Review: The Muppets – “Pig Girls Don’t Cry”

Back in the late-70s/early-80s, The Muppet Show was a television staple. The Muppets have returned to network television in a slightly different format. Instead of a variety show, the new version is more of a reality show. Modern Family meets The Tonight Show meets The Muppets.

Piggy is the star of a late night talk show titled “Up Late With Miss Piggy.” Kermit is the show’s executive producer, Fozzy is the comedian sidekick, and the Electric Mayhem is the on-air band. The other characters are there, as well, performing various tasks around the set. Kermit has allowed a documentary crew to film the behind-the-scenes of the show, including some one-on-one interviews with the staff members.

Some things are still very much the same from the original show. Piggy is (and always will be) a demanding diva. Kermit is still neurotically trying to give Piggy everything she wants. However, the two are no longer dating. Kermit tells the camera that her demanding traits were cute when they were dating but annoying now that they aren’t. This is the core of the show. Kermit has moved onto another relationship with another pig girl but Piggy still seems rather heartbroken, in her own way.

In the pilot episode, Piggy makes a few outrageous demands, including having someone put generic trash over her trash so the janitor doesn’t see what she is throwing away. She also wants to cancel the next guest on her show, Elizabeth Banks. At first, Kermit complies. He sends Scooter over to the Dancing With The Stars set to book a replacement guest. Scooter comes back with DWTS host, Tom Bergeron. However, Kermit knows that Banks is the bigger star. He can’t figure out why Piggy would want to cancel her. Denise, Kermit’s new girlfriend and marketer for the network, shows Kermit a video of a terrible screen test Piggy did with Banks for The Hunger Games. Still not completely convinced this is a good reason, Kermit books Bergeron instead.

Meanwhile, Fozzy is freaking out about meeting his girlfriend, Becky’s (played by Riki Lindhome), parents. He goes to their house for dinner and, in fabulous Fozzy manner, manages to get on their not-so-good side. When he finds out that Becky’s mom is a big fan of Piggy, he offers to bring them to the set to meet her. Of course, when the group gets to the set, Piggy is in a mood and insults everyone. Becky finally comes to the realization that they don’t need her parents’ approval. Fozzy doesn’t agree.

Getting back to Piggy and Kermit, the frog decides that Elizabeth Banks will be on the show and Piggy will just have to deal with it. But he doesn’t tell Piggy this. When Piggy finds out that Banks has arrived for her interview, Piggy blows her top. Kermit tries to get her to explain why she doesn’t want Banks on the show. It turns out that the couple broke up outside a movie theater playing Pitch Perfect 2. The first thing Piggy saw after Kermit dumped her was a poster of Elizabeth Banks. Kermit goes to Piggy’s dressing room to apologize for forgetting about the circumstances of their breakup. Both of them agree to try to do better at working together.

Piggy interviews Banks. Imagine Dragons plays a song. Animal breaks their huge drum. Life goes on.

I know that there were some groups out there that were worried about the “family values” of this new show. It seems to me that these people either never watched The Muppet Show or they forgot how edgy it could be. This version lives up to the standards of the original while still giving it a fresh feel. We’ve never really seen this type of behind-the-scenes look at the lives of the Muppets. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here.