So yesterday I posted
Every time I turn around, there's Martin Freeman because it really felt like it.
Today we went to see The Muppets and saw a preview for
Aardman's The Pirates! Band of Misfits, and I sat through about half the preview thinking that I should know the voice of the main pirate, I totally knew his voice but couldn't get the face and name without context, why couldn't I-and then another pirate spoke one line and I went, "What the frell? I've seen so many previews with Martin Freeman in them that I've finally started hallucinating him!" (Auditory hallucination, of course, because it's Aardman-the people who brought you Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run, etc.)
I'm pleased to note that I am not actually hallucinating and that Martin Freeman is actually playing "pirate with scarf," although I have no idea how he has the time. I am only mildly embarrassed to note that the main pirate is voiced by Hugh Grant. And Brian Blessed is in it! And David Tennant! And Russell Tovey! It looks really stupid, but I think I already feel a compulsion to see it.
I sat through most of The Muppets thinking "This is totally insert-self fanfic! But why would Jason Siegel characterize himself as a dim bulb incapable of real commitment who lives with a Muppet younger brother and kisses his girlfriend of ten years on the cheek?" Then I finally realized: Gary wasn't the Gary Stu. Walter was the Gary Stu. Jason Siegel appears to have written insert-self fanfic in which his inserted self is a Muppet. It makes far more sense that way: Walter is a bit of an oddball who has people who love him but can't quite find his niche for a long time. Okay, I know nothing about Jason Siegel except that I just saw him in this movie and that he wrote it (someone co-wrote with him), but I find Walter a more sensible and even appealing Gary Stu.
I agree with a friend whose main complaint was "Too much time spent on humans!" I could have done with less human time and more Muppet time.
I did enjoy the movie, though. It's not so much about the plot. It's about the moments:
Gonzo not only blowing up his business, but having a button already prepared to blow up the entire thing.
Driving by map!
80s robot!
Deadly! I don't think I ever knew his name before!
Neil Patrick Harris saying, "No, I don't know why I'm not hosting."
Whoopi Goldberg just showing up.
Kermit's amazingly expressive face.
Muppet feet!
A Muppet on a tandem with a human even though he can't reach the pedals!
Mary's first scene, in which she's fixing an old car in a demonstration for her elementary school class! (Brilliant Husband: "The 50s called. They want their clothing back.")
And the best and biggest surprise of all: the discovery that Jim Parsons is actually the human form of a Muppet. BH and I laughed through the entire rest of the song once he appeared. It was just too perfect.
Mahna mahna!