The Muppets: "Single All The Way"

Premiered December 8, 2015.
(Note:The Muppets was a TV series that aired for sixteen episodes on ABC during the 2015-16 TV season.)

Christmas is approaching and the cast and crew of Up Late With Miss Piggy are busily preparing the live Christmas episode.  Fozzie Bear (Eric Jacobson), who serves as the show's announcer, can't focus because his girlfriend Becky has recently dumped him.  He is supposed to play Santa Claus in the episode, but Fozzie can't stop crying about the break-up.

Miss Piggy's (Jacobson) special guest star Mindy Kaling is being difficult.  Kaling is a terrible singer, but she insists on performing a Christmas song with Piggy.

Sam Eagle (Jacobson), the show's head of Broadcast Standards and Practices, is interested in dating Janice (David Rudman), the show's lead guitarist.  He camps out by the mistletoe for the purpose of "jump-starting" a relationship with Janice.  This does not go the way Sam hopes.

Meanwhile, Yolanda the rat (Julianne Buescher) has rigged the "Secret Santa" gift exchange so that she will get every gift. The previous Christmas, Yolanda was left off the list and received no present.

The star of the show, Miss Piggy, is also having some holiday problems.  She's nervous about attending George Clooney's ugly Christmas sweater party.  Piggy doesn't think her sweater is ugly enough.  She is also upset about being alone during the Christmas season, since she and Kermit the frog (Steve Whitmire) have recently broken up.

In the middle of it all is Kermit the frog (Steve Whitmire), executive producer of Up Late.  He's got to help Fozzie to get in touch with the Christmas spirit, soothe Mindy Kaling's ego and get everyone to work together to make it through the holiday episode.

Shortly before airtime, Kermit learns that Miss Piggy is having an emotional breakdown and is unable to go onstage.  If the star of the show won't go on, they literally have no show to put on the air!

Can Kermit get everyone to pull it together before the live showtime arrives?  Will Yolanda's attempt to rule the gift exchange backfire?

J.A. Morris says:
I watched every episode of this series and generally enjoyed it during its brief run, but I can understand why it was short-lived.  I think the main reasons it didn't last was that the creative team couldn't didn't know how to appeal to kids and adults at the same time (a hallmark of earlier Muppet productions) This often resulted in flat storytelling.

However, "Single All The Way" is a fun episode and it's one of the best episodes of the series.  It's got some entertaining holiday tropes, like a gift exchange gone awry. The "Christmas episode within a Christmas episode" gives it an interesting "meta" quality.  It also touches on more serious topics like loneliness during the holidays, which Miss Piggy and Fozzy are facing.  Mindy Kaling is funny and plays off the Muppets very nicely.

 While it's not as good as earlier Muppet holiday offerings (like Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas or Muppet Family Christmas), "Single All The Way" ends with a an all-hands-on-deck singalong of "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year," which reminded me of those classic Muppets holiday offerings.

 "Single All The Way" is recommended to all Muppets fans and it also works as an introductory episode to this series.

J.A. Morris' rating;

3 candy canes.

RigbyMel says:

 

I am always happy for more Muppets content and quite enjoyed "Single All The Way" overall. 

It has a lot going for it in terms of festive fun -  Secret Santa mix ups (Yolande's scheme is diabolical), finding excuses to stand under mistletoe, a bit of humor, a bit of pathos and lots of good cheer.  

Plus, some of the slightly newer secondary characters like Uncle Deadly and Pepe the King Prawn get a chance to shine in this episode as well as others in the rest of this series.

As J.A. Morris mentions above, the writing on "The Muppets" series is a little bit uneven - but I think this is the case with most post-Henson projects with our favorite fuzzy friends.  It does not mean that there's nothing to enjoy here, though!

It's a shame this particular series was never allowed to really get into a flow before being cancelled. 

"Single All The Way" is a nice addition to your Muppet holiday viewing if you feel so inclined. 

RigbyMel's rating:  

3 candy canes. 

We're No Angels

Premiered July 7, 1955.

Joseph:As soon as it gets dark, we'll help ourselves.  

Albert:The old man might object.

Joseph:If he gets in our way, it'll be just too bad for him.  We'll climb down off his roof and cut his throat for a Christmas present.

Albert:That's the kind of thing that could make you stop believing in Santa Claus.

This year's series of "Oscar Takes A Holiday" reviews begins with We're No Angels, which features multiple Academy Award winners.

Film legend Humphrey Bogart won Best Actor for playing Charlie Allnut in The African Queen. 

Humphrey Bogart, accompanied by his wife Lauren Bacall, celebrates his Oscar win.

It was directed by Michael Curtiz, who won a Best Director Oscar for Casablanca, which of course also featured Bogart.

Michael Curtiz poses with the Oscar he won for directing Casablanca.

Peter Ustinov won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, the first for Spartacus and another for Topkapi.

Peter Ustinov celebrates his Spartacus Oscar with fellow-winner Shirley Jones at the 1961 ceremony.

On to today's review:

On Christmas Eve, 1895, a trio of convicts named Joseph (Humphrey Bogart)...

 Albert (Peter Ustinov)...

and Jules (Aldo Ray), escape from Devil's Island prison.  

They're accompanied by Jules' pet viper snake Adolphe, who spends most of his time in a carry-case. It's easy for them to hide in plain sight on the island, since lots of convicts are out working on parole.

They visit a store owned by Felix Ducotel (Leo G. Carroll) and offer to repair his damaged roof.  They're true intent is to kill Felix, his wife Amelie (Joan Bennett) and their daughter Isabelle (Gloria Talbott) and rob them, then flee Devil's Island on the next boat out.

Felix and his store have been going through a rough patch.  The store has been losing money and Felix is dreading a Christmas visit from Andre Tochard (Basil Rathbone), his cousin and financial benefactor.  Andre knows about Felix's problems and plans to remove Felix from the business.

Isabelle is excited about Andre's visit because he's bringing along his son and sole heir Paul (John Baer).  She's in love with Paul but doesn't know if the feeling is mutual.

As part of their "murder plot," the convicts decide to help Felix.  Joseph, whose criminal specialty was falsifying documents, offers to "adjust" the financial records and save the Ducotel's family business.  Joseph also impresses the Ducotels with his "business acumen" when he manages to sell a hairbrush and comb set to a bald man!

In exchange for their help, Amelie invites the convicts to Christmas Eve dinner.  Albert, Jules and Joseph decorate the house... 

...and prepare a turkey for Christmas dinner. 

The trio even serenades the Ducotels with a Christmas song.  The family invites them to spend the night, not knowing that the convicts have planned to kill them and take their money.

The holiday celebrations are interrupted when Felix's cousin Andre arrives and immediately throws his weight around and belittles everyone in the house.  Andre demands to see the financial records before Joseph has a chance to "fix" them.  

The convicts also learn that Paul is not in love with Isabelle and he plans to tell her so. 

The scenario gets even more complicated when Adolphe the snake goes missing!  

Will Joseph, Jules and Albert go through with their plans to rob and murder the Ducotels?  Can they prevent Andre from learning the financial conditions of Felix's store?  What will happen between Paul and Isabelle? 

J.A. Morris says:

When I was a kid, I was a huge fan of Humphrey Bogart and made every effort to watch every one of his films.  However, We're No Angels was not a movie that was readily available on TV or home video.  That's changed in the last decade and this movie is now part of TCM's annual Christmas programming.  

And that's a good thing, because We're No Angels is lots of fun!  Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray make a great trio and Basil Rathbone is delightfully sleazy as Andre.  Jules' pet snake Adolphe also plays an important role in the film, but to say more about Adolphe would spoil jokes and plot points. 

Bogart didn't appear in many comedies, and he shows off some nice, subtle comic timing here.  It's a shame he didn't squeeze in a few more humorous roles during his career.  Leo G. Carroll, Joan Bennett and Gloria Talbott provide solid support as the Ducotels.   

Some viewers may have a problem with some of the darker jokes.  The "angels" don't express much sympathy for a guard they "tried to kill" during their escape from Devil's Island.  Albert makes multiple jokes about killing his wife (which is one reason he's in prison), not something you usually hear in Christmas movies!  However, 30 minutes into the movie, it's obvious that (SPOILER ALERT), this is a trio of "whimsical" criminals who will commit no violent crimes during the film's running time.  

We're No Angels is based on a stage play called My Three Angels, which was adapted from French play titled La Cuisine Des Anges by Albert Husson.  

We're No Angels has a great ensemble cast and is filled with funny moments and is recommended to all fans of holiday films, especially film fans who enjoy a side of dark humor with their eggnog.  It's a nice excuse to spend time watching "Bogie" every December.  

J.A. Morris's rating: 

4 candy canes!

RigbyMel says:

We're No Angels was unknown to me until a couple of years ago, when we watched it on TCM, which is a shame because it is a delight.   This comedy features excellent performances by Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray as criminals who turn out to have hearts of gold.    

The holiday setting helps to keep the viewer off balance initially.  Then Christmas works its transformative power on our criminals who have a change of heart thanks to the warmth and kindness of their erstwhile victims, the Ducotel family.   

From thence, our non-angelic trio tries to fix the Ducotel's financial and familial difficulties...by any means necessary.   We even get an unexpectedly heroic turn from Adolphe the Viper! 

I really love the dry wit of the dialogue throughout this script, as well as Basil Rathbone's obvious enjoyment at playing cousin Andre, the REAL villain of the piece. 

Another unexpected treat in this film is that the audience gets to hear Bogart, Ustinov, and Ray SING during the family Christmas party scene.   The words concerning angels were written for the movie, but the tune is an old hymn tune called "St. Athanasius" which has had many different lyrics set to it over time.    The singing is far from gorgeous, but is utterly appropriate for the characters and charming in that appropriateness.  

Moreover, I agree with J.A. Morris that it would have been nice to see Bogie in other comedic roles since he handles this one so well. 

Interestingly, Joan Bennett who plays Amelie Ducotel had been caught up in a tabloid scandal a few years prior to this movie -- her husband shot her manager!  Although it was not her fault,  she was tainted by association and was not getting much work.   Humphrey Bogart actually went to bat for her to be cast in this movie as he thought she was treated unfairly -- an example of real-life kindness underpinning a holiday film -- and Bennett's performance is lovely.  

If dry and dark wit is not your thing, We're No Angels is probably not going to resonate with you, but for those that appreciate the humor, this is a non-treacly holiday film that is well worth adding to your seasonal rotation! 

RigbyMel's' rating: 

4 candy canes!