Muppets From Space (1999)

Wacky Muppet antics but far less than the usual authentic Muppet magic. After an entertaining beginning (where Gonzo has a recurring dream of being refused entry to Noah's Ark before a houseful of Muppets jockey for the bathroom and then breakfast), the plot meanders without much focus or humor. (Other than Gonzo's lexicokinetic Cap'n Alphabet cereal and Jeffrey Tambor's quasigovernmental alien-seeking agency, I began asking myself when the Muppets are going to have anything to do with space.) Gonzo's origin and the space connection are resolved in the final 20 minutes (a la Close Encounters) but his resulting decision is so just-read-the-script that it doesn't even rise to mawkishness much less sentimentalism much less real emotion. (Only Anakin Skywalker at any age could give a more wooden scriptreading.) This film's opening moments, costumes, and '70s soundtrack (Billy Preston, Kool and the Gang) are the only things that kept it from getting one less star. 3 stars.