Movie review: The Muppets

My family took a break from the hecticness that is December to check out the new Muppet movie. My husband and I were fans of the original Muppet Show. We've even shown a few of the episodes to my daughter. (I think it was, specifically, the Star Wars episodes.) Needless to say, this movie was right up our alley.

Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter (voiced by Peter Linz) are brothers that share a love of The Muppet Show. Years later, even after the show has gone off the air, the two of them continue to watch old recorded episodes of the show. When Gary decides to take his long-time girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) to Los Angeles for their 10th anniversary, he decides to take his brother with them to see The Muppet Studio. Walter accidentally finds out that oil tycoon Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) is going to buy the studio in order to tear it down so he can drill for oil. Together, Gary, Mary, and Walter help Kermit the Frog get the gang back together to raise $10 million to keep their studio and the Muppet name.

Despite a tiny candy problem (my daughter lost a tooth in a Milk Dud), we all had tons of fun. As usual, there were a bunch of cameos that we giggled over. The songs were extremely fun, if a little cheesy. My favorite was Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You" sung by Camilla and her chickens. And there was even a montage for finding some of the Muppets. Miss Piggy got a "let's travel by map!" (Even though some cheap conferencing could have done the trick.) Everything was perfect for a Muppet movie. Jason Segel hit this out of the ballpark.

Movie review: Forgetting Sarah Marshall

My husband and I went to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall today. Here's the premise of the movie: Peter (Jason Segel) has been dating television star Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) for the past five years. One day, Sarah suddenly breaks up with him. It turns out that she has been dating rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). In an attempt to forget about Sarah, Peter goes on a Hawaiian vacation, only to find out that Sarah and Aldous are at the exact same hotel. Peter befriends most of the hotel staff, including customer service rep Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis). With their help, he realizes that he is more than just "Sarah Marshall's boyfriend." I expected Sarah Marshall to be funny. However, I didn't expect it to be this funny. The script, which is absolutely brilliant, was written by Segel. There are also a few original songs he wrote for the movie as well. All of the actors gave amazing performances, though I have to admit that I loved Russell Brand the best. This isn't a movie that you can go see with your kids though. There are a lot of sex jokes and quite a few penis shots. (It is rated R, in case you weren't paying attention.) But if you are of age and have a good sense of humor, I think you will really enjoy the movie. I know I'll be buying the DVD the day it comes out.