Since their return to theaters in 2011, the Muppets have released two separate theatrical features, one of which grossed over $160 million worldwide, and they have a hip new show coming to ABC this fall. So for 40 year-old nonsensical puppet characters, Jim Henson’s silly, self-referencing coterie ain’t doing half bad.
Maybe that’s why Marcus Theatres is doing this “Muppet Mania” thing. At $5 a ticket, the Milwaukee-based theater chain is bringing a different Muppet feature to Point and (if you’re inclined to drive a bit more) Sun Prairie’s Palace Cinema. Each weekend beginning on Fri, May 15 and running through Sun Jun 7, Marcus is trotting out The Muppet Movie (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Muppets from Space (1999), and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). As of 1992, The Muppet Christmas Carol has been the best of the bunch, but a Dickensian adaptation is a little out of season right now. There’s plenty to love in the series we’ve got, even if it’s pretty uneven and the order doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Movin’ right along, though:
The Muppet Movie (May 15 – 17)
Dom Deluise’s talent agent gets lost in Kermit the Frog’s swampland home and convinces the banjoy-plucking, joke-telling amphibian to find fame and fortune in Hollywood. The Muppets get their ostensible “origin story” in their theatrical debut and there are just as many songs as you’d imagine. On the way Tinsel Town, Fozzie Bear turns up in James Coburn’s El Sleezo Cafe, the Electric Mayhem bust grooves in an abandoned Presbyterian church, and the gang literally runs into Gonzo on the great American highway. All the while, Kermit is pursued by slimy restaurant-repreneur Doc Hopper (Charles Durning). Cars break down and the classic Muppets “somebody gets kidnapped” trope is born. Yes, The Muppet Movie is flimsy in the storytelling department and director James Frawley, who was apparently miserable throughout the production, gives a pedestrian effort in what amounts to a ported over version of the television show (1976 to 1981). Make no mistake: this is a vehicle for running gags, bad puns, and plenty of cameos.
The good news is that all of that stuff is fantastic, and it soon becomes a running joke that the Muppets breeze through their movie on natural talent and opportunity. Featuring the all-time best music in a Muppet movie, Paul Williams is also at the top of his songwriting game. “Movin’ Right Along” and the timeless “Rainbow Connection” have rightfully found their way into the mainstream, but there’s also Frank Oz’s deliciously off-key belting as Miss Piggy in “Never Before, Never Again.” As the Muppet films are wont to do, The Muppet Movie ends with a big chorus number. After destroying the set on a studio project that was literally handed to them by Orson Welles’ stoic, cigar chomping executive, Kermit and friends tip-toe into a booming, joyous finale complete with a rainbow and (at the time) ever goddamn Muppet in existence. Not just anyone can blow up their own movie and turn make it endearing. But this isn’t anyone; it’s the Muppets.
The Great Muppet Caper (May 22 – 24)
After getting fired by Jack Warden, “twin” investigative reporters Kermit and Fozzie head across the pond and become entangled in family politics of the luxurious Hollidays. Lady Holliday (Diana Rigg) is a snobby but successful fashion designer while her ne’er-do-well brother Nicky (Charles Grodin) is more interested in the “fortune” part of “fame and fortune.” Nicky plans to snatch his sister’s “fabulous baseball diamond,” the family’s prized heirloom, and pin the whole thing on Miss Piggy with whom he’s simultaneously infatuated. It’s weird.
As Grodin’s mark/love interest, Miss Piggy gets to play both the damsel in distress and the motorcycle-riding action star and she’s treated with lavish Busby Berkeley homages and synchronized swimming numbers. Long have the Muppets pegged Miss Piggy as an attention hog and excessive asides like “The First Time It Happens” let her have her cake and eat it, too.
The only Muppet film directed by Henson himself, The Great Muppet Caper‘s all over the place. The British humor ought to make for some “fish out of water” gags, but most jokes fall flat or drag on too long, and apart from John Cleese and Joan Sanderson (and Peter Falk, for some reason), none of the UK cameos amount to much. Even Rigg and Grodin are wasted. Both nail the over-the-top hamminess it takes to hang with the Muppets, but they’re pushed aside for heist movie cliches and a giant non-mystery. Everything’s covered in a grey haze and features the Muppets at perhaps their most incompetent. Given that this was a celebration of the end of The Muppet Show, that’s a real shame.
Muppets From Space (May 29 – 31)
Any Muppet movie worth its salt focuses on separating the gang only to bring them all back together. Sam the Eagle, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, and even Kermit are less than the sum of their parts. But what about Gonzo? Nobody loves “Gonzo the Great.” I’d bet David Goelz, the Muppeteer behind Gonzo, only tolerates Gonzo. But Muppets from Space has the distinction of not just sticking it to fans with its Gonzo-focused storyline; it also lays claim to being among the best Muppet features.
Sesame Street regular Joe Mazzarino and Spongebob Squarepants’ Tim Hill step in to shake things up with Gonzo’s bizarre search for self-discovery. The insanity begins with Gonzo finding a secret message in his Kap’n Alphabet cereal doesn’t end until an alien ship kicks off a late 90s funk dance party on Earth. Muppets From Space is gloriously weird, and with nods to Men in Black, Independence Day, and The X-Files, 1999 marked a time when the Muppets could once again appeal to kids and parents alike. Jeffrey Tambor is the self-loathing and legitimately psychotic parallel to Doc Hopper, obsessed with tracking down Gonzo as proof of alien life for boss Pat Hingle (Tim Burton’s Commissioner Gordon). Oh, and Ray Liotta, Kathy Griffin, and “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan all make appearances. As a series, “Muppet Mania” makes a big chronological jump putting this third, but that’s not important, you guys. What’s important is the hallucinogenic fish in this movie.
The Muppets Take Manhattan (Jun 5 – 7)
The Muppets can bring us some serious highs (and I’m not talking about Steve Martin’s shorts). An eclectic if not consistently stellar revolving door of cameos, musical numbers galore, and nearly universal appeal, when the Muppets are at the top of their game, family entertainment always wins.
When they’re not, it’s a rough ride and for some inexplicable reason, Marcus is capping off its series with the worst Muppet movie in the franchise. The Muppets Take Manhattan isn’t awful solely because it sent Frank Oz on a collision course to direct The Indian in the Cupboard. It’s awful because it retreads the original Muppet Movie with a patronizing East Coast story about “making it” on Broadway. It’s awful because Miss Piggy fails the Bechdel Test and Juliana Donald as Kermit the Frog’s weird friend/love interest has less charisma than a Muppet without its Muppeteer. This is the movie best known for launching The Muppet Babies cartoon and for putting any chances of future sequels on hiatus for eight years. You know what? A Christmas movie in June doesn’t sound so bad after all.