Movie Review: "Muppets Most Wanted" (James Bobin, 2014)

“MUPPETS MOST WANTED”: LESS FEELINGS, MORE FELT

by Mo Shaunette

 Above: Kermit the frog leads the Muppet gang in their latest adventure

 

In the opening number of “Muppets Most Wanted” (should there be a colon in there?  I’m getting “Star Trek Into Darkness” flashbacks), singers Kermit and Fozzie lament under their breaths that sequels are never quite as good as the original.  Sadly, by the film’s end, their prediction turns out valid.  Despite its self-deprecation, “Most Wanted” isn’t on the same level as its excellent predecessor (2011’s “The Muppets”), even if it’s still fun enough to warrant a watch.

            Our story takes place immediately after “The Muppets” – in fact, the first shot of the movie is fireworks spelling “The End,” before the camera pans over body doubles of non-returning players Jason Segel and Amy Adams.  Then, with the Muppets now famous and relevant again, the group hastily accepts an offer for a European tour managed by Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais).  But unbeknownst to them, Dominic is also a con artist and second-in-command to Constantine, a world-class thief and doppelganger for Kermit the Frog.  

Naturally, this is a recipe for Muppet-style madness – one that involves Constantine escaping from a Siberian gulag, switching places with Kermit, and then leading the Muppets on the tour while our intrepid host remains trapped behind bars and under the thumb of a strict warden (Tina Fey).  Meanwhile, Constantine uses the Muppets tour as a cover to stage his elaborate heists while being pursued by the unlikely team of CIA Agent Sam the Eagle and Interpol’s Jean Pierre Napoleon (Ty Burrell).

            Those last two paragraphs reveal “Most Wanted’s” biggest problem: a distinct lack of focus.  Most damagingly, it’s a movie with multiple plot threads going that can’t seem to decide which is the A story.  You’d think it’d be the tour/heist storyline, but there isn’t really much of a focus to that.  What’s more, there’s no main character beyond the villains and the Muppets as a collective unit, and their respective arcs aren’t given much screen time and sort of just happen in the third act.  And while the B story in the gulag at least has a main character in Kermit, he doesn’t really change by film’s end.  In fact, the point of the movie is to demonstrate Kermit’s necessity to the Muppets, how his level-headedness amidst a sea of insane performers and egos keeps the show running, so Kermit himself doesn’t have anything to learn.

That said, the C story of Sam and Jean Pierre is stronger because it has main characters and an arc for them – namely, the development of the bickering agents’ begrudging friendship, despite Sam’s expediency clashing with the arbitrary bureaucracy of Jean Pierre’s job.  Honestly, I’d like to see a major story centering around Sam.  Think about it: this guy is obviously a Muppet and performs with them onstage sometimes, but considers himself separated from their behind-the-scenes antics.  That’s interesting.  There’s comedy there.  But I digress…

In the end, the film’s greatest problem might be the fact that about half the jokes miss.  Yet that still leaves half that hit.  Mr. Gervais doesn’t have much to do as Dominic after Constantine shows up and he ends up playing second fiddle, but Ms. Fey and Mr. Burrell have a lot of fun with their roles.  Plus, the celebrity cameos still provide laughs (particularly a trio of gulag inmates played by Jemaine Clement, Ray Liotta, and Danny Trejo), though some of them fly by so fast that you’re left scratching your head, wondering who those cops are or if you were supposed to recognize the mover in the background while the film moves on without you.  And while the songs are still fun and catchy, Academy-Award winner and Pretty Prince of Parties Bret McKenzie doesn’t knock them out of the park like he did with “Man or Muppet” in the first film. 

Which brings us back to “The Muppets.”  If there was one thing that made that film succeed, it was that it was a movie with a purpose: it was meant to declare that the modern world not only had a place for singing frogs and joking bears, but a need for them.  By contrast, “Muppets Most Wanted” is simply a romp, a fun little diversion for 113 minutes that won’t change any lives or pluck many heart strings.  If you’re a diehard Muppets fan or just looking for a quick giggle, you could do worse than “Most Wanted,” but otherwise, I’d recommend waiting for the DVD.