this post was submitted on 24 Dec 2023
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[–] 7u5k3n@lemmy.world 260 points 11 months ago (7 children)

the reason Michael Caine and Tim Curry are so good in their respective Muppet movies is that Michael Caine treats the Muppets as fellow actors, and Tim Curry treats himself as a fellow Muppet

[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 52 points 11 months ago (3 children)

It's really sad Tim Curry had a stroke.

He was always a great villain even in the cheesiest roles

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 19 points 11 months ago

The Three Musketeers is basically unwatchable without Tim Curry hamming it up in a cape.

The lead actors are all terrible.

[–] Twelve20two@slrpnk.net 18 points 11 months ago

If I'm not mistaken, he reads audio books! Unless those are all pre-stroke as well. He is, however, comfortable making public appearances again, so that's pretty good too, at least.

[–] Papergeist@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago (1 children)

He was even good on TV as Nigel St. Nigel.

[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It took me until I saw that guy on tiktok who does a Nigel impression to learn that Tim Curry was the voice

Edit: So I misunderstood this comment and came to the wrong conclusion. I thought they were talking about Nigel Thornberry from Eliza and the Thornberry's

[–] Walican132@lemmy.today 29 points 11 months ago

This is a powerful observation.

[–] niktemadur@lemmy.world 18 points 11 months ago

Man... I love this description so much, like a glimpse into the intellectual processes that go into the acting on screen, in best case scenarios like this one - top actors surrounded by sock puppets - there are crucial and consistent choices to be made.

It's like what they say about dogs and cats.
Dogs see themselves as fellow humans.
Cats see humans as fellow cats.

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[–] jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 118 points 11 months ago (2 children)

The Muppet Christmas Carol is the best film version of A Christmas Carol. I will gladly die on this hill.

[–] overzeetop@lemmy.world 54 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

The only way you die on that hill is from crushing as we are all crowded on there with you.

Hell, I picked up the book last year and had forgotten that Marley was a single (former) partner, not two brothers.

[–] JaymesRS@literature.cafe 18 points 11 months ago

Must have been a typo in the book.

[–] plantedworld@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago

I work in a hospital and sometimes people have these air pumps on their legs that prevent blood clots. I often joke when disconnecting them, "We have to take those off so you aren't dragging it behind you like Marley and Marley."

Then i remember that's not the original version.

[–] Drivebyhaiku@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago

I know people who worked on it.

I have a decade of experience in film and have worked on some cool shit and I logically know that just like what I have done at the end of the day it's basically a job like the one that I am doing... But I envy them that one credit so fucking hard and will beg them for stories of what it was like as though I am a starry eyed child who wants to be them when I grow up.

[–] CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social 80 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I mean, isnt this a thing in comedy, where you can make the jokes of the one being funny have more impact by contrasting them with a super serious character? Scrooge is already a normally quite serious character, and the muppets are known for their antics, so leaving the comedy to them and acting serious makes a lot of sense.

[–] Omnificer@lemmy.world 57 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yea, the term is a "straight man" although this is slightly different in that the straight man is usually allowed to acknowledge the antics of the comedic characters, where-as Michael Caine treats the comedy as done straight.

I guess it would be a sub-category of straight man though, not a different thing to itself.

[–] TurnItOff_OnAgain@lemmy.world 60 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Fans of Brooklyn 99 will recognize Captain Holt as the straight man in the show, which is made hilarious since he is a gay man. He is the gay straight man.

RIP Andre Braugher

[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 17 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Even in season One he was more about being funny because of how "not comedic" he was. And that went out the window fairly fast and he was just as zany as everyone else. Ironically, in a lot of the earlier episodes, Peralta served the role of "the straight man" because the ambient level was so absurd.

A better Braugher example may be House where he mostly existed for House to bounce off of

[–] cmhickman358@thelemmy.club 9 points 11 months ago

Which is funny in itself because in previous Hugh Laurie roles, such as Blackadder and A Bit of Fry and Laurie, he was the funny guy to Atkinson and Fry's straight men

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[–] AtariDump@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

Surely u go ou can’t be serious.

[–] Pencilnoob@lemmy.world 75 points 11 months ago
[–] lobut@lemmy.ca 45 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I'm sorry but it's my favorite Michael Caine movie. Yes, yes there's a plethora of amazing movies, but this one is the one I fell in love with as a child and it's stuck with me now. He's stellar in it too.

[–] jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 21 points 11 months ago (4 children)

I still refuse to forgive the asshats at Disney for cutting the "When Love is Gone" scene from the DVD release.

[–] brenstar@programming.dev 19 points 11 months ago (2 children)

They found the original cut and added it back in a couple years back. You can find the full 4k release in the special features on Disney Plus

[–] overzeetop@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago (3 children)

I need to find an navally appropriated version. I have both, but the version with the restored song is a 4:3 VHS(?) transfer I think.

[–] brenstar@programming.dev 8 points 11 months ago

No, they found the original reels for the missing track, so it has been remastered to 4k widescreen. The whole alternate version with the song is in the special features on Disney Plus

[–] LemmysMum@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)
[–] overzeetop@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

Well shiver me timbers I didn't expect it to be on the open seas so readily. May your grog be strong throughout the new year.

[–] AtariDump@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

I need to find an navally appropriated version

Navally approved? Aye aye, captain!

[–] alansuspect@aussie.zone 3 points 11 months ago

If you're not US-based you need a VPN though, for some reason the rest of the world isn't allowed it.

[–] Absolute_Axoltl@feddit.uk 10 points 11 months ago

I've seen this film every year since it was on vhs. Last night I took my kids to see it at the cinema and it still holds up. "When Love is Gone" was back in it's rightful place and having not seen it for a good few years it's such a welcome return. The pacing is totally messed up by it's removal.

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[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

The Man Who Would Be King is my favorite. Also my favorite Sean Connery movie. By Jove.

[–] Algaroth@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Right above Jaws 4. Those shorts are a knockout.

[–] Seleni@lemmy.world 39 points 11 months ago (1 children)

‘I'm going to play this movie like I'm working with the Royal Shakespeare Company. I will never wink, I will never do anything Muppety. I am going to play Scrooge as if it is an utterly dramatic role and there are no puppets around me.’

I love how he mostly took the role so his daughter could see him in something, since she was too young to see most of his stuff, but he ended up really enjoying it and considered it one of his best roles.

[–] Venat0r@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

It's also great for the film because it contrasts with the muppets and makes them funnier.

[–] epyon22@programming.dev 37 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Here is a really in depth article about why the Muppets version of the Christmas carol is the best video rendition and stays true to the book. https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2019/12/20/a-grand-yuletide-theory-the-muppet-christmas-carol-is-the-best-adaptation-of-a-christmas-carol/

[–] Walican132@lemmy.today 11 points 11 months ago

Thank you so much for sharing this. Made my Christmas Eve morning brighter.

[–] Arielcorn@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

I enjoyed listening to the essay. Thank you.

[–] gmtom@lemmy.world 31 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Traffic collision. Accident implies there is nobody to blame

[–] hibsen@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

No luck catching them swans, then?

[–] AtariDump@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Crusty jugglers

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[–] CarlsIII@kbin.social 18 points 11 months ago

Surely people don’t actually think he should have played the role all wackedy schmackedy, right?

[–] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago
[–] tygerprints@kbin.social 14 points 11 months ago (3 children)

So this is off topic, but why (well except maybe Scrooged) haven't there been truly scary versions of "A Christmas Carol?" With the muppets you know what you to expect, and the version with Alistair Sim had a very frightening ghost of Jacob Marley. To me it cries out for a real fever dream treatment, make it as dark as possible. (Well except for the Tiny Tim scenes, obviously).

[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The original, and many adaptations, use morality to show the horror.nthere is no abject and outright scary shit except for the ghost of Marley who was deliberately scary to Scrooge. But even Marley was soon shown to be a miser in chains who is more grumpy than scary and there's no way to fix that because he's a ghost who has to tell Scrooge what's happening. Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees are scary because they say nothing. Having a ghost give a message instantly undercuts the terror.

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[–] Mediocre_Bard@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Check out Jim Carrie's version. It gets dark.

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[–] Laticauda@lemmy.ca 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It would be interesting to see a take on the story that went for horror as the genre.

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[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 12 points 11 months ago

I just watched that

[–] Slovene@feddit.nl 8 points 11 months ago

Not many people know that.

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