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48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sick, silly, absurd -- fantastic, May 20, 2003
It would take someone as talented as Peter Jackson to make "Meet the Feebles" -- a gross, sick, absurd and twistily logical dark (very dark) comedy. If "Frighteners" was Jackson's version of "Ghostbusters," then this is his even weirder version of the "Muppet Show." (Not one for kids, either)The not-so-good "Feebles" variety show has just scored a network special, with buxom singer Heidi the Hippo as the central attraction. Behind the scenes, it's another story: Heidi's lover Bletch the Walrus is cheating on her with a slinky Siamese, Wynard the Vietnam-scarred frog hasn't been able to get more heroin and is having problems with his knife-throwing act (you can imagine what happens), a rat is making pornos in the basement, a blue elephant is embroiled in a paternity suit with a chicken (guess what the kid looks like), Harry the rabbit has come down with a venereal disease, and new porcupine Robert has fallen in love with a beautiful chorus girl. To make things worse, Bletch is involved in a scheme with underworld drug kingpins, one of whom is a whale of a problem (seriously -- he's a whale). Heidi is pigging out on chocolate and starting to come unglued mentally out of fear that her lover doesn't care about her anymore. And when the curtain goes up, will the Feebles be able to get their acts together? (I'll give you a hint: The answer has two letters) Peter Jackson once said that he had a "moronic" sense of humor, and it shows here in all its grimy glory. What if the Muppet Show were plagued with every kind of seediness? Sex, drugs, puppet porn and some really disgusting vomiting (and cast members occasionally eating one another), and a machine-gun massacre are spattered over this story -- and while you may not want to, you'll love it. Jackson's love of splatter-gore shows in a row of birds crushed by a barrel and plenty of flying body parts near the finale. It's so incredibly in "bad taste" that I simply couldn't stop laughing. (Warning to those with weak stomachs: This movie is not for you) He even touches on some interesting questions like: What kind of offspring would two puppets of different species have? Several of the characters are reminiscent of Muppets -- a blowsy diva who storms off when she's unhappy, there's a frog, a chicken who's had an affair with a long-nosed blue guy, a nasty little rat... any of it sound familiar? Jackson takes the concept and runs with it. And there are a bunch spawned especially for this movie, like the glittering fish that Bletch eats, or a malevolent little fly-on-the-wall who takes pleasure in spreading bad news. Most of the characters are either pitiful (Heidi) or revolting (the lecherous, manipulative Bletch). They make porn, they dish dirt, they snort drugs, they bounce into each other's dressing rooms. (There's even a pervert anteater and a fox who does a very dignified -- yet obscene -- musical number!) And Jackson knows to balance out all the wretched characters with likable ones too: Arfur the doe-eyed worm and Lucille (poodle) and Robert (porcupine) as the adoring lovers. The downside? The DVD is fuzzy and overly dark in places, like a videotape that has aged badly. This is a particular problem in scenes that take place in semi-darkness, which many backstage ones do. The extras are... more or less nonexistant. Hopefully this film will be rereleased in a format more worthy of it. You might be able to watch Kermit and Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppets after you've seen "Meet the Feebles." But I promise you that you will never, ever watch them the same way again. "Meet the Feebles" is sick, silly, and utterly twisted -- not a masterpiece, but brilliantly, weirdly, insanely funny.
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