There are some franchises that should be left where they fall. These include the Star Wars trilogy (the last three don't exist, it was all a lie), the Indian Jones Trilogy (ditto), and the Friends franchise (sorry Matt LeBlanc, but there's a reason it was an ensemble show). One franchise that many hold near and dear from their childhoods is the Muppets franchise. From the original show to "Muppets Take Manhattan" the franchise has spanned decades. Now, years after most people have left the Muppets in their past, Jason Segel has decided he wants to let his love of Henson shine in a brand new feature film. I recently saw the preview for this new movie and well. . . I'll just get to it then, shall I? The following are some of the reasons I will likely shell out money to see this in theaters and definitely watch it at home.
Danny Trejo is in it.
When thinking through the list of potential celebrities to cast in this sort of movie, actors such as Selena Gomez, Amy Adams, Jason Segel, Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris, Katy Perry, and Whoopi Goldberg all make sense. Even Zack Galifianakis makes sense to a certain extent. But an ex-con, the man who played Machete is NOT who I'd pick to be in a children's film. Well actually it is, but that is a major reason why I am not in charge of making children's films; that and my desire to mess with people severely. But I digress. Even is this movies is less childish than the last (Jason Segel wrote so I seriously doubt this is true), the dude is MACHETE! I hope Kermit brought an Uzi to this match. Or maybe Ms. Piggy's packing a Gatling gun. Either way blood will be shed. Or stuffing or whatever it is in those things. I really don't know much about Henson puppets.
The Preview Confused Me
Film makers and film trailer makers rarely show the same movie. If they do it's because the movie is so predictable it's nearly impossible to confuse you. No one has convinced me as of now that trailer makers don't just randomly write down time intervals that they have someone else splice together with a catching song and a dramatic narrator. It's amazing how two different previews of one movie can make it seem like a comedy or a drama depending on which scenes are included. I'm sure you've seen plenty of POS movies that looked hilarious in the trailer phase. Often the only jokes in the movie are seen in the trailer, and sometimes the best joke has been cut from the movie altogether.
Trust me this is leading to a point (I'm only partially ranting for the fun of it). The preview for the Muppets (once I realized it was a Muppets preview) doesn't indicate that there's any sort of plot. Or maybe it did. Or maybe there are multiple sub-plots that tie in together like in Traffic. What I'm saying is I was so confused by the preview that I want to see just to see what the hell the movie's about. I NEED TO KNOW!
It Reminds Me of My Childhood
There's definitely something to be said for a production company banking on nostalgia. People kept going to Disney animated films because they wanted to be reminded of a simpler time, to share the magic of Disney with their kids, or because they were pedophiles. There are probably other reasons, but I'm guessing those are the top three, closely followed by they were totally whipped by their significant other. The Muppets have been around since the 1950's; now, 60 years later they're bringing them back. There are certainly going to be kids who have no idea who these weird little puppets are or why adults are singing with them in a movie and why they aren't CGI robots instead, but there will also be parents or grandparents who will drag these youngsters along to see the movie whether they want to see it or not. The people who make the money don't care whether it comes from giddy children or adults wanting to recapture their youth through a green frog (not an innuendo), as long as they get to buy another house or continue their self-destructive lifestyle.
I Know I Really Shouldn't
Quick! Don't think of banana slugs! What're you thinking about? Probably banana slugs (or elephants since Inception used this example with elephants) or some weird shit (you should see a shrink; no, seriously, go, now). Regardless, when you're told not to do something it becomes all the more appealing. I know I shouldn't want to see the Muppets movie. It's not my type of movie, it looks pretty stupid, all evidence points to it being a waste of time and money, and CAN WE GO NOW?!?! Oh, not until Thanksgiving? Damn.
No comments:
Post a Comment