Team Vallejo saw "The Muppets" at the theatre over the long Thanksgiving weekend. This was not my original plan (for all of us to see it). My original plan was to send Joel and the kids to the movies so I could do some on-line Christmas shopping but Joel insisted (
insisted) that all of us were going because it's "The Muppets" and the "The Muppets" are all about family and fun and good memories. We fandangoed tickets for the Friday matinee but when we arrived the theatre had no power. Since we were early for the movie we decided to hang out in the car and after a few minutes Owen exclaimed from the backseat, "I SEE LIGHTS! THE POWER'S BACK ON!! WE CAN SEE THE MUPPETS!!!" Yeah, he was super excited about the movie. We walked back in and bought popcorn and drinks and found our seats just in time for the "Coming Attractions" to begin. We listened to all of the coming attractions (note I say "listened" and not "watched") and then the sound cut off and a young man came in and announced that the power outage had damaged the projector and we weren't going to be able to see "The Muppets" after all. He went on to to explain something about getting a refund but I didn't hear that part because the lady sitting behind us completely lost her mind. Lost it. Completely. Over not being able to see "The Muppets." She was clearly not happy and let everyone in the theatre know it. So, we left the theatre, got rainchecks for the Saturday afternoon matinee and took ourselves and our $27.50 worth of popcorn and drinks and went home.
On Saturday afternoon we headed back to the theatre. We bought more drinks and popcorn and found our seats and
just before the previews began, Scott Hamilton (the 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist in Men's Figure Skating) walked into the theatre and sat down right in front of us. It was very cool. So, me and Scott Hamilton and a whole bunch of other people settled in to watch "The Muppets." I don't think I'm overstating it when I say that the movie was pure Muppet magic from beginning to end. It had it all - the funny songs, the corny inside jokes, the obvious plot line with the token sinister bad guy ("maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh") vs. the naive small-town optomist all leading up to a last minute save-the-day performance followed by a rousing encore to end the
show movie. As the final notes of "Mahna Mahna" faded into the darkness, people in the theatre started clapping. It's been a long time since I saw a movie where people clapped at the end. I may also have been crying.
As I said earlier, it was Joel who insisted that our family see "The Muppets" together and he was right (why yes, I did put that in writing). The world feels like a dark and cynical place these days full of sinister people and maniacal laughter. Spending the afternoon with my kids laughing at the antics of Kermit and Miss Piggy was worth the two trips to the theatre and the ridiculous amount of money we spent at the concession stand so we could make a happy memory. And how nice that the Muppets are back with their catchy songs and corny jokes. I think the world needs them now more than ever.
"Life's a happy song when there's someone by your side to sing along!"
