Brian Henson
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Basic Instinct (1992)
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
influenced The Happytime Murders (2018)
Visuals Themes
We could hunch down in the seats and watch puppets — Muppets in all but name — have sex, do drugs, get kinky and curse like Samuel L. And we’d laugh and laugh, at the Silly String ejaculate, the “Basic Instinct” puppet leg crossing, at violence — puppets heads exploding in a cloud of fluff, puppets yanked to pieces by dogs.
This she-Muppet will eventually re-create the notorious scene from “Basic Instinct” that made Sharon Stone a superstar.
If you need proof, look no further than the scene that sends up Basic Instinct’s interrogation sequence.
And who doesn’t like having their childhood called upon by Basic Instinct references.
If you imagine that this scene is going to descend into a witless imitation of Sharon Stone’s infamous interrogation in Basic Instinct, you are not wrong.
Sort of The Big Sleep meets Basic Instinct meets Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, The Happytime Murders wants you to laugh while never letting you forget that here is a hard-hitting parody of our racist, misogynistic society.
The Muppets (2011)
Directed by James Bobin
influenced by The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), The Happytime Murders (2018)
I am first not entirely convinced of the honesty of the theme: while the plot of The Muppets neatly mirrors its practical function to Walt Disney Pictures, attempting to prove the financial viability of the classic characters with a target audience that was not yet born at the release of their last truly great vehicle, the 1992 picture The Muppet Christmas Carol , it's really not at all the case that Kermit, at least, has been invisible for so long that your average 12-year-old has absolutely no idea who he is, and the film goes even farther by suggesting without saying it outright that the last time anybody cared about the Muppets was at the time of 1979's The Muppet Movie , and that's just plain insanity (The Muppet Show itself stayed on the air until 1981, and it wasn't poor ratings that ended it).
It’s too bad, as there is a lot of awesome talent on display, from great voice actor Bill Barretta (many of the roles in a variety of Muppet films and series, including the 2011 The Muppets ), as Philips; to Maya Rudolph ( Mr. Pig ), as Philips’ devoted secretary, Bubbles; to Melissa McCarthy ( Spy ), as Detective Connie Edwards, that old partner; plus many others.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Directed by Gore Verbinski
influenced by Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
Plot
There was Renny Harlan's Cutthroat Island back in 1995, followed a year later by Muppet Treasure Island.
When paired with Rocky, Gosling enters the rare “puppet scene partner” hall of fame alongside Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol, never letting the fact that he’s acting opposite a puppet disrupt the sincerity of his performance.
Starring Melissa McCarthy, Bill Barretta, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph, Leslie David Baker, Joel McHale, Michael McDonald, Ben Falcone, Dorien Davies, Cynthy Wu, Mitch Silpa, Hemky Madera, Ryan Tran, Fortune Feimster, Brekkan Spens, Benjamin Cole Royer, Jimmy O. Yang, Ryan Gaul, Jim Palmer, Dennis Keiffer, Michael Croner, Brett Wagner, Colleen Smith, Kevin Clash, Drew Massey, Patty Guggenheim, Allan Trautman, Victor Yerrid, Ted Michaels, and Brian Henson.
The scene in question—which redefines The Streaming Era—comes about midway through the year’s most excruciating and unfortunate film, a new comedy that blends the ethic and figures of the Muppets with the comic imagination of a depraved teenager forced to watch Ted on loop.
You’re much better off watching stuff like “Meet the Feebles,” “Team America,” or “Ted” than this giant, festering, awful rip off of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”