The Muppet's, brought to us by resident funny man Jason Segel, was a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Before seeing the film, I heard mixed reviews from my friends...some loved it, but some felt as if it should have been more. Newer. A more "forward" story than the recycled old memories of Muppet's past. To these people I say: nobody cares what I think, but... shut the fuck up! Jason Segel's Muppet vision is what is RIGHT about our generation. It wasn't intended to be something new... I don't even think it was supposed to be for kids... he meant for it to be for us.And when did our collective us become so critical? We're the kids in America! We drank Surge after ice skating practice while wearing scrunchies for God-sakes. We were and are THE generation for not being self conscious about looking completely ridiculous. The neon. The overalls. The Corey's! Think about some of your favorite movies... The Goonies... Back to the Future... these are not to be judged based on the standards of today, and I would argue they aren't meant to be judged by any standards at all. Nobody in their right mind would judge a movie like Clueless by the same guidelines of say... Schindler's List, and those who would live in a world like this have been working 9-to-5 for way too long (and NOT the awesome Dolly Parton version.)
I get it. The bills are piling up. Trust me, if anyone knows what it means to be cynical about the state of their life it's me... but Jason Segel knew exactly what would cheer us up: grabbing a bag of popcorn, turning off our iPhone's, and being transported... not forward, but backward... to a time when everything was easier, and cheaper, and a lot less stressful. (A time that included breakout musical numbers and the greatest thing of all: unapologetic cheesiness.)
31 year old Segel has given us a gift here. While it's true he didn't really give us something NEW, he did something just as important... he gave us something back. Do NOT get me wrong: as we sit in our cubicle's, angrily updating our Facebook status about the terrible service we got at Starbucks, we are completely allowed have whatever awful adult feelings we feel like having... we've earned it! 25-35 years of being pushed around has given us the right. But I urge you, no.. I BEG you... to let yourself get whisked away by The Muppets. The movie may not be something you haven't seen before, but chances are, it's something you haven't had the money or energy to experience in a long, long time.
Jason and I seem to agree; from time to time, if you allow yourself, going backward can be totally bitchin'.
