Been awhile.
I’m finding myself in a very nostalgic mood lately. No doubt it’s partly due to seeing The Muppets last weekend. I dreaded being dragged by Scooby and Doodle to this film, convinced that, like all of the remakes, re-boots and sequels I’ve seen lately, it wouldn’t ever live up to my childhood memories of the show.
It did – completely.
There were lovely little tributes to the old-time celebs who guest-hosted The Muppet Show back in the day, some of whom are gone now, like Bob Hope. The three levels of the movie (basic “good vs. bad” kid movie; meta statement of the Muppets in pop culture; nostalgic trip down memory lane) all worked wonderfully together. The movie hit the sweet spot between fun kid movie for little ones who may or may not know anything about the Muppets and lovely nostalgia for those of us who remember the show.
In Muppet-world, all you really needed to do was to be yourself, and even though disaster threatened every time you raised the curtain and lit the lights, you all pulled together and made the show a success. It happened every week.
I wanted to be Kermit the Frog, appearing on stage enthusiastically for every performance, getting the chickens to march in a parade, wincing at untimely explosions and unfunny jokes, but never doubting that this was what he was meant to do.
When was the last time I threw myself that wholeheartedly into something I loved doing?
I felt tears welling up when Kermit and the gang launched into “The Rainbow Connection,” that cautiously hopeful, poignant anthem – and I didn’t feel the least bit embarrassed. Mainly because it was dark, but more importantly because I could hear strains of the song wafting softly around me, sung in many grow up voices from all over the theatre. (The guy next to me had a lovely baritone.)
I think many of us needed to be reminded that we could still find that beautiful connection. Someday hasn’t come yet, has it?
Go ahead, I dare you not to sing along.
The Rainbow Connection (1979)
You’re welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment