With 2011’s “The
Muppets” doing the heavy lifting of reintroducing Jim Henson’s beloved felted
creations to a new generation of children, its follow-up, “Muppets Most Wanted,”
has the luxury of freedom in its task of cementing their place in our hearts
all over again. The new film picks up literally at the exact moment the first
film ended, and appropriately, the newly reunited Muppets themselves are
depicted as having some trouble deciding what to do for an encore. As they sing
in the clever opening number, “the sequel’s never quite as good.”
Sadly, that proves
prescient (though as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew points out in that same opening
number, this is technically the seventh sequel to the original Muppets film,
released 35 years ago). James Bobin returns to the
director’s chair, as does writer Nicholas Stoller, and of the core creative team of “The Muppets,”
only co-writer Jason Segel chose not to return. Segel was vocal about how much of a passion project the
last film was, and it’s possible that his absence may account for the extra
layer of heart that seems to be missing this time around. Though even a
second-tier Muppet film is better than a lot of what passes for family-friendly
entertainment these days.
As with the first
sequel to the original Muppet movie, “The Great Muppet Caper,” this new film
takes the form of a madcap heist story. Under the advice of their new tour
manager, Dominic Badguy (pronounced Bad-gee — it’s
French), played by Ricky Gervais, the Muppets decide that the best way to
capitalize on their rediscovered fame is to launch a world tour. What the gang
doesn’t know, however, is that Badguy is actually in
cahoots with Constantine (voiced by Matt Vogel), the world’s most dangerous
frog, who just escaped from prison and who happens to be a dead ringer for
Kermit (save for a distinguishing mole on his cheek).
Slapping a fake mole
on Kermit, while covering up his own with some green paint, results in Kermit’s
immediate arrest, leaving Constantine to take his place and set his nefarious
plans into motion. Using the Muppet tour as cover for a series of heists,
Constantine heads toward his ultimate goal of stealing England’s Crown Jewels.
While the imposter takes his place, poor Kermit remains imprisoned in a Russian
gulag, overseen by a severe head guard (Tina Fey) who it turns out has a soft
spot for small green amphibians. Eventually she ropes him into directing his
fellow inmates in the annual gulag talent show, so at least he’s able to keep
busy. Meanwhile, the various heists have captured the attention of the
authorities, leading to investigation headed up by the odd couple pairing of a
French Interpol agent (Ty Burrell) and American CIA operative Sam the Eagle
(naturally).
Once again, Bret
McKenzie provides songs that are fun and catchy, though none are quite as
memorable — or as thematically resonant — as “Life’s a Happy Song” or “Man or
Muppet” from the first film. And really, that’s the main problem with the film
as a whole: it’s always enjoyable, but never quite lives up to promise of “The
Muppets.” Fey, Burrell, and Gervais are all obviously having a ball, and they
throw themselves into their parts, but having three human leads means that much
less time spent with the Muppets themselves. Oddly, the Muppet we end up
spending the most time with is Constantine, making for a rather lopsided story
without any real protagonist to latch onto.
Sure, some of the
plot details don’t make a whole lot of sense (how, for example, does a
long-missing, 100-year-old medallion function as the key to shutting down a
modern laser security system?), but you kind of need to set aside logic for the
Muppets. The property retains its trademark genial silliness, and though it
perhaps traffics a little more in ironic winking than before, it hasn’t lost
its power to entertain. Plus, I never knew how much I needed a Ray Liotta and Danny Trejo-led rendition of “I Hope I Get It”
from “A Chorus Line” in my life, but it’s undeniably glorious.
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2014.
