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Video Review: Muppets From Space

© Elizabeth Burton

It's not easy being green, but it's even harder being a "whatever."

Gonzo's having nightmares. Noah (F. Murray Abraham) won't let him on the ark because he's the only one of his kind. Never mind "unique." Gonzo knows it's just another word for "lonely."

Then his cereal sends him a message, and suddenly Gonzo has hope he will no longer have to be unique. Could it be that he's more alien even than he looks?

But finding who he is and where he's from isn't going to be that easy. Gonzo is kidnapped by some Men In Black, along with his buddy Rizzo, and he won't be alive to greet his long-lost relatives if Kermit and the crew can't rescue him in time.

Muppet movies are like chocolate chip cookies -- there's no such thing as a really bad one. Some are homemade; some are storebought. Either kind is fine. Muppets From Space is one of the homemade ones, full of all the things that have made the Muppets part of our cultural heritage. Geeky Gonzo's yearning to be part of something bigger, to belong, is touching without being maudlin; and Rizzo's fierce loyalty is a lesson in the meaning of friendship.

As the harried head of household, Kermit somehow manages to maintain at least a semblance of order among his eclectic group or boarders. There's a hilarious wake-up scene that anyone who's ever shared a single bathroom with multiple roommates will recognize.

Miss Piggy, of course, is her irrepressible self, hamming it up as she maneuvers her way into an TV anchor job and duking it out with one of the MIBs with righteous vigor. And Animal gets the girl!

Among them, writers Jerry Juhl and Joey Mazzarino and Director Tom Hill have recaptured the gentle wryness and ensemble chemistry that made The Muppet Movie a classic. Muppets In Space is funny and corny and poignant -- often all at the same time. There are the usual legion of cameos and the pleasures of catching the references to other movies. And if Gonzo's alien friends are addicted to Disco, what the heck? Those guys know how to PARTY!

There are some intense, scary moments here and there that might be a little rough on sensitive youngsters, but the good guys always win in the end. By all means, haul the family together and make it a movie night. In fact, pick up a handful of Muppet movies and have a film festival. Celebrate good times -- come on!