Film #058 - The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
What made the classic Muppet films stand out is that, like the Muppet Show before them, they didn’t treat them as a puppet show. These were regular, normal comedies that just happened to have puppets in many of the major roles. This is never better represented than in the best of all Muppet projects, The Great Muppet Caper. Now, some would object to that assertion, pointing to the high qaulity of the TV series, but ultimately, that was a variety show. Caper has a real plot, defined characters, yet still is able to provide the type of humor that fans had come to expect of the Muppets.
At its heart, The Great Muppet Caper is a by-the-book heist/romantic comedy that could have easily starred Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn. Kermit takes the part of an intrepid reporter who, along with his twin brother played by Fozzie and his photographer Gonzo, travels to England to track down the person responsible for the theft of jewelry from Lady Holiday (Diana Rigg). Meanwhile, Miss Piggy, trying to break into fashion modelling, takes a job with lady Holiday, where she catches the attention of the Lady’s brother, Nicky (Charles Grodin).
The key to the Muppets working, as I pointed out, is the reality of it all. The Muppet characters, naturally, treat each other as viable co-stars, but what made The Muppet Show and the early films work so well is how the human actors interacted with the Muppets, making the whole thing be utterly believable. This is most evident with Charle Grodin, who sells his many romantic scenes with Miss Piggy with complete conviction. You really believe he has feelings for her. * Rigg is no less convincing, but she doesn’t have the kind of very personal interaction that Grodin does.
And like most Muppet films, Caper is rife with cameos. Given the location, most of them are from some of the greats of British comedy. The highlight has to be an extended sequence with John Cleese and Joan Sanderson as Neville and Dorcas, an older couple living alone, whose house Miss Piggy uses to perpetrate the idea that she is Lady Holiday for the benefit of Kermit. Other cameos include Peter Ustinov, Jack Warden, Peter Falk, Trevor Howard and Robert Morley.
The songs by Joe Raposo eclipse the ones in The Muppet Movie and lack the schmaltz factor that holds that one back. Again, Grodin shines in the scene in which he (dubbed, of course) and Kermit serenade Piggy. The dance numbers rival anything from old-time Hollywood, but never go on too long.
The Great Muppet Caper also features a huge array of characters from Muppet history (even one, Oscar the Grouch, from Sesame Street) all of whom get at least a moment or two to shine. It is the best plotted, directed and performed of all the movies and may, in fact, be the perfect manifestation of the Muppet concept. They have tried to re-capture the essence over the years, but never to much success. Before anyone attempts to make another film with the Muppets, I’d require them to sit down and watch Caper non-stop for a weekend (like Orson Welles watching Stagecoach in order to learn the language of cinema). Everything you would need to know to make the Muppets work is to be found in The Great Muppet Caper.
* There is a story that, standing on set with Miss Piggy beside him during a set-up, Grodin began talking to her, discussing how they should handle the scene. He completely ignored Frank Oz and the other pupeteers, talking to Miss Piggy directly to help maintain the reality of the situation.