Movie Review - Austenland

Austenland (2013)

Starring Keri Russell, JJ Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, James Callis, Georgia King, Ricky Whittle, and Jane Seymour

Directed by Jerusha Hesh

My Keri Russell fandom isn't unknown to those who know me.  I crushed on her when she first appeared on the 1990s incarnation of the Mickey Mouse Club during my formative early teen years and my fondness for her continues to this day.  Hence, she's the reason I desired to check out Austenland, a comedy in which Russell plays Jane, a dowdy office worker who is obsessed with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  With her apartment decked out from ceiling-to-floor in Austen memorabilia, Jane jumps at the chance to spend a boatload of money to visit Austenland in England -- a immersive Victorian-era experience that places guests squarely in the Jane Austen era.  While there, she finds herself in her own love triangle with a somewhat lowly stable man/maintenance guy named Martin (Bret McKenzie) and the uppity, cantankerous, and more aristocratic Mr. Henry Nobley (JJ Feild).

Unfortunately, it's the love triangle aspect of Austenland that never lands quite right and ruins much of the good will and humor that the rest of the script and the actors bring.  The film squarely sets forth her relationship with Martin and does so in a rather lovely and charming manner, but I kept feeling like the third part of the triangle -- her dalliances with Mr. Nobley -- felt forced and not well thought out.  There was never any sense of connection between the characters of Jane and Mr. Nobley, but rather a sense that the script was just forcing them together for want of tension.

Ms. Russell is charming as usual with that nice, calm, and sweet Felicity vibe being present for this one.  I loved seeing Bret McKenzie onscreen -- I'm not sure I've seen him in anything since Flight of the Conchords (with the exception of his fantastic behind-the-scenes songwriting for the past two Muppets movies).  Jennifer Coolidge is playing her typical brash, larger-than-life, idiotic, ditz persona...but for some reason I've failed to tire of it from her.  She's just so darn good at it that I'm able to overlook the fact that nearly every single one of her characters is interchangeable from one movie to another.  Still, despite these actors' charms, the script does them in on this one and, despite my goodwill going into it, I left a little disappointed.  (However, should you watch, make sure you stick around through the credits for a nice Victorian-era music video set to Nelly's "Hot in Herre" which was hilarious to me for some reason.)

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Muppets Most Wanted

Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

Starring Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey, Ty Burrell, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and a whole mess of Muppets

Directed by James Bobin

I was inevitably prepared to be a little let down while watching Muppets Most Wanted after the genius that was The Muppets (the RyMickey Award winner for Best Movie of 2011) -- a film that provided the resurrection and "rebirth" of the Jim Henson-created franchise of characters whom I've loved since I was a wee lad.  I wasn't quite prepared to be let down as much as I was, however.

It's not that Muppets Most Wanted is particularly bad in any way.  It's just that the heart that permeated throughout the humor of The Muppets isn't present this time around.  Granted, Muppets Most Wanted is a completely different beast -- it's a caper adventure with the Muppets trying to solve a crime spree across Europe -- and nothing like the nostalgia trip of director and co-writer James Bobin's first venture with the felt characters.  (Like Bobin, co-writer Nicholas Stoller returns for this flick as well.)  Still, if you're going to drop the emotional aspect, the humor needs to be pumped up and Muppets Most Wanted doesn't adequately succeed in that department.

After having successfully returned to the Hollywood scene thanks to their last movie, The Muppets are trying to decide what to do next to capitalize on their revitalization.  They meet with Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) who in a job interview to be the Muppets' manager suggests that the crew travel across Europe on a world tour.  Despite Kermit's misgivings, our favorite frog is outvoted by his friends and they agree to hire Dominic and head over to Germany to start their tour.  Little do the Muppets know that Dominic is a crook who works for the criminal mastermind known as Constantine.  With the exception of a mole on the right side of his face, Constantine is a dead ringer for Kermit so when Constantine escapes from a Russian gulag run by the hard-nosed Nadya (Tina Fey), he switches places with Kermit and, in a rather Superman/Clark Kent-ian manner, none of the Muppets (except for Walter, introduced in last year's The Muppets) notice a difference.  With Kermit being re-captured and taken back to the gulag, Constantine and Dominic set out on a mission to snatch the Crown Jewels of London, stealing a bunch of other valuable goods along the way as the Muppets travel across Europe.

The plot, while somewhat of a rehash in tone of The Great Muppet Caper, is actually humorously developed, but the film lingers around too long at 110 minutes.  Trimming twenty minutes would've done wonders for Muppets Most Wanted.  [As much as I love Sam Eagle, his lengthy bits with Ty Burrell as CIA and Interpol agents trying to track down the criminals could've all been left on the cutting room floor without me feeling the least bit depressed.]  Without the touching nostalgia of The Muppets and relying strictly on laughs, the flick is guilty of the typical 21st century "movie crime" of being a comedy that overstays its welcome.

Much like the rest of the film falling short of its predecessor, Bret McKenzie's songs don't quite have the same impact as his wonderful, ingenious, and Oscar-winning numbers from the first film.  Granted, there are a few moments thanks to McKenzie's music where the film really comes to life -- the 1970s-inspired "I Can Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)" sung by Contantine (the best moment in the film by far and an early frontrunner for Best Scene of 2014), the power ballad "Something So Wrong" performed by Miss Piggy and Celine Dion (!), and the opening self-referntial number "We're Doing a Sequel" -- but overall they're not as inspired as his first venture into the Muppet realm.

I must confess, though, that perhaps I'm being way too harsh on this.  Any Muppet movie is better than no Muppet movie and maybe if this was the first Muppet movie in over a decade (like the last one was), I'd have felt a little differently.  However, 2011's The Muppets was so fantastic that I can't help but feel let down on this one.  A second viewing with a little perspective at the end of the year perhaps will be necessary to be certain that the rating below is the rating I want to give the film.  But for now Muppets Most Wanted is just...okay.  And that one word -- "okay" -- is the most damning one in the whole review.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - The Muppets

The Muppets (2011)

Starring Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, and all your favorite Muppets of yore

Directed by James Bobin

If they're searching for methods to help drug addicts get over their cravings, search no further than The Muppets -- a movie that put me on a euphoric high quite like (I'd imagine) any type of illegal substance.  A smile will never leave your face during its running time -- unless you find yourself tearing up at the sentimental musings of a frog made of felt like I did at times.

I was worried about this one.  I had such high expectations.  I tried to avoid everything other than those parody trailers that, while certainly humorous, admittedly made me cautious for fear of trying to "hip up" the Muppets in some way (and after some recent failed attempts since 1992's Muppet Christmas Carol, I was even more on edge).  My worries were unfounded, however, as Muppet-lover Jason Segal has co-wrote a glorious ode to some favorite characters of my youth.  The nostalgia factor is certainly working overtime here, but that's not the only thing carrying this to greatness -- it's a genuinely well-made and charming flick as well.

Echoing their "true life" story, the Muppets in The Muppets have faded from the public's favor after a very successful run from the mid-seventies through the 1980s.  This loss of popularity caused the Muppets to split up, all heading their various ways and leading to the near abandonment of the once great Muppet Studios in Los Angeles.  This doesn't sit too well with Walter, a Muppet himself, who has always found himself out of place in the small town of Small Town, forever living in a world inhabited by humans including his brother Gary (Segel) -- and, no, the movie offers no explanation as to how Walter and Gary could possibly be related despite the fact that one is made out of fabric and the other is made out of DNA -- just go with it.  When taking a trip to the deserted and dilapidated Muppet Studios in LA with Gary and Gary's gal Mary (an absolutely adorable Amy Adams), Walter unwittingly stumbles onto a plan by oil tycoon Tex Richman (the slimy Chris Cooper) to raze the studios and drill for oil underneath unless the Muppets can raise ten million dollars within two weeks.  This sets into effect the whole point of the movie -- a Muppet reunion to have a telethon that will hopefully save the Studios and reinvigorate the public's love for this adorable creatures.

The story is simple and perhaps runs a tiny bit thin during the hunt to track down Kermit's Muppet pals, but none of that really matters in the end because the film is so goshdarn amusing and pleasant that you can overlook a tiny flaw here or there (and they really are tiny because the flick overall is pretty spectacular).  Right from the beginning, Jason Segel, his co-writer Nicholas Stoller, music supervisor Bret McKenzie, and director James Bobin (the latter two worked on HBO's short-lived Flight of the Conchords of which this flick sometimes has a similar vibe) set up a charmingly corny self-aware breaking-the-fourth-wall kind of vibe where the routine task of brushing one's teeth can elicit wonderfully funny and beguilingly whimsical music numbers to take flight.  Segel and his human co-star Amy Adams are game for this happy-go-lucky vibe with their "aw shucks" demeanors playing splendidly next to the old school showmanship of the Muppets who rightfully take center stage throughout much of the film.  Similarly, Chris Cooper deliciously hams up the scenery as the nefarious oil tycoon villain providing the perfect counterpoint to the squeaky clean demeanor of everyone surrounding him.

And the Muppets themselves...they've provided so many great memories for this reviewer and their eponymous movie is just one more winner to add to the list.  Sure, their voices may have changed a little bit (Fozzie's stuck out the most to me as not quite getting the vocal tones right), but they're still the same characters we all grew to love when we were kids.  Gonzo's still goofy, the Swedish Chef is still incomprehensible, Fozzie's still producing the worst jokes imaginable, Miss Piggy's still bossy, and Kermit's still the (perhaps) reluctant, but ever lovable, ringleader of the gang.  Their storyline and the ensuing reunion of sorts was surprisingly touching and absolutely believable.  [There's a moment towards the beginning of the film where a sullen Kermit remembers his heyday that was nearly gutwrenching in its genuine sadness.]  It never feels like we're watching puppets -- even when we're following new and unknown Muppet felt creation Walter whose wide-eyed exuberance and optimism fits right in with older characters we've known and loved for decades.

One can only hope that The Muppets is a successful revival of the Muppets themselves.  Jason Segel has proven that he truly is a fan of these crazy creatures and his love is blatantly evident onscreen here with genuine care to honor Jim Henson's creations.  As soon as I saw Walter and Gary watching the original Muppet Show at the beginning of the film, I knew Segel was building upon the past rather than taking the Muppets in a completely different direction.  And when the shot of Jim Henson sitting next to Kermit popped up in a scene, this sense of tradition became even more obvious.  Kudos all around to all involved in The Muppets for crafting quite simply the most enjoyable time you will spend in a movie theater in 2011.

The RyMickey Rating:  A