Der große Muppet Krimi

The Muppets are in England and get involved with Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg), her brother (Charles Grodin) and jewel robberies. Who cares about the plot though. It's just an excuse to see the Muppets perform--and they're great. The script is fast and very funny--one-liners go flying all over the place and every single one works. There's a constant breaking down of the fourth wall with the Muppets addressing the audience and poking fun at their own movie! Also there are elaborate musical numbers! The songs are instantly forgettable but the dance in the restaurant and the water ballet (!!!) really work.

Also you see the Muppets walking, dancing (Miss Piggy's tap dancing looks realistic!), riding bikes, swimming AND riding a motorcycle! This was all done before we had CGI but it works. I can't figure out how they did it--and I don't want to know. Acting is very good. Rigg is having a whale of a time in her role and it rubs off on the audience. Grodin appears drugged but it DOES fit his character. A few other actors do cameos but you have to see the movie to find out who they are.

Ten stars may be excessive for this movie but I loved it. I was never bored and thoroughly entertained. Highly recommended.

Since I rewatched The Muppet Movie yesterday in anticipation of going to see The Muppets sometime this week, I thought I'd do the same with The Great Muppet Caper. Another very entertaining movie almost from beginning to end with only a slightly underwhelming opening number and partially amusing newspaper office scene with Jack Warden the only minor blips. Otherwise, Jim Henson as director keeps things entertaining throughout especially when he has Miss Piggy do her tribute to Esther Williams and when he has the whole Muppet gang on bikes which was impressive enough in the last movie when only Kermit was doing it. Oh, and how awesome to have seen him in a very recognizable cameo in the nightclub scene! It's during that scene that the Oscar-nominated song, "The First Time It Happens" is performed. It lost to the just as good "Best That You Can Do" from the original Arthur. In fact, all the songs by composer-lyricist Joe Raposo have such a feel good quality that you'll want to listen to them over and over again. No surprise knowing he was the resident "Seseme Street" songwriter with such classics like "Bein' Green" and "Sing" among that show's highlights. Once again, such human celebrities like Diana Rigg and Charles Grodin add their own touches to the proceedings not to mention cameos by such luminaries like Peter Falk, Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, and especially John Clesse their own sense of humor. There's another Muppet cameo here that I don't feel like revealing that I was amused by but I'll just now say that The Great Muppet Caper is highly recommend by me. Next I'll either review The Muppets or something else-TV or movie related to the creatures-in this site. Stay tuned...

The Muppets are often a delight. I say that as an adult male- I still think they're great. The Muppet Movie (1979) is a classic and very funny. When The Muppet Movie VHS release was advertised, the second Muppet film, The Great Muppet Caper (1981), was trumpeted along with it. That set the bar high, and unfortunately, it didn't click with me well as a child.

You might attribute that to drab scenery (the newspaper office and the Happiness Hotel) and costumes (Kermit and Fozzie are none too appealing in this), and themes of newspaper writing and jewel thievery that aren't going to attract every child. Having rewatched The Great Muppet Caper now, I've come around on it, or at least the first half. The film starts strong with numerous funny gags, but runs out of steam. We have some humorous self-references and Gonzo being reckless, and then as we get into the film we have dubious claims Kermit and Fozzie are identical twins, and much fun over how bad the Happiness Hotel is. The British couple who barely register Miss Piggy climbing their walls are a riot. After that, particularly when Miss Piggy begins her dancing and modelling scenes, the film begins to drag and the story isn't all that strong. There are still some laughs in it, but this isn't the Muppets' best showing.

The Great Muppet Caper is great family movie. They're are very good songs in this movie and it's just as witty as the others. Features several cameos (John Cleese, Oscar the Grouch). I love the seen where the Muppets are going over the check list of items. Priceless. One of the best.

This film is definitely a comic masterpiece. A great improvement over the earlier MUPPET MOVIE, which seemed more like a faltering first step into feature film techniques; this has a strong plot, bright characters and keen timing. It also has great support from the comic greatness of John Cleese, Joan Sanderson, Jack Warden, Robert Morley and Peter Falk.

Diana Rigg and Charles Grodin (in his best movie) manage to hold the central human characters together, up against the bright lunacy of the Muppets. Lady Holliday's expression on seeing Miss Piggy enter in her swimsuit is worth the price of admission alone!

PS: My mum just loves the bit where Kermit does up his zipper!