For some ungodly reason The Muppets, given a Thanksgiving (24/11) release on the far side of the Atlantic will not be hitting our shores until February 10th, giving all of us sufficient time to ponder the benefits of piracy in an overinflated and apparently arbitrary industry.
Image by San Diego Shooter via flickr
Seriously though, The Muppets has enjoyed repeated welcomes into our cultural stable in a way that only Doctor Who can challenge. Some iterations are probably best forgotten (ahem Muppets Tonight ahem), but for every Muppets from Space there’s a Christmas Carol.
The big question of which side of the fence the new movie, written by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller and starring just about everyone in America plus Ricky Gervais, will fall is still pretty much in the balance. Judging by the sharp-and-clever/okay-I-get-it parody ads, it’s difficult to tell, and we’ll probably just have to wait to find out. Wait a long time, as it happens. Eesh. Anyway, here’s our lowdown.
This is pretty much perfect. Working with a format, rearranging already-seen footage in a clever way, telling a little story that suggests the inner workings of a film we can be pretty sure is going play with the fact that, y’know, it’s a film with muppets in. Bravo. A+
A pretty awesome way to set the ball rolling, reminding everyone that Jason Segel and Amy Adams are perfectly adorbs casting for this thing while showing a decent familiarity with the machinations of the common-or-garden romantic drama. B +
I didn’t see Green Lantern as it looked intensely silly. Segel makes a comment on the commentary, like, whoah, plus a nice touch with the Swedish chef. Could have been a little more brutal with superheroes? There’s a neat fan-made Avengers parody kicking about too. B
I’m not entirely sure what’s being parodied here. Generic gangster movies starring Danny Trejo? After a quick google I find that it’s The Hangover II. Meh. C
Again, just spot-on. It all just makes… so much sense. Chuck everything out there, be a bit clever with the voiceover and transitions. I’ve just made myself pretty optimistic about these whole shenanigans. A+
What did you make of it all? Promotional genius or just a bit too clever-clever? Let us know in the comments.
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November 1, 2011
Trailers