that isn't the most muppets thing I ever heard I don't know what is.
So Kermit tries to get the film made, gets hugs from Jenny and Piggy stalks them both from afar in a trenchcoat because apparently they needed to make her even creepier than she already was, while kermit ocasoinally gets a letter from anothe rmuppet elsehwere in the country. This pattern repeats for 40 minutes. I'm not kidding.
It's the film's main problem: Plot wise it just.. goes about nowhere for most of the film. The first 20 minutes have pretty brisk pacing: Our heroes perform their college thesis, try to get the show made nearly get conned by a BAD MAN BAD MAN BAD MAN, then decide to go their seperate ways so kermit can focus on the play without worrying about them. It's fairly dense, still has plenty of jokes (Again BAD MAN BAD MAN), and works.
But the middle is just.. nothing. Most comedy films have a somewhat loose plot, but said plots serve as the motor. Using some of my faviorite movies as an example first off we have Wayne's World. Wayne's World HAS a plot, our two heroes get picked up from Cable Access to regular TV and have to deal with the exec who picked up the shows ulterior motives. We also have Wayne's building relationship with Cassandra which dovetails into said Exec threatening it. A clear a and b plot with some other stuff mixed in. Is said plot what most people think about Wayne's World? No, they think of bohemian rhapsody, the bugs bunny gag, Wayne speaking Cantonese with Cassandra, the sponsorship scene, Alice Cooper, "it seemed superfluous at the time". Rob Lowe is great in that section, but it's at it's core just a way to get from one joke to the next and to give the plot a semblance of flow. There are plenty of scenes like our heroes playing hockey, going to see allice cooper and shopping for Wayne's Dream guitar while Garth does a sweet solo that have nothing to do with said plots, but are all memorable and charming. While there are comedies that are tightly plotted as heck, and that's fine, at the least you just need a plot to keep the momentum.
The purest example of this is True Stories, the David Byrne classic and his only directorial outing. It's mostly just vignettes of various things around the town of Virgil, Texas as they prepare for their celebration of specialness. But it still has connective tissue in the various characters, and the through line plots of David Byrne in a Cowboy Hat narrating to us and John Goodman's attempts to find a wife who loves his basic panda bear shape.
Here the plot doesn't really make things go and things just aren't zany or surreal enough, like true stories, to really make it work. It's too grounded for the plot to be this thin and even teh far less grounded caper and after it most wanted had far snappier plots to compensate for being batshit insane. It's just "Kermit tries zany scheme to get the play accepted" (and not nearly enough though him with an afro wig, gold tooth and pick velvet suit was a fucking riot, as was the whisper campagin0, "Piggy stalks him", "stuff happens" and then he just .. falls into getting the plan accepted by an up and coming producer. He works HARD sure but it dosen't feel like there was any real progress sin his attempts. One just works.
The plot just feels unengaging as a result: I DO want Kermit to succed and he is trying hard but there's no escalation to his work or real flow. And Piggy's jealousy is mostly resolved when they just.. talk and she realizes he wans't cheating on her which could've been resolved in five minutes. It feels like , in part thanks to Emma telling me this, Oz wanted to immitate the screwball comedis of hollywood, scaling things back to just our leading man and lady and a few characters. But that's just not what the muppets is. The muppets aren't scaled back they go all in. Even the more serious flims like Treasure Island, Christmas Carol and The Muppets still have plenty of chaos and character. This film just feels like Frank Oz trying to fit a muppet peg into a normal film hole. It's telling most of his films after this weren't all that fantastical and even his next, his masterwork and one of my faviorite films Little Shop of Horrrors, was still grounded in the humans and their actions and a morality tale. Frank OZ was great with playing muppets, Miss PIggy for all the faults I have with how she treats Kermit is still a fun character when used right and Yoda is yoda, but it's clear his heart wasn't in telling muppet stories by himself. And that's okay. It's better he played to his strengths than tried to be something he wasn't and let those who wanted to do it. It makes for a sloppily paced film, but it allowed him to learn the lesson early and get on to doing films he wanted.
That said there ARE a lot of great gags. While Frank is out of his element here, it dosen't mean he's not still part of the troupe. This isn't a TERRIBLE muppets film. Frank still gets enough for it to be enjoyable: Kermit with a gold tooth and afro, Piggy and Joan Rivers make up laughing fit, the penguins asking for a job.. this plot is still packed with good bits, it's just not as consitent tone wise is all
Even the eventual resolution to Miss PIggy stalking kermit because that's normal and not at all a red flag is a banger: While stalking Piggy gets caught on a poll and has her purse stolen. So we get the GOOD side of piggy as she borrows some skates from Gregory Hines, and CHASES THE FUCKER DOWN FOR A GOOD FEW MINUTES The guys other terror and surprise as she KEEPS FINDING HIM is fucking amazing. I love it. The best part though is after as Gregory tries to get his skates back while Piggy and Kermit fight "I'll just unlace these while you fight" getting overly involved in their argument before deciding they can just keep the skates "I just like to wear these shorts". Gregory Hines is this film's mvp. In fact that gives me an idea. You'll see
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Kermit does eventually land a broadway gig
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So with the muppets reassembling and bringing everyone they met along, they try and find him. This last third is the best part of the film as we get the whole gang back together while Kermit gets his legs stretched, wonders who he is and then wanders into getting an advertising gig. Seeing Kermit as a straight laced executive is hilarious. I don't know what voice Jim is doing here but i love it.
THe resolution is also great as our heroes end up finding him at the diner and having to straight up kidnaping him with Kermits new frog friends not really bothered ("If that's how they treat customers no wonder they don't get a lot of repeat buisness" ) though it takes Piggy saying they were in love to get him over it. oh no no the love part, Amnesia!Kermit laughs so hard and is such a delightful dick about it (Even going Sooeeeeee while the rest of the cast gape in horror) that Piggy understandably decides to murder him. Thankfulyl Kermit surivvies, is restored and we get two great numbers in a row as our heroes are married…. kinda. It's left vauge if the preist really is really real or not. The wedding is also wonderful with every other muppet showing up. And I mean EVERY ONE. Kermit's old Sesame street friends, every member of the troupe and even uncle traveling matt. It's a wonderful capper to a fairly.. eh film.
Yeah before we move onto the music as you can see Muppets Take Manhattan is.. okay. The plot is very stalled and way too grounded, but it has enough truly all timer muppet jokes and songs to make it watchable. It's a decent watch but not one i'd really come back to. Speaking of songs
Manhattan Melodies
The songs for Take Manhttan are the other pillar that makes up for the pacing. Every song is a classic and every musical number great. Admitely it's part of act 2's major problems, as the songs are mostly in act's 1 and 3, with only one number in act 2, but when we get a song their great. Sadly they havne't been released, likely due to rights issues, but the original album did get a grammy nomination so . t.her'es that. Hopefully we can get one eventually for now though let's break down these classics
We start with an all time classic, Together Again, the final number of manhattan melodies in it's orignial starkid-esque form. Together Again is truly amazing, a wonderful song about reconnectiong, reunion and hapiness.
You Can't Take No For an Answer is a fun electric mayhem number with a slightly melancholy beat underscoring our heroes failed attempts to make it on broadway. EM always tends to have some of the best songs , with Can You PIcture That probably being my faviorite from The Muppet Movie, so its no suprise they slap here.
Saying Goodbye fucking broke me. A truly sad number as our heroes all seperate, it really gets the feeling of parting with someone down pat and hurts even more knowing we'd loose Jim Henson and Richard Hunt all too soon after this. Hauntingly beautiful.
Rat Scat slaps, some fun as the rats cook int he kitchen which should be gross but it's charming. Wonder if Rattouie was at all inspired by this. Food for thought. Pun welcomed.
I"m Always Gonna Love You is a fun rocking ditty. I consider it the weakest of the film's tracks.. but it's no chilly down in terms of a quality drop. I just like it SLIGHTLY less than the others because it goes on a bit longer than necessary. That's all. This is also for some reason a sequence starring the Muppet Babies, who would be so popular they'd get their own show
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We then get Right Where I Belong, which embarasingly I first remember hearing in a commercial even though i'd seen this movie before (and mostly forgot it apart from Mad Men!Kermit) , but is probably my faviorite, it's snappy, happy and really fits Kermit coming back and finally having everyone else. It's got that good old fashioned broadway style that really fits the films tone. I love it.
Finally we have Somebody's Getting Married/Waiting For The Wedding/ He'll Make Me Happy, a lovely ballad and show stoppin number as our heroes gather for the wedding of Kermit and Piggy. Which again she might of tricked him into which is..
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But hey the music is nice. And with that we have two final pieces of
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Film Ranking
As i've done since the last review, it's time to see where the film ranks compared to the other muppet films and specials i've covered so far and well.. this one's probably going to piss a LOT of people off
(ranking)
Keep in mind the gap is WIDEEEE between those last two. But despite expecting some backlash, I stand by this. The other films sans Trashfire of Oz are all paced MUCH better and while from Space is mostly just okay, it has more heart to it and better jokes. This one ALMOST inches it out for the songs, but in the end I just in good concious can't put it above the more solid film.
Muppet MVPS:
I've decided after Gregory Hines outstanding performance to start giving out awards, dead meat stylez please don't sue james I love you man, for the best human and muppet performance. This section will be longer than most as to head off Kevin asking me what the others would've been, because I know my friend and I know like me he's a very through dork, and to keep this feature introduced a ways in consitent, i'm going to give out the ones for previous films and episodes too. I also thought of the idea to award best cameo just as I was almost done soooo
Take Manhattan: Muppet MVP: Kermit gets our first as his various shenanigans and seeing him more as hustler than his normal put upon everyfrog is just fantastic. Hines-Grodin Award For Best Human: Gregory not only gets the first award but gets it partly named after him, as he's the one who inspired me to do this. He just perfectly fits in and his bit will live in my head rent free form now on.
From Space: Muppet MVP: Bobo. I mean i'ts hard not to give it to him every time as Bobo just slaps, but he works here as Jeffrey Tambour's foil and gets a great payoff sabotaging the guy's gun. Hines-Grodin Award: This is a hard one. Do I give it to David Arqutte, the most dangerous man alive or Ray Liotta? In the end Liotta gets it for his great brain dead performance post memory wipe. David is good as always but his roll really goes nowhere. Best Cameo: HINES. Joan Rivers comes close but come on.
Wizard of Oz: Muppet MVP: Kermit. Not throughout the main part of the film, but for the Quinten Tarintnio Sequence. He looks so afraid for his life it's awesome. Hines-Grodin Award: Again Quinten Tarintino. In a film that nearly killed my soul his sudden cameo brought life and muppet energy back into it. God bless you you very weird very terrifying man. Best Cameo: Once again, mr. tarintino.
Muppet Caper: Muppet MVP: Going to have to go with Beau for the cart stunt. Chefs kiss that was awesome. Hines Grodin Award: The man who named the award himself Charles Grodin. I feel he deserves this both for his untimely passing and for setting the standard for Human performers in the films. WHile he wasn't the FIRST , he certainly madea lasting impression. I mean what other actor would be so game as to sing an opera to Miss Piggy? Cameo Award: the guy who played columbo, both for his increasingly insane guess and Kermit's iconic response "Amazing what you said was 100% wrong. Nothing you've said has been right"
Muppets Tonight: Muppet MVP: Gonzo for the Dancing With Myself number. All time great in muppets history there. Hines Grodin Award: Obviously the reason I watched the ep and reviewed it, the late, great Gilbert Gottfried as Kermit's date/creepy fan, though Dennis Quaid was REALLY good. But Gilbert was born for this.
Muppet Show Star Wars: Muppet MVP: Angus Macgonagle, the Gargoyle Who Gargles Gershwin Gorgeously. Human MVP: Kinda obvious but Mark Hamill. He's terrific both as luke and as himself. I"d expect no less.
Labyrinth: Muppet MVP: This is a close race between Ludo and Sir Didymus but in the end his good sirship pulls out just ahead. He's just so fun and i'm amazed they got the puppet so tiny yet detailed and movement oriented. Nicely done. Human MVP: David. Fucking. Bowie. Need I say more? Need I REALLY say more or justify this one? Cameo Award: Uh jim I guess for appearing in the opening scene. Otherwise i'm saving these most for the muppet movies
Most Wanted: Muppet MVP: Constantine. Steve Whitmire doing a weird as hell kermit voice and the scene with the jaws kill me. Human MVP: This is a REALLY hard one. Ty Burrel, Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey ALL fucking bring it to grodin levels. So picking one is hard. But I have to go with Ty. His deliberatley over the top french accent, great chemistry with same and antics are just all so damn hilarous, though Ricky Gervais wearing a lemur suit and Tina Fey always knwoing hwere you are do come up close, I gotta give it to Ty. Cameo Award: A decent suply of candiates, including Stanley Tuci as the cheerful watchtower guy, but the winner is Usher as an Usher. IT's a stupidly obvious and stupidly brilliant gag.
Treasure Island: Muppet MVP: Dead Tom. He's dead! Human MVP: TIM CURRY. NEED. I. SAY. MORE. Cameo Award: Dawn French as the landlady "How does she do that? So with that the takes manhattan review is on the books. Thanks for reading and if you enjoy the film feel free to do so. This is one orangutan shaped man's opinon.
Next Time: We're dancing in the moonlight for spooky season as we review last year's Muppet's Haunted Mansion. OOOOOOOOO
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maryversusthemovies · 2 months
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We kick off “Dennis versus the movies” month with a viewing of the second Muppet movie, The Great Muppet Caper, in which the Muppets go to England and get tangled up with Charles Grodin and a jewel heist. Joining us is our special guest, Zach Woliner, a puppeteer and children’s entertainer.
Starring Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Charles Grodin, Diana Rigg, John Cleese, Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, Jack Warden, and of course Peter Falk. Written by Tom Patchett, Jay Tarses, Jerry Juhl, and Jack Rose, and directed by Jim Henson.
Episode 135 - The Great Muppet Caper
With special guest Zach Woliner
https://sites.libsyn.com/398906/episode-135-the-great-muppet-caper-1981-with-special-guest-zach-woliner
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lukeevansgirl22 · 7 months
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Teen Wolf is a funny movie for Halloween!
Hey guys! I’m here to do a review on the movie “Teen Wolf!” I love this movie because it’s hilarious and perfect for Halloween! The movie is about a high school student, Scott Howard, who discovers that he comes from a family of werewolves. With the cast of Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine, Matt Adler, Lorie Griffin, James MacKrell, Mark Arnold, Jay Tarses, Mark…
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abriefingwithmichael · 11 months
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"Buffalo Bill" 17 (1984)
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Continuation/conclusion of the abortion story, by Jay Tarses.
Again, the show feels like a true ensemble here. With Joanna Cassidy and Geena Davis carrying most of the weight. Both are excellent. And it’s great to see both of them getting so much material independent of the Bill character.
Dabney Coleman gets one key scene, on his own, acting out an entire baseball game. It has to be seen to believed. His vocal work is astonishing.
Stuart Charno is back for his second/final episode as Zwickey, the guy everyone at the studio inexplicably hates. Would have liked to have seen more of him.
10/10
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SLYTHERIN: "You hear that, New York? I'm staying here! The frog is staying!" –Frank Oz + Tom Patchett + Jay Tarses (Kermit the Frog: The Muppets Take Manhattan)
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90smovies · 3 years
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fyeahrebeccafront · 3 years
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milliondollarbaby87 · 3 years
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Teen Wolf (1985) Review
Teen Wolf (1985) Review
Scott Howard’s life is about to change when he finds out that his family have a rather strange secret when he starts turning into a werewolf. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (more…)
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theoscarsproject · 2 years
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The Great Muppet Caper (1981). Kermit the Frog, The Great Gonzo, and Fozzie Bear are reporters who travel to Britain to interview a rich victim of jewel thieves and help her along with her secretary, Miss Piggy.
Is there anything more comforting than a Muppet movie? This just gets me in all the right ways, from the homages to old school Hollywood musicals to the investigative journalism/mistaken identity bent to Fuzzy and Kermit being identical twins. Poetic cinema! 8/10.
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retropunch · 5 years
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The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1987) - Season 1 intro
Molly Dodd was a mid thirties, divorced woman living in New York City and facing the comedy and drama of a widely changing career, difficulties of apartment living, love life and its consequences, and so on.
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cutepatzie · 6 years
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dweemeister · 7 years
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The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
Like a security blanket to bundle into on a cold, distressed day, the Muppets have been a force of happiness and entertainment for several decades. 1979′s The Muppet Movie had been a rousing success, as had The Muppet Show – which had just completed its fifth and final season when Jim Henson directed (his directorial debut) The Great Muppet Caper. This second Muppets movie was an attempt to steer the franchise towards its future: feature films (Caper is the second of eight Muppets films so far) and television specials. The Great Muppet Caper does not result in a sophomore slump for the franchise, but there is an important tradeoff that occurs in the film. As Henson created the Muppets, it should be no surprise that this entry represents one of the more faithful portrayal of the Muppets as characters (to an extent). However, this comes at the expense of the heartwarming humanism and messages of perseverance that one comes to expect in a movie starring the Muppets.
More than any other movie in the Muppets franchise, The Great Muppet Caper topples the fourth wall repeatedly. In fact, it happens so often there might not be a fourth wall. Traveling by hot air balloon, Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, and Gonzo are commenting on the opening credits – yes you three, some weirdos out there read the opening credits (it includes yours truly, and like Kermit says, the people in the credits have families, too) – and land their balloon just outside their workplace: the Daily Chronicle. The trio are investigative reporters and are tasked with a London assignment where fashion designer Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg) has become victim to a headline-grabbing jewel robbery. With the Daily Chronicle refusing to cover expenses, our Muppet reporters fly in ninth-class (which apparently means the airplane’s cargo hold, with a dangerous method of disembarkation) and check into the battered, but free Happiness Hotel. There they meet up with the rest of tenants – which includes the rest of the Muppets, save one. That one is Miss Piggy, who Kermit mistakes as Lady Holiday and will ask out on a date.
The other human star of note is Charles Grodin as Nicky Holiday. Cameos include John Cleese, Joan Sanderson, Jack Warden, Peter Falk, Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, and Muppet performers including Henson (Kermit, Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, Waldorf, Swedish Chef), Richard Hunt (Scooter, Statler, Janice, Beaker, and Sweetums), and Jerry Nelson (Floyd Pepper; originated Sesame Street’s Mr. Snuffleupagus and played Count von Count from 1972-2012). One Sesame Street character makes a brief, hilarious cameo with Peter Ustinov.
There are running gags in The Great Muppet Caper that I should not describe in the slightest. In writing a movie for the Muppets, there are two formulae to choose from: the Muppets playing themselves as they look at a tricky situation through their point of view (think: The Muppet Movie and 2011′s The Muppets) and where the Muppets are playing characters that, though somewhat unlike them, retain a part of their Muppety essence (1992′s The Muppet Christmas Carol). The Great Muppet Caper is the latter (even after seeing four Muppet movies, some of the original television series, and the failed 2015 TV series, I’m not sure which I prefer; perhaps you have a preference). The most important joke running throughout the film is that the characters know that they are in a movie and the characters they are portraying are distinct from the Muppets themselves. For example, Kermit and Fozzie are supposed to be related and screenwriters Jerry Juhl (multiple Muppets movies), Tom Patchett (The Bob Newhart Show, ALF), Jack Rose (a longtime writer for Milton Berle and Bob Hope), and Jay Tarses (Bob Newhart, The Carol Burnett Show) – with their formidable, combined comedic writing experience – somehow keep that gag fresh, among others, for the entire ninety-seven minutes.
This film is clever as hell. Its screenplay lands its jabs to the funnybone cleanly, almost never missing. Yet that means as The Great Muppet Caper is reveling in its comedy, the Muppets themselves lose their trademark gentleness and belief that tomorrow is a fresh start to dream, laugh, and play. That positivity – with the exception of The Muppet Christmas Carol – is always embodied by the characters made of felt, fur, and fleece. The Muppets have become so familiar to those of us who have enjoyed their company, and that is why they are allowed to be as self-referential here as they are. Few other comedians or comedic pairings/groups could plausibly make a movie like this and inspire so much laughter.
I don’t mean to sell the writing short, so I will note that The Great Muppet Caper treats Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy with tremendous respect. These are the two people Kermit the Frog has always cared most about; through playing other characters, we see how that love is expressed.
Fozzie is not always effective in The Muppet Movie as he should be – that film portrays Fozzie’s inability to read social cues as a character quirk, not as something that brings disappointment, wrecking his self-confidence. Notice how Fozzie reacts when he believes that when Kermit is going on a date with Lady Holiday Miss Piggy – how innocent this misunderstanding is, how deeply Fozzie is hurt at first when Kermit says that his furry relative (remember, in this film, they are related) can’t come along.
For Miss Piggy, her vanity and volatility are more visible than her vulnerability. As Frank Oz (her performer) once said about Miss Piggy, “she is a seething mass of conflicts... It’s hard enough being a woman in our society. It’s even harder being a pig.” So determined is she to be successful in whatever she decides to pursue, she sometimes forgets the feelings of others she comes to care about. At a younger age, I found this behavior to be frustrating – I’m a guy, so a gendered bias is also involved. Thus, when her misunderstanding with Kermit comes, I felt a sadness there I might not have felt fifteen, maybe even five years ago. Her defenses have fallen, exposed and embarrassed. She and Kermit find a space to reconcile.
That reconciliation, and so many elements to the plot, is expressed through song. Composer Joe Raposo (various pre-Muppet Show Muppet specials, The Electric Company, Sesame Street) wrote all seven original songs appearing in The Great Muppet Caper – none of them mediocre, yet not a single one achieves the transcendence of “Rainbow Connection”. What makes Raposo’s musical score work is that – without the Muppets running around – if these songs were written for humans, they would still be as effective. Opening with “Hey, a Movie!” is a high-energy, exposition-hastening number, even if it might be a discount “That’s Entertainment!”. “Steppin’ Out with a Star” is a fun romp of what some men might do to prepare for a date – the dialogue and banter, of course, being G-rated. But the one song gifted with lush orchestrations is “The First Time It Happens”. It is played as a straight love song, with all the tenderness that Kermit and Miss Piggy can provide with their singing voices. Shortly afterward, Miss Piggy channels her inner Esther Williams in a synchronized swimming sequence entitled “Miss Piggy’s Fantasy” (complete with Dick Powell-like singing from someone dubbing Charles Grodin). Raposo’s familiarity with the Muppets pays dividends for The Great Muppet Caper.
That old saying about something not happening before pigs fly? You might need to update that to pigs performing complicated choreography in the pool. For this scene, eighteen professional swimmers were employed with all lighting, camerapersons, and speakers being placed underwater. Frank Oz had three days to learn scuba diving so that he could have Miss Piggy perform these sequences to perfection.
With Jim Henson directing, there are other ways in which the Muppet performers – Henson, Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, and Steve Whitmire – are allowed to show off. Where Kermit riding a bike impressed audiences and critics a few years prior, Henson figured that he might as well have all the Muppets riding bikes at the same time. For the musical number, “Couldn’t We Ride”, no computers were used. Instead, all of the Muppet performers clambered into cranes and rode bicycles of their own – attached to the Muppets’ bikes – while synchronizing their pedaling with the music and lyrics. Kermit’s stunt where he is riding his bike with only one hand included some complicated string puppetry. The final sequence where everybody is seen riding together saw Henson and two children (including one of his sons) riding oversize tricycles attached to the Muppets’ bikes with rods to complete the illusion.
Because The Great Muppet Caper knows that it is a movie and that it actively recalls Hollywood’s musical past, it comes off comforting nostalgia that neither alienates younger viewers or distracts older ones. It lacks that clear-eyed humanity of other Muppets movies, but this film has what one would want from Kermit, Miss Piggy, and company as it preserves what is essential to these characters: humor, vibrancy, and reassurance. Though we laugh at their pain (pain is funny), we witness how courageous they are in remaining optimistic through their struggles. As we watch the Muppets, we question if we are capable of such fortitude. I tend to think we already know the answer – sometimes, we just need a reminder.
My rating: 7.5/10
^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here. 
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jjstyles1 · 7 years
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Teen Wolf
Watching the last episode of Teen Wolf now. So sad it’s ending, but happy it was and it probably my all time fav show. So thanks Jeff. 
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coolhandlook · 5 years
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2019:1 — Teen Wolf
(1985 - Rod Daniel) *** Rewatch
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