MUPPETS FROM SPACE (Columbia) Starring: Voices of Dave Goelz, Frank Oz, Steve Whitmire, Ron Barrera; Jeffrey Tambor. Screenplay: Jerry Juhl, Joseph Mazzarino and Ken Kaufman. Producers: Brian Henson and Martin G. Baker. Director: Timothy Hill. MPAA Rating: G. Running Time: 85 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
It's easy enough to adopt the head-shaking perspective that the Muppets just ain't what they used to be. Certainly the death of Jim Henson left a void in the Muppet universe, but it's only fitting that the show has gone on. "The Muppet Show's" setting as an old-time vaudeville revue wasn't just a goofy conceit; it exemplified the whole Muppet philosophy. Sure, the scattershot jokes and variety numbers could be groaners, but they were delivered with such a pure desire to please that it almost didn't matter. The Muppets were -- and continue to be -- entertainment from a bygone era, where you rarely had to target kids exclusively because virtually all entertainment was "family entertainment."
MUPPETS FROM SPACE is a broad, silly, fairly charming piece of Muppet capering based on a 20-year-old running gag: exactly what is Gonzo (Dave Goelz) anyway? Stepping away from their recent literary adaptations, the Muppets are cast as themselves, living together in one big house. Though they appear to be a happy felt-headed family, Gonzo still feels isolated by his singularity. A possible answer comes to him in the form of a message from his alphabet breakfast cereal, leading Gonzo to the conclusion that he is a refugee from an alien race. This development grabs the attention of government operative K. Edgard Singer (Jeffrey Tambor), who intends to use Gonzo as proof of his theory that we are not alone.
The premise sets up jokes targeted at just about every "aliens among us" movie of the last 25 years. A woman shows up with a mashed potato sculpture of Gonzo a la CLOSE ENCOUNTERS; the Muppets encounter some star-cameo Men in Black, including "SportsNight's" Josh Charles and wrestler Hollywood Hulk Hogan; a scene at a laboratory window recalls INDEPENDENCE DAY. There's even a swing into the unexpected territory of THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, as imprisoned rat Rizzo (Steve Whitmire) escapes through a hole hidden behind a "Mice Girls" poster. Sly pop culture references and slapstick carry most of the humor, but there's also the simple pleasure of the company of familiar characters. When Kermit, Fozzie and Miss Piggy lead a mission to rescue Gonzo, the history of those characters somehow makes every simple joke that much funnier.
It's also true that MUPPETS FROM SPACE has an inconsistent tone and a higher-than-usual ratio of duds to chuckles. Several cameo appearances fall flat, including David Arquette as a crazed scientist and F. Murray Abraham as a dream-sequence Noah. The use of a musical score full of 70s soul classics like "Brick House" and "Celebration" feels forced, since the Muppets are anything but funky. And as hard as the post-Henson Muppet gang has worked to make Gonzo the new protagonist, he just doesn't have the warmth and appeal of Kermit, who's now relegated to a sort of elder statesman role. MUPPETS FROM SPACE can keep you smiling, but it rarely hits the high points of classic anarchic Muppet wit.
Still, there's enough subtly subversive humor in MUPPETS FROM SPACE -- as well as enough wild sight gags -- to make you glad the Muppets are still around. The film's best, most cultural crusader-unfriendly joke finds Gonzo admitting to his pals that "I guess I've always had alien tendencies...this just seems natural to me." Those who have fretted for years that Bert and Ernie were actually lovers may furrow their brows at such alternative lifestyle innuendo, but it's a perfect nod to the kind of unconventional family the Muppets have always been. Then again, that's the kind of bond theater people often form, and the Muppets are nothing if not true theater people. Okay, not _people_ exactly...just entertainers who remind you that it's a good thing for the show to go on.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 E. T. foam homes: 6.
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