Discovering the Best in the Muppets at Their Worst, Part 2

“That Act Was So Bad, the Frog Could Have Booked It!”

Discovering the Best in the Muppets at Their Worst, Part 2

Justin H. Piatt - Hi, again! Remember me? I’m the one who whined last week about Muppets From Space. Well, here I am again to delve into the unusual cruelty that is…

Kermit’s Swamp Years

The Bad:
1.    The over-the-top performance of John Hostetter as Dr. Krassman detracts a lot from the movie. I’m all for over-the-top performances, but only if said over-the-top performances are funny. John Hostetter’s over-the-top performance is just bad. It also feels as if he’s talking down to the audience through the whole thing… considering he never talks to the audience directly, this is quite a feat. Kudos, sir! I suppose it’s just that he seems to be thinking, “This is just a kid’s movie, I don’t have to be good.” That brings me to my next point…

2.    This is a kid’s movie. This is only bad in that I don’t think the movie succeeds in reaching out to a broader audience. There is a lot of great stuff that I think an older audience can appreciate, but mainly this movie’s aimed at kids, which it does well in talking to that audience. But I’m not talking to that audience, therefore, “This is a kid’s movie” gets mixed in with the bad.

3.    Gratuitous Muppet mooning… What the hey?

4.    I think a lot of people will disagree with me here, but I never liked Pilgrim. I don’t know what it is, but the character kind of annoyed me. Maybe it was the voice. Perhaps not allowing a Muppet performer do the voice detracts from the overall performance. Perhaps I just couldn’t relate to her. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to like her. Or maybe I never actually watched the movie, and that’s why I can’t come up with a good reason. Who knows?

The Good:
1.    Joe the Armadillo. … Wait… He wasn’t actually in the movie, was he? Too bad. I liked Puppety Sockman the Puppet.

2.    Kermit taking care of his family. It makes me laugh to see Kermit trampled by his brothers and sisters, when all he’s trying to do is help out. Schadenfreude at its finest.

3.    The pet store. Bill Barretta’s performance as Roy the Frog is great opposite John Kennedy as Blotch. Steve Whitmire plays two great characters here. First, Chico, who just cracks me up, and then Jack Rabbit, who is one of the best original one-shot characters in a long time. The song “Life As a Pet” is kinda catchy. Classic Muppets at the pet store. “Oui, oui, poo-poo!”

4.    Multiplying bunnies. Alongside the road at one point, we see two bunnies watching the pet store owner’s truck drive by. The next time someone drives by, there are four bunnies. By the end, there are six. To quote Rizzo, “And this is supposed to be a kids movie!”

5.    Mary, Dr. Krassman’s assistant. One of the best human performances in the movie. Unlike Krassman, she goes over-the-top, but she doesn’t aggravate me because of it. She does it very well, and she’s always so happy and talkative and good-natured. … And she’s kinda cute, too.

6.    Young Dr. Krassman. Again, over-the-top, but in a much better way. The scene with him is corny, but funny… at least to me. “I’m not a froggy pants! I’m not a froggy pants!” A terrible line, but delivered in such a horrible way that it’s actually good.

7.    Finally, outtakes. Not only are there outtakes during the end credits, but also as a bonus feature on the DVD. We don’t see enough Muppet outtakes, and they’re always hilarious. We also get a glimpse of Steve Whitmire’s Link Hogthrob voice during these outtakes, which is great.

You may have noticed that the good in Kermit’s Swamp Years far outweighs the bad in this review. That’s not entirely the case. Dr. Krassman just takes way too much away from this movie. It would have been much, much better in my opinion if it weren’t for him. … Da bum!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Discovering the Best in the Muppets at Their Worst, part 1

NEWS UPDATE: January 7, 2010

A few days ago, Jimmy Fallon posted a video on his blog that showcased The Muppets performing an impromptu version of the song "One." It was hilarious and Muppety and absolutely had to be shared!

Today on The Muppet Mindset we welcome our good friend Justin H. Piatt who brings us the first of his three part series: "Discovering the Best in the Muppets at Their Worst."

“I’ve Seen Detergents That Left a Better Film than This!”
Discovering the Best in the Muppets at Their Worst

Justin H. Piatt - The Muppets are among the most beloved characters the entertainment industry has ever known. They’ve starred in six theatrical films, several television series, and have even performed live on stage. They’ve entertained millions in over a hundred countries. However, this paragraph is useless as it has no bearing on the rest of this article.

No, no, and no again (and also no). This article discusses the Muppets at their worst! At their absolute most painful! At their most awful, terrible, nauseating, stomach-turning—

KERMIT: Yeesh! We get it already!

RIZZO: Yeah, rub it in, why dontcha!

*ahem!* Sorry.

Generally speaking, there are three Muppet productions that receive less than favorable reviews amongst Muppet fans: Muppets from Space, Kermit’s Swamp Years and The Muppets Wizard of Oz. I’ve chosen to briefly review the first of these three films, discussing both the good and the bad.

Muppets from Space

The Bad:
1.    Well… first of all, the Muppets should sing. Someone once said (see? I did my research) that puppets almost have to sing. But the only Muppet singing in the whole movie is the alien Gonzos singing “Celebration” and Pepe’s very brief rendition of “The Gambler”… and then Rentro’s jalapeno song, but that really doesn’t count. The main Muppet characters should have sung in the film. The fact that this is supposed to be a very emotional and personal story, it would have translated into a musical very nicely. After all, another someone once said that people sing in musicals when they can no longer contain their emotions, and burst out in song to express themselves… I think that was the gist of it.

2.    Awkward cameos. From Josh Charles’ annoying karate (and the fact that he was somehow better than Miss Piggy at it) to Hulk Hogan’s very, very annoying shout-out to his “NWO-ites”... although Jeffrey Tambor’s response to him was perfect. The cameos in general just don’t work in this movie. Personally, I think the only memorable cameo comes from Steve Whitmire as “Rainbow.” Maybe F. Murray Abraham, but that brings about a new question… Who the heck is F. Murray Abraham?

3.    The director. Too much of the movie looked like – and felt like - it was made for television. Then again, what do you expect from a television director? I’ve also heard it rumored that he changed a lot in the script that would have made the whole film much better. That’s just disturbing.

4.    Gonzo is an alien? What??? From MuppetWiki: “The original premise was that aliens had seen [Gonzo’s] acts on The Muppet Show beamed up to their ship from a satellite and wanted to visit him on Earth. Gonzo would believe he was one of them until he discovered the truth at the movie's conclusion.” What was wrong with that? More than likely, Gonzo would have realized that the Muppets were his real family no matter what. That’s a great ending! What happened to it? Perhaps the greatest injustice done to any Muppet production. Perhaps the greatest injustice done to any film, any writer, anywhere, anytime... I exaggerate, of course… Or do I?

5.    Jeffrey Tambor’s hissy-fit at the end. Didn’t like it. At all.

The Good:
1.    Muppets Tonight characters. Bobo- er, Rentro, Pepe, Dr. Phil van Neuter, and Johnny and Sal’s brief cameo are all great. But then, I liked Muppets Tonight. Bill Barretta shines as the dull but gruff and lovable Bobo- er, Rentro- and as Pepe.

2.    Scooter’s back! For the first time since The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, we got to see Scooter speak on screen… at least for a few seconds, anyway.

3.    Rizzo is hillarious in this movie, and in perfect character. If this weren’t Gonzo’s movie, it would be Rizzo’s. Of course, if it weren’t Rizzo’s movie, it might have been Mr. Poodlepants’ movie, and then where would we be? … (Note: Write The Mr. Poodlepants Movie script)

4.    Bunsen and Beaker being forgotten at the gas station makes me crack up every time I watch this movie. As does the “R U THREE?” gag.

5.    Jeffrey Tambor… most of the time. Aside from his hissy-fit, which I already mentioned, I really enjoy Jeffrey Tambor’s role In this (Ha! I almost wrote “Tamboy!”) Pat Hingle’s good, too. Didn’t include him with the cameos because he’s technically more than a cameo in this. Also, love this exchange: “Gonzo of Earth, who is this most entertaining friend of yours?” “That’s Ed.” “Hi, Ed.” “Hello, Ed.” “The cape!” “The cape!” “The cape for Ed.”

6.    And the best part about Muppets From Space: The DVD commentary! So good, in fact, whenever I watch Muppets From Space, it’s typically with the commentary on. Some great Gonzo and Rizzo interaction, and the whole thing is improved by the fact that the director says next to nothing. The DVD should have been called “Muppets From Space Commentary with bonus feature Muppets From Space film.”

Well, I could have said more, I could have said less, I could have said something in Japanese, but that was my opinion of Muppets From Space.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier