Day One Hundred and Sixty-seven - The Muppet Movie, "Awww, sweet, sweet nostalgia... plus Mel Brooks!"

I don't think I'll ever get tired of The Muppets.

There may be days I'm not really in the mood for their wholesome, sometimes subversive family entertainment, but I would much prefer them to pretty much any kids oriented film, brand, or series in existence.

Ever.

Nominally telling the tale of how The Muppets got started in showbiz, The Muppet Movie plops the viewer right in the middle of its self-referential humor by opening with the Muppets themselves screening their own movie for the first time, with Robin the Frog innocently asking if the film really is the truth of their start to his uncle Kermit.

"Approximately," is his reply... and it's that kind of whimsy that I just love about the movie and The Muppets as a whole.

As the film progresses, we treated to the first meetings of most of the main Muppet Show crew, including Kermit, Fozzy, Gonzo, Miss Piggy, and (my favorites) Dr.Teeth and The Electric Mayhem.

Additionally, there are guest spots from so very many great comedians and movie stars from the aforementioned Mel Brooks to Bob Hope, Madeline Kahn, Edgar Bergen, and more!

While each human actor only makes brief appearances, as with most Muppet Show themed movies, just having them there, contributing to the sweet whimsy that are The Muppets, is tremendously endearing. Seeing Orson Welles stare down The Muppets and Steve Martin rudely serve Kermit and Piggy at the very least will illicit a smile.

That's not to say the film doesn't have its weaknesses.

The Doc Hopper subplot is a bit too dumbed down for my tastes, despite Charles Durning's perfectly acceptable turn as a stereotypical villain only out for himself. As a conflict, it intersects with the main narrative of following one's dreams too often and to too little effect, especially in the third act when Hopper hires a frog assassin.

Then there are the minor troubles within The Muppets, mainly concerning Piggy and Kermit. Their second act dinner date that ends with a small action sequence (with Mel Brooks!) ends on way to huge a downer that is basically ignored five minutes later when the boys find her again on the road, Miss Piggy having abandoned Kermit after getting a commercial gig right after she saves them both from Hopper's thugs. There's absolutely no explanation as to why she's hitchhiking and no mention of her commercial ever again.

It was just jarringly weird.

For one last weakness, I have to call attention to the songs. While I adore both the opening and closing versions of Rainbow Connection and Moving Right Along, the rest of the soundtrack is boring and uninspired.

Still, the movie's strengths outweigh those criticisms pretty handily. It is overall very entertaining and its penchant for puns and plays on both words and situations is just too delightful not to love. It's cute, irreverent, and altogether adorable, being worth the watch both for the nostalgia and the good, old fashioned family fun.

I just wish the message of following one's dreams wasn't drowned out by the silliness.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day One Hundred and Two - Clue, "Communism is just a Red Herring"

There is something just so infinitely pleasing about Clue.

What could have been a travesty of an example of Hollywood mining the kids games and shows of yesteryear (GIJoe, Battleship, Transformers), was given such sterling treatment in terms of concept, writing, and quality actors.

I mean, seriously... Madeline Kahn? Christopher Lloyd? Michael McKean?

Tim Curry, for crying out loud!

If I were to criticize anything about the casting, I'd be left only with Lee Ving as Mr.Body. He really isn't convincing either as the king of a blackmailing ring or a butler in his own right, but maybe that's just me.

I suppose they were just going for as oily a character as they could make for the fifteen or so minutes he's onscreen before someone in the house makes him the requisite murder victim we all knew he'd be from the game.

Anyways, the basic premise is that of the board game with a few twists to make rational the liberties taken with the game's names and scenarios.

A group of six men and women, from differing professions, backgrounds, and means, and known of whom know each other, all come together for a dinner party where they are invited to confront the person who has been blackmailing them individually. They are served dinner, treated to the revelation of their own shames, and shown the administer of their misfortune... and then the murder begins.

Now, that sounds dark, but it's really a rather lighthearted affair because, despite the seriousness of the situation as nerves begin to crumble and bodies stack up, just about every line is embedded with amusing snark and there's just the right amount of whimsy and slapstick.

As far as comedy goes, you can never go wrong with Clue.

All of the main ensemble and a good many of the victims (that's right, victims, plural) have golden moments of sarcasm, innuendo, or just outright buffoonery, but you never feel like any of it is forced or hackneyed.

Whether it's Col.Mustard being outwitted by everyone in the room or Professor Plum's lustiness, Mrs.White's black widow routine or Mr.Green's cowering dorkiness, each actor plays their archetypes with such comedic aplomb that I cannot help but memorize their lines, intonation and all, and play the fool right along with them.

The standout for the film is, of course, Tim Curry as Wadsworth the Butler. Sure, everyone is spot on perfect, but he all but steals the show from the rest of the cast. Where they are all immaculate cogs in the murder-mystery machine, he is at the helm and drives the entirety of the film.

This is, for me, Tim's finest role. While I love Rocky Horror to death, it's not even close to as neat, tidy, funny, and consistent as Clue.

The entirety of the film gels in such as way as to beg perfection. It's only real issue is that it's never quite cinematic. It feels more like a stupendous bit of theater that just happens to have been put to film.

Maybe that's due to there only really being one location and being a one-trick genre pony that is just so darn clever and appealing, but still, I'd be hard pressed not to nominate this film for Best Comedy and Screenplay.

Speaking of theater, I've seen rumblings online that someone has managed to make a stage production of the film. Boy, would I love to see that! Hell, I'd love to produce that!

If you haven't seen Clue, put it in your queue/buy it immediately. If you have, watch it again! Set up viewings with friends and introduce it to as many Clue-virgins as you can. This is a film that is meant to be enjoyed over and over again until you almost know every line and gesture by heart. It comes with my highest recommendation and woe to the movie-lover that hates it, as I will find you and force feed it to you Clockwork Orange-style until your eyes bleed from its pure awesomeness.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Eighty-one - High Anxiety, or "I don't know if Hitch would be proud... but I am."

The Seventies were the golden era of Brooks films... Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, and High Anxiety.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love History of the World, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood:Men in Tights, but there's just something about the Seventies' ensembles and rough sets that made the films feel more like grand stage productions. There was just something about them that tickles the nostalgia bone as well as the funny one.

High Anxiety, when compared to Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, is probably a little weaker, but is still pretty funny... especially if you're a fan of Hitchcock's thrillers.

Me? I love'em.

To Catch a Thief is probably one of my favorite classic films of all time and there's a special place in my heart for Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window, and Dial M for Murder.

Set in a mental institution that eminent psychologist Dr.Richard Thorndike (Brooks) is just taking over, the movie follows a murderous conspiracy that Thorndike eventually uncovers and becomes the target of over the course of the film.

Cloris Leachman plays the villainess, Nurse Diesel, who pulls the strings of her fellow conspirators with a stiff countenance and iron will... especially Harvey Korman's Dr.Montague who is under her S&M sexual spell. It's a familiar role for Korman as he plays it similarly in Blazing Saddles and History of the World, just with varying degrees of perversity. I find that funny considering how he's also associated with the only mildly subversive Carol Burnett Show.

Madeline Kahn is here as well, playing the Hitchcock damsel in distress, her father being held against his will at the Institute while Diesel and Montague charge outrageous fees from his estate. Eventually she stumbles into Thorndike's arms and the two proceed to hatch a plan of action to save her paterfamilias and manage to fall in love, cinema style (without much effort).

Though the premise of High Anxiety is silly and its implementation is slow and clunky, nevertheless there are dozens of really good bits in the film.

I particularly love Harvey Korman's routine where he acts like a werewolf behind Brooks' back to drive a patient, who used to have nightmares that the monsters were coming to get him, stark raving mad in order to justify his institutionalization.

There's also a really funny "old jewish couple" routine with Brooks and Kahn as they try and sneak past airport security. Sure, it stretches credulity something fierce, but it's still fun in that sort of standup act fashion that Brooks is known for.

The sendups to classic Hitchcock films, like the shower scene in Psycho, The Birds recreation in Golden Gate Park, and the Vertigo climax (set in the Institution's tower instead of an old Spanish Mission's belfry) are all relatively faithful without being too heavy handed. I especially liked the shower scene... despite it getting a sloppy setup, it delivers pretty well with the high pitched screams of the bellboy and the final joke about his tip.

While not a laughfest, per se, thanks to the pacing issues, High Anxiety is certainly enjoyable. I'd rank it higher than Dracula Dead and Loving It, The Twelve Chairs, and Silent Movie, but lower than most of the rest of Brooks' catalog.

It's definitely worth having in the Netflix queue and is good to revisit whenever you're in the mood for that classic Brooks' comedic fun.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~