The Muppets (2011)

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 06:00:21 -0500

Friday through Monday, February 3 – 6
5:30 and 8:00 p.m. daily except Sunday;
Sunday at 2:00 and 4:30 p.m. only;
additional showings on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Monday at 11:00 a.m.
Color, 98 minutes, PG, Walt Disney
One of the unalloyed comic pleasures of network television ran from 1976 to 1981 on CBS. The Muppet Show was a mashup of great vaudeville schtick and celebrity hoedown. Guest stars from Rita Moreno to Rudolph Nureyev to Alice Cooper graced the sound stage where Jim Henson and his puppet masters created a world of “let’s put on a show” exuberance that endeared Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and the whole gang to generations. This year there was even an online campaign to have The Muppets host the Academy Awards. That’s staying power.
This new film featuring the felt funnymen (and woman) was cowritten by Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) and Nicholas Stoller, and stars Segel as a nice human named Gary who still shares his childhood bedroom with his brother Walter. Walter grew up loving all things Muppet, which is no mystery since he is one himself. (This latest installment emphasizes the parity between human and Muppet. Whether flesh or fabric, we’re all the same.) When Gary takes a vacation to Los Angeles with his girlfriend Mary (Am Adams), Walter tags along. There, Walter visits the old Muppet Theater where he overhears bad guy oilman Tex Richman (a delightfully deadpan Chris Cooper) explain his plans to tear it down unless The Muppets can come up with $10 million. That’s quite a challenge, since The Muppets have all gone their separate ways.
Gary, Mary and Walter track down Kermit the Frog and convince him to attempt a reunion, which takes the form of a one night telethon. Gradually, the gang is reassembled, and the hard work of putting on a show begins. This is all interspersed with inventive musical numbers that include a roster of very current celebrities such as Rashida Jones, Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris, Selena Gomez, and Emily Blunt. The latter shows up as a haughty British Vogue staffer (ala The Devil Wears Prada) attending to the whims of a very demanding editor: Miss Piggy.
Instead of trying to retread a tired franchise, Segel, Stoller and director James Bobin inject the innocent enthusiasm The Muppets always stood for into every scene. One of the highlights is Chris Cooper in his musical number: cutting a rug while rapping. In another Amy Adams, who brims with glee every time she sings, shares a disco number (Me Party) with Miss Piggy.
“I’ve never seen a movie so perfectly balanced between unabashed nerdiness and hipness. It’s transcendent that way,” writes Wesley Morris in his rave review for The Boston Globe. “The makers of The Muppets don’t care that the show might be kitsch now. They embrace the spirit of a bygone enthusiasm for show business that, like most Muppets, is fully felt”
Film ticket price $9.00. Cash sales only.

www.cabotcinemamovies.com

Le Grand David and his own Spectacular Magic Company

Continues its 36th Consecutive Season
Live on the Stage of the Cabot Street Cinema Theatre
Sunday, February 12 at 3:00 p.m.

Performances of Le Grand David and his own Spectacular Magic Company are presented at the Cabot Street Theatre on most Sundays at 3:00 p.m. and at the Larcom Theatre on selected performance dates. Advance tickets may be purchased at the Cabot Theatre box office, open daily at 10:00 a.m., or by mail order. For more information, please call the box office 978-927-3677, or visit www.legranddavid.com.

“Both the Cabot and Larcom Shows are constantly evolving and have more beautiful scenery and costumes than virtually any Broadway show. The theatres themselves are spectacular and the shows can best be described as a celebration of magic and of life. If you have not seen them, you must! And, if it’s been several years, it is time to go again.”

( Phil Willmarth, Editor Emeritus, The Linking Ring, the official journal of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, December 2004)

Le Grand David Ticket Prices: Adults $26.00 and Children $15.00.

www.legranddavid.com

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The Muppets (2011)