Wednesday 23 November 2011

Blu Ray Tuesday #13

The movie: Bad Teacher

I started watching this movie and I didn’t like it. The main character was a thoroughly unlikeable person and I wasn’t in the mood to watch it. To be fair to ‘Bad Teacher’, I’d had a really long day (going to the zoo, SUCH a first world problem, I know, I know!) and I’m sure any other day I would have laughed my bum off but I just wasn’t feeling it. Jason Segel made it worth watching (that HIMYM cast are a wonderful bunch of scene stealers!) but about halfway through I slipped off to my room.

I turned off the lights and put in my new DVD that I brought yesterday on a whim, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” (aka my favourite Christmas movie… tied with “Elf”). The overture started, mixing snippets of songs from the movie with Christmas classic songs and my bad mood was gone.

I was reminded why this movie is so good. The Victorian London set is fabulous, as are the costumes. The world created by the movie of Dickensian Londoners living alongside Muppets is strangely believable. The script is surprisingly witty. I love the use of Dickens’ original narration, as performed by Gonzo in the movie. For some reason, it works well alongside Rizzo the Rat’s ramblings, mainly about food.

Michael Caine is so, so good as Scrooge, particularly in the beginning as they’re setting the scene and showing you just how despicable Scrooge is. Even when he has no lines, he’s brilliant. A lot of the movie balances on him being able to portray how the Spirits have changed him with simply a look and he knocks it out of the park. Plus there’s the added bonus of seeing an Oscar winner singing along with Muppets.

Recommended? Yes. Definitely gets you ready for Christmas!

3 comments:

Katie said...

I didn't mind Bad Teacher but it certainly had some pretty dodgy themes. Why do we have to deal with such unlikeable heroines? And why, more to the point, are such apparently nice guys supposed to be attracted to them? Maybe it's the reverse of the beauty and the beast thing, where women were expected to see past a man's apparently ugly exterior to their true beauty within. Or maybe society is just screwed up - who knows?

You've made me want to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol now, though, especially since I don't recall ever watching the whole thing. That's something I must rectify at once!

Jenna (SewSavoirFaire) said...

Hey stranger! For some reason your posts weren't showing up in my dashboard. I had no idea you even posted anything recently. Luckily this did show up! Stupid dashboard. Bad Teacher made me cringe just watching the previews. I'm like...really Cameron? There had to be better scripts to choose from. The Muppet Christmas Carol on the other hand...thumbs up! Glad you survived your zoo escapade!

Abigail said...

YES MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL! This is literally my favorite Christmas movie ever, possibly my favorite movie ever. I love love love Kermit the Frog (you can see how much in a post from last December, where I post an essay about how much I want to meet him: http://absandthegreatworld.blogspot.com/2010/12/frog-leg-lunch-christmas-present-for.html).

I have never seen Bad Teacher though and... not sure I really want to. Hmmm...