by Tim Hill, 1999.
Starring: Dave Goelz, Andie MacDowell, Frank Oz, Rob Schneider, Jeffrey Tambor, and Steve Whitmire.
Rating: 9/10, 6.5/10.
I love the Muppets. I mean, sure, everyone does, but I really LOVE them. I love how much personality was put into each little puppet, I love their cute floppy mouths, I love their somewhat twisted version of reality.
Many have pointed out that Muppets From Space is one of the weaker Muppet movies. To which I say, "so?" That’s like saying that Loaded is the Velvet Underground’s weakest album; they’re all so brilliant, does it really matter?
The plot is this: Gonzo is feeling depressed because there’s only the one of him; he doesn’t know his roots, he doesn’t even know what he is. One day, though, he starts getting mysterious messages that convince him that he is, in fact, an alien, and the mothership is coming to pick him up. When the evil government agent played to manic extremes by Jeffrey Tambor finds out, he kidnaps Gonzo and tries to subject him to horrible experiments. Meanwhile the rest of the Muppets, though they don’t really believe that Gonzo is an alien, try to rescue him and bring him to the rendezvous point.
As always with Muppet movies, this one is filled with hilarious, shiny gems of humor from start to finish. Watch for the opening sequence with all the Muppets getting out of bed and ready for their day; the very subtle adult gag when they check their mailbox; the part when they’ve turned themselves invisible and Fozzy washes his hands.
So. Ignore the naysayers who say that maybe the Muppets have outstayed their welcome. Ignore the fools who think that the weakest of the Muppet movies isn’t still a great movie. If nothing else, watch this movie for the funk.