'The Muppets' back and as funny as ever

Times are tough for the Muppets.

They’ve split up and are scattered about the globe. Kermit is a recluse. Other than Miss Piggy who is a “Devil Wear’s Prada”-style fashion magazine editor with a secretary that looks mysteriously like Emily Blunt from the movie, they’re not a happy bunch. That's about to change.

Gary, his girlfriend Mary and his Muppety-looking brother Walter travel to Los Angeles to see everything they can that’s Muppet. A tour of the broken down Muppet Theater has them learning that a greedy oil tycoon is going to tear it down because there is oil underneath.

Local show times, theaters, trailer.

Mary, somewhat jealous of Gary’s too-close relationship to his pathetic brother, also wants her clueless beau to propose on their 10th anniversary of knowing each other.

That’s the setup for the first major Muppet movie since they launched into space in 1999. The Muppets is packed with dumb jokes and bad puns. It has awful singing, over-produced dance numbers and close to a dozen cameos. In other words, it’s the Muppets at their very best.

Jason Segel does Gary, while the charismatic and totally talented Amy Adams is Mary. Chris Cooper plays the villainous oil baron.

My research says this is the first non-Jim Henson production company Muppet movie. Most of you won’t notice. Writer and actor Segel ( Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and writer Nicholas Stoller ( Yes Man) honor Henson and his crew’s sense of humor and perfectly capture flavor of the legendary TV and movie series.

Mr. Movie rating: 4 1/2 stars

Rated PG for mature themes. It opens today at Regal’s Columbia Center 8, the Fairchild Cinemas 12 and at Walla Walla Grand Cinemas.

5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen

4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it's your type of movie.

3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on video.

2 stars to 1 star: Don't bother.

0 stars: Speaks for itself.

This story was originally published November 23, 2011 at 12:24 AM with the headline "'The Muppets' back and as funny as ever."