Megan Moriarty | Contributing Writer
Charged with the success of their antics in the last film, the Muppet crew are looking for a new project to embark on
The Muppets are ‘Together Again’…again, in this sequel to 2011’s critically acclaimed and commercially successful comeback. Charged with the success of their antics in the last film, the Muppet crew are looking for a new project to embark on. After eventually settling on making a second film, the gang decide to embark on a world tour. The inconspicuously named Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais) steps in as their tour manager, a role which suits Gervais to a tee as he plays comical henchman to Constantine, the World’s Most Dangerous Frog who, aside from a telling mole on his upper lip, is a perfect doppelganger for our hero Kermit the Frog.
the Muppets is not passing the Bechdel Test any time soon and it would be nice to see a more predominant female lead, whether it’s a woman or a muppet
Kermit is facing new struggles in his leadership role as he finds himself being slowly edged out by Dominic while simultaneously being threatened with ensuing nuptials by Miss Piggy. Piggy is fabulous as always, except this time with added Euro-chic costumes à la Marlene Dietrich. However, her character has been relegated to the role of wedding obsessed girlfriend for the most part, leaving us deprived of her regular sass. Changed from her usual role of hard-as-nails blonde bombshell, she becomes increasingly soppy and secondary to her green companion, who is the main focus of the film. In short, the Muppets is not passing the Bechdel Test any time soon and it would be nice to see a more predominant female lead, whether it’s a woman or a muppet.
Kermit’s situation gets severely worse when he is brandished with a mole, mistaken for Constantine and wrongly imprisoned in the Siberian jail from which his evil lookalike has recently escaped. All of this is part of Constantine’s fiendish plan to steal the Crown Jewels with the help of an old map and the stolen identity of the worlds greenest variety show host.
Muppets Most Wanted is a tongue-in-cheek farce with great comic writing and performances, that has something to offer to all ages
As we have come to expect from any Muppets movie, celebrity cameos abide, from media superstars to the lesser known B-listers. More substantial roles are afforded to Tina Fey and Ty Burrell and with their considerable comedy chops, both come up trumps. Fey plays the strict Russian jail keeper of Kermit’s Siberian gulag who hides a heart of gold under her tough exterior and harbours a secret love for Kermit. Burrell plays a similar figure of authority in his role as French Interpol investigator Jean alongside his American counterpart Sam the Eagle. Jean is a complete Franco caricature who drinks from the tiniest coffee cup in the world and drives the tiniest car. This is all in good fun though as Burrell, with his ridiculous and purposefully inconsistent foreign accent (much like Fey) has no shame in mocking his own efforts to be anything other than his American self.
This is one movie franchise that could happily live on for years to come
Music is once again penned by Flight of the Conchords frontman, Bret McKenzie. The songs add an enjoyable break to the narrative and are humorous enough to keep even the most half-hearted musical enthusiast entertained. Familiar pop covers are included in the soundtrack as well, with a few recognisable voices adding to the vocal stylings of the Muppets themselves. All in all, Muppets Most Wanted is a tongue-in-cheek farce with great comic writing and performances, that has something to offer to all ages. This is one movie franchise that could happily live on for years to come.
