The Great Muppet Caper

The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

Directed by: Jim Henson

Written by: Tom Patchett, Jay Tarses, Jerry Juhl, Jack Rose

Starring: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Diana Rigg, Charles Grodin

Rating: G

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars!

Viewing platform: DVD

Hello friends. I'm in the process of doing a lot of other things currently, which include working full-time, a full-time relationship with my betrothed, and a part-time gig playing the Scarecrow in a production of "The Wizard of OZ". That's one of my dream roles, but the worst part is that I'm unable to consistently get movie watching time. I've mostly been seeing movies in the theater, actually, but I'm trying to stick to the niche that makes my blog unique! Of course, if my readership would like to read new movie reviews, I am all about that, but I'll try to stick to a "You should rent/borrow/watch on netflix" kind of dynamic otherwise.

This post has actually just been sitting in my "pending posts" for awhile, and my most recent viewing isn't terribly fresh, but to be perfectly honest, I've seen this movie probably 50+ times, so I think I'll be okay. This film is my favorite of the Muppet movies, though not the most often remembered. My next favorite is 2011's The Muppets starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams, but I'm sure I'll get to that one eventually!

Synopsis:

Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson; The Muppet Movie), Gonzo (Dave Goelz; The Muppets), and Fozzie the Bear (Frank Oz; Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back) are off to rocky starts in their journalism careers, so they decide to follow a story about a jewel theft to London. The prize jewels of Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg; Game of Thrones) were stolen, and our trio intends to interview her, but instead mistake her receptionist, Miss Piggy (also voiced by Oz) for Lady Holiday herself. Kermit complicates his professional endeavor when he falls for Miss Piggy (as he often does) and it is further complicated by Lady Holiday's brother, Nicky (Charles Grodin; Beethoven). Ultimately, Kermit and the gang (including all your favorite Muppets) must sort all this out and stop another heist in the process!!

Thoughts:

My thoughts are: you should immediately rent this movie! (There's more, but seriously. Watch it!)

My favorite element of this film (aside from the Kermit/Piggy/Nicky love triangle) is the writing. I think the jokes are all fantastic, whether corny or otherwise, and I find it all fantastically clever. I have been watching this movie since I was a child, and I still laugh out loud every time I watch it (of course, I do that with a lot of things, so...grain of salt)! Of course, when I watched this as a child, I had a tad different sense of humor (Spoiler Alert: Gonzo jumps in front of a taxi) but still, it appeals to a broad audience!

As previously mentioned, another of my favorite elements is the triangle between the long-beloved couple, Kermit and Miss Piggy, and odd man out Nicky Holiday. Grodin plays Holiday with as much conviction as a Muppet movie can have, and all in all it makes for a very interesting scenario. Plus, you get a sweet operatic love ballad out of it!

One of the best parts of all the Muppet films through the years has been the celebrity cameos. In this particular film (which was released nearly 8 years before I was born), I have not quite appreciated them as I have in others. In my older, wiser (?!) years, however, I've come to appreciate the cameos of Jack Warden (The Replacements), Peter Ustinov (Spartacus), Peter Falk (The Princess Bride), John Cleese (Monty Python and the Holy Grail) and of course, Oscar the Grouch (Sesame Street). I didn't understand the degree to which most of these folks had celebrity back then, but I get it now. I'm sure that in 22 years, the new Muppet fans won't get it, either!

Final Thoughts:

If you haven't gotten this impression from me already, watch this movie. If you are a Muppet fan of any kind, appreciate good writing for young audiences, or even just want 95 minutes of relatively quiet time with your kids, wife, grandparents, mailman or second cousin, you will enjoy it. That's the Archives Report guarantee. It's not often that I endorse G-rated movies (which have lost something over the years) but I'm in full support of this family endeavor!!
I welcome all of your feedback, as always, and hopefull will start to get more entries in as my schedule opens up! I love you all! Thanks for reading!

God Bless!

NAH




Post Script:

I'm trying to get more traffic to this blog, and I'm looking for ideas on how to do that. If you have any ideas on that front, or if you have some special topic you'd like to read here, PLEASE send me your ideas! Thanks so much!!