Friendship (2024) / We're the Millers (2013) / The Muppet Show (2026)
Friendship wasn't a movie that was really on my radar when it released in 2024 - I was actually surprised that it wasn't newer when I watched it recently. Tim Robinson isn't someone I'm hugely familiar with but my understanding is that he is the big draw here rather than Paul Rudd who drew me in based on the trailer.
It's a movie that dips its toes into surrealist comedy but I often felt that I wanted it to stake a stronger claim. The biggest laughs for me were when it got weird - breaking the window, the surprise u-turn on crashing his car, losing his wife in the sewers etc. I think it needed a bit more energy to keep me engaged. I kind of get that that was the tone but it just didn't really work for me. I think the trailer here is not a good indicator of what the movie is so it is a hard one to recommend.
We're the Millers on the other hand pretty much delivers fully on my expectations. I similarly didn't know what the movie was about going in - I assumed it was just a normal family holiday gone wrong situation - but I quickly picked up where it was going and found it to be a fun premise. With Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Anniston I kind of knew what style of comedy to expect and it does nicely deliver that.
Will Poulter is the standout here and it's not surprising that he has gone on to do so much. He very impressively stands up next to a host of much more experienced comedians. Overall it doesn't do anything particularly special but it's a fun one to sit down with on a Saturday afternoon.
Ultimately though - the newest rendition of The Muppets blows away basically anything that I have watched recently. I don't think there has been a particularly bad release for the Muppets in a long time but the property has struggled to find its place in the world. The newer movies seem to have done reasonably at the box office given their budgets, the ABC office-style show didn't last very long and the brand seems to be thrown from comedian to comedian to "revive" every couple of years. This is in spite of the constant criticism that the Muppets work better with a straight man than a comedian.
The last year has been a bit of a Muppet education for me. I've watched the Christmas Carol, Treasure Island and Wizard of Oz adaptations in this time. Two of these are really good - and the Wizard of Oz certainly is something. We also watched the Dynasty Typewriter Muppet Movie live script reading which was simply wonderful.
What I'm saying is that I haven't taken the typical route to Muppet fandom. I wasn't exposed to them that much as a kid but, in my 30s, I've been feasting on Muppets content very happily. In times when life is hard it is incredibly warming to watch the Muppets.
This particular release - essentially a once-off episode of the classic TV show with Sabrina Carpenter - is simply delightful. It's quick, it's silly and it manages to squeeze in a little bit of everything into its runtime. It plays off Sabrina Carpenter really well, even leaning into her slightly more adult background. It had the two of us sitting with big smiles on our faces which is exactly what the goal should be here.
I'm not sure that modern costs and demands allows the Muppets to release the same amount of content that they used to but I hope that the overwhelming support for this release gives them the boost they need to continue producing content. I don't expect a 30 episode season of the show to be greenlight but I could absolutely see this becoming an annual tradition to release another episode with a big star. Get Pedro Pascal on for the next one or...let them go back to the parody movies. I'd love to see a Muppet Star Wars or a Gonzo-led Muppet Indiana Jones.
In a weekend that I filled with quite a bit of comedy watching. The Muppets stood tall as by far the most impactful release for me. It was truly a delight to watch.
