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FILM REVIEW
The Muppets
DIRECTED BY: James Bobin
STARRING: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper
CERT: G
Things looked a bit ominous for The Muppets early on, when Frank Oz (the legendary voice of Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy and Animal) refused to take part, supposedly because he felt writers Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller hadn’t been true to the characters. Or because he’d been working on a script of his own, depending on who you believe.
I’d be inclined to go with the latter. Because if Oz was really that concerned about writing that grossly dishonoured a beloved franchise, he would surely have refused to lend his voice to Yoda again for the horribly misguided Star Wars prequels. The Phantom Menace – the first and worst of them – is rereleased for no good reason other than to fleece its fans and show off some useless 3D.
In any case, it’s Mr Oz’s loss. Because The Muppets is a wonderfully affectionate tribute to Jim Henson’s gang, and it’s clear that Segel and his cohorts idolize their sock puppet heroes.
The story involves a young muppet called Walter (voiced by Peter Linz), who knows he’s somehow different, that he’s not quite like his human brother Gary (Segel). Walter is an obsessive Muppets fan, and when Gary and his girlfriend Mary (Adams) take a trip to LA, Walter tags along for the chance to meet his idols.
To his great disappointment he learns that the Muppets have disbanded and gone their separate ways. Kermit is a rich recluse, Piggy edits a plus-size fashion magazine in Paris, and Fozzie plays in a tribute band called The Moopets. Meanwhile Animal is in anger management and Gonzo runs an exclusive plumbing company called Royal Flush.
Walter also learns that the great old Muppet Studios are derelict, and that nasty oil baron Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) plans to tear down the building and drill, baby, drill. To save the day, Walter, Gary and Mary need to come up with some serious cash. The only thing for it is to reunite the Muppets and put on a show.
It’s great stuff, with lots of laughs, and maybe even a tear or two if you’re one of the army of veteran fans – those of us who grew up loving the show, only to realise years later how truly inspired it was. Clearly the Academy has more than a few admirers, since Walter and Gary’s wonderful musical number, Man Or Muppet, is in the running for an Oscar.
The Muppets are the stars of course, but the humans do a fine job. Segel was made for the role, Amy Adams is always game for fun, and Chris Cooper’s rap might possibly be his career high point. There’s plenty of cameos too, Jack Black, Dave Grohl and Zach Galifianakis being a few of the more notable names.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
DIRECTED BY: Stephen Daldry
STARRING: Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max Von Sydow
CERT: 12A
The key to the heart of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is in the title. It’s a reference to the fact that its young hero has a form of autism, possibly Asperger’s Syndrome. Like many such kids, Oskar can’t bear loud noises or close physical contact, two of the obstacles he will have to overcome as he treks around New York on a quest to solve the biggest puzzle of his life.
It’s the key to understanding why the kid behaves like he does, why he’s remarkably intelligent but socially awkward, why he had such a close relationship with his father, and why his dad went to such great lengths to bring structure and meaning to Oskar’s life. It also explains why the boy keeps beating a tambourine, a therapeutic habit that helps to keep him calm.
There is something to admire in how director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Reader) handles the autism subject, one that is widely misunderstood, to the detriment of many children and their families. Credit, too, to screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, Benjamin Button), and to novelist Jonathan Safron Foer, from whose book the story is adapted.
Unfortunately, Daldry and Roth seem intent on undoing this good work at every turn, wrapping Oskar and his peculiarities in a weepy, sentimental story that hitches its wagon to the 9/11 disaster purely for the purpose of wringing every possible tear – and penny – from grief and horror that are still very real in the memory. So the real heart of the film is lost in a sea of cheap tears.
Oskar (Horn) lost his father Thomas (Hanks) on 9/11. Thomas was in one of the Trade Centre towers, and even though you know right well your emotions are being played with, you’d want to be completely heartless not to be moved by that final phone call to his wife Linda (Bullock). As for Oskar, he isn’t very close to his mother and he resents that she’s the surviving parent.
In his father’s room, Oskar finds an envelope marked simply with the word ‘Black’. Inside there is only a key. Oskar believes it’s another of the mysteries his father would give him to solve, and that his dad is sending him on one last treasure hunt adventure. So he makes a list of every person named Black in the phone book, and sets out on foot to find his answer.
Along the way he ropes in a companion, an elderly man known only as the Renter (Von Sydow), who lives across the street with Oskar’s grandmother (Zoe Caldwell). The old gentleman is mute, and communicates in written notes. Later we find there is also a connection here with the Holocaust, another historic mass murder that’s been milked for all its worth by the studio machine. Though in fairness, Steven Spielberg and Roman Polanski (in Schindler’s List and The Pianist respectively) have addressed the Holocaust in ways that no filmmaker has yet done with 9/11.
Stephen Daldry and his cohorts approach it with a battering ram for the tear ducts. Maybe that will strike a chord with those who like nothing better than a box of hankies and a bawl with their movies. But there has to be a better way of telling these terrible personal stories of grief than this.
Young Thomas Horn can’t be blamed for the shortcomings of his elders. He does a fine job in his debut role, even if at times he is required to act in a way that brings to mind Freddie Shepherd’s excruciating performance in the hideous August Rush. Though we know why he plays the tambourine incessantly, it doesn’t make it any less annoying. Mr Daldry should have copped after day one that the idea sounded much better on paper.
Horn’s more famous co-stars do what they’re good at – Hanks is the kind soul, Bullock is emotional but strong, and the great Max Von Sydow is the silent star of the show, acting everyone else off the screen simply with this presence. He’s up for an Oscar on Sunday night and maybe he’ll get it. The film itself is nominated for Best Motion Picture, which tells you nothing except that the Academy’s new shortlist is way too long.
The Vow
DIRECTED BY: Michael Sucsy
STARRING: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Jessica Lange, Sam Neill
CERT: 12A
It’s hardly coincidence that The Vow was released to coincide with Valentine’s Day, that dreaded pretend holiday invented by dark forces in the marketing world, who decided there was too long of a gap between Christmas and Easter. Saint Patrick clearly wasn’t bringing in the numbers.
Valentine’s week or not, a film like this will always find an audience among chick flick fans, the terminally romantic, and those who would crawl over broken glass just to see Channing Tatum take his shirt off. Which is a lot of people, according to the box office numbers.
Tatum is Leo, whose marriage to the lovely Paige (McAdams) is filled with blissful, soft-focus moments involving music, sculpture, and sweet smiles. They’re free spirits, baby, and that’s how it’s going to be forever.
Or until their date night gets smoochy at the wrong moment, and an accident leaves Paige in a coma. When she wakes, she finds she is struck with a form of amnesia that allows her to remember most of her life, just not the part involving her husband. He’s been wiped from her memory altogether, and you might be tempted to be cynical about that kind of weird science but apparently this is based on a true story. Or inspired by actual events, which is not quite the same thing.
So Leo tries to make her remember the cute times. When that fails miserably, he decides he’s just going to have to win her heart all over again. In the process, Tatum proves he may actually be ready to graduate from the Lautner Academy For The Shirtless and the excellent but miscast Rachel McAdams proves again that she needs a better agent. Sam Neill and Jessica Lange play Paige’s conservative parents, but the combined might of their talents can’t make a bad script good.
The Vow is every bit as sickly sweet as a box of Valentine’s chocolates and, hey, there’s even a syrupy scene about a box of chocolates. Forrest Gump’s mammy was of the opinion that you never know what you’re gonna get in that scenario, but strangely, no one ever explained to poor Forrest that if you read the little card inside the box, you’ll know exactly what the marzipan looks like and you’ll have no excuse for eating it. Unless of course you like that sort of thing.
You know what you’re getting with The Vow, and to be fair, the mushy genre is filled with worse examples than this but diabetics should still approach with extreme caution.
