Review of The Muppets - Flesh-and-blood leads Jason Segel and Amy Adams provide sweet comic support to Kermit and Company.
The comic magic of Jason Segel, star of the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother and big-screen comedies like Bad Teacher and I Love You Man, revolves around his easygoing humor, boyish charms and innocent sense of optimism.
Segal is a classic man-child who makes nimble use of his bulky frame and he finds the perfect comic partners with the mischievous TV and movie puppets Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear in The Muppets, the first movie for Jim Henson's puppets in twelve years and arguably their highest profile project since their TV show went dark in 1981.
There are lots of family films this weekend but The Muppets has sweet nostalgia on its side and the fantastical slapstick of what happens when the world of the Muppets and flesh-and-blood people truly collide.
Gary (Segel) lives in his rural hometown known simply as Smalltown; shares a home with his Muppet brother Walter (Peter Linz) and dates the pretty elementary school teacher Mary (Amy Adams) who's something of an engineering whiz.
A romantic bus trip (really) to Los Angeles with Mary turns into an adventure when Gary lets Walter tag along and they meet up with Kermit the Frog (Steve Whitmire) after a disappointing tour of the rundown Muppet Studios.
In order to save their studio and theater from a cruel oil baron (Chris Cooper) who wants to drill on the property, Gary, Walter and Mary help Kermit reunite the Muppets and stage a telethon.
With The Muppets, every story revolves around putting on a good show except this time Segel and co-writer Nicholas Stoller also set out to prove to present-day audiences that the Muppets are still relevant in the digital era and worthy of a chance to put on a show.
Segel and director James Bobin embrace many of the familiar gags: Fozzy and his flat jokes, Gonzo and his failed acts and Miss Piggy and her narcissistic behavior.
In one of the film's sweetest highlights, Kermit takes to the stage with his banjo in hand to sing his trademark number Rainbow Connection with Miss Piggy.
All the regulars are back: Dr Teeth and his bassist Janice; the earnest stagehand Scooter, Waldorf and Statler, the old geezers in the theater balcony, Sam the Eagle and many more.
If there's one downside on the Muppet side of the story, Walter is a dull puppet compared to Henson's longstanding characters.
Fun cameos are another Muppet tradition and Emily Blunt poked fun at her Devil Wears Prada character as an office assistant to Miss Piggy.
Rashida Jones enjoys some of the film's best lines as a ruthless TV exec happy to tell the Muppets they have zero profile with today's audiences.
Amy Adams bundles her fairy princess demeanor and squeaky voice as Mary, a woman so innocent she finds a bus trip special.
Jack Black has fun as the telethon's accidental emcee and Chris Cooper makes great use of his chiseled looks and gruff voice as the villain out to squash the Muppets.
Still, all that's fun and clever about The Muppets revolves around the flesh-and-blood Segel who gives perhaps his sweetest comic role to date and it's no wonder he's good with the Muppets after watching his own puppet musical about Dracula.
The Muppets may have lost their recent Facebook campaign to host the Oscars but they can claim a shiny comeback movie worthy of all the goodtime memories about playing the music and lighting the lights.
What's the lesson for Kermit and company? Being green is easy when surrounded by fresh talent and a clever take on pop culture nostalgia.
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Cast: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Dave Goelz, Bill Barretta, Peter Linz and Alan Arkin
Screenwriter: Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller, from the original characters by Jim Henson
Director: James Bobin
Cinematographer: Don Burgess
Editor: James Thomas
Producers: Mandeville Films, Muppets Studio, Walt Disney Pictures Running Time: 98 minutes
Rating: Rated PG
Release Date: November 23, 2011