A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

The Evaluation System Reviews by Title Reviews by Date

Reviews from Video Reviews of the Classics Personal Background

Title: Muppets From Space

Date Viewed: 7/24/99

Details:

Gonzo

Gonzo

Rizzo

Kermit the Frog

Miss Piggy

Director: Tim Hill

Score: 0

The Review: Finally we resolve the mystery of Gonzo's origin and species, sort of. For those who have been worrying about this Darwinian puzzle -- all three of you -- and as both the trailer and the title indicate, Gonzo is neither in this world (not an astonishing revelation if you know the character) nor of this world (surprise!). The taxonomists among you who thought he was a buzzard sport were off-base.

This is sketched both as a mystery and a quest: Gonzo, in search of his origins, driven by hidden voices, muddled up in a conspiracy-ridden romp through a secret lab disguised as a cement factory (?!), supported by a cast of familiar friends. A curious pastiche from multiple sources: a lightning strike from Powder; something almost like Babel fish from The Hitchhiker's Guide; breakfast cereal messages from somewhere I cannot quite remember; several scenes from Men in Black; hints of The Invisible Man; the dissection room scene from Independence Day; the atmospheric approach of the ship from Cocoon; a gigantic mother-ship (eventually) and ambassador selection from Close Encounters; a stern robot from The Day the Earth Stood Still; and others I'm sure I missed or have forgotten. Some of these are side-splitting; others barely tickle. Overall, the entire movie is erratic, spotty, and very poorly paced; if an adult nearly falls asleep in the middle, imagine the attention span of younger children. It is perhaps the least interesting of any of the Muppet adventures. The poster subtitle is perhaps one of the more clever lines: "Space. It's not as deep as you think." But then, this movie makes no such pretenses.

The opening scene is scientifically most intriguing. We pan in from distant Earth orbit towards northeastern Africa and the Arabian peninsula, which appears to be covered by a near continent spanning cyclone of swirling white cloud whose eye is larger than some countries. Your first thought will probably be mine: "who got their geography and meteorology so crazed?!" But you, too, would be wrong. You just have to think back a bit in time and legend. Clever, but not worth the entire price of admission.

Back to the chronological list of reviews