Curse of the Chupacabra

Monday, November 21, 2011

I Can't Get "Forget You" (Muppet version) Out Of My Head

WARNING:  Even though this post is about The Muppets, it's not intended for children.

Okay, this is not only the most bizarre "I Can't Get...Out Of My Head" post, but the most bizarre overall.  Explanation:  I had the pleasure of seeing an advanced screening of "The Muppets" last week.  As anyone familiar with the Muppets franchise knows, their movies/shows are musicals.  Now, there was some great original music (one song in particular I hope gets an Oscar nomination) but the song that is currently stuck in my head is an adaptation of an already popular song (making it not eligible for Oscar consideration, not that it would be nominated).  The song from the movie is called, "Forget You" performed by Madame Alma Cluck and her chickens; however, the real life song is called "Fuck You!" performed by Cee Lo Green; again however, Cee Lo also does a watered down version with the same Muppet title.  This song choice was perfect for many reasons, one being that the music is very catchy and light-hearted, something very worthy of a Broadway musical number.  If you haven't heard it, have a listen to the clean version "Forget You!" here:


OR, if you want to watch the original, hilariously foul-mouthed music video, this is it here:


I took my good friend Steve with me to go see the special screening because we have both been huge Muppet fans since before we even met back in high school.  Although we love all the original Muppet movies from the '80's, our favorite is by far, "The Great Muppet Caper" and still use quotes from the movie today. 

Towards the end Gonzo's mistress, Madame Alma Cluck, appears with the rest of her chickens.  The Princess and her poultry back-up singers break out in a version of "Forget You", or as I like to refer to it, "Cluck You" because that's all they do is 'cluck'; thereby, avoiding any of the songs original X-rated lyrics for this PG-rated movie.  When the number started, I thought it was funny and cute but Steve went into the spastic conniption of laughter when the song started.  I didn't understand why because I had no idea of Cee Lo's original song.  Not being a fan of his, I only ever heard the 'radio version'.  Steve had to explain this to me after the movie and now I get it.


I really appreciated what Jason Segel (co-writer of The Muppets as well) did here, masking adult content beneath children's entertainment - something The Muppets has always been about.  The Muppets only became "just for kids" when they started doing those atrocious parody movies based on popular literature such as "A Christmas Carol", "Treasure Island" and "The Wizard of Oz".

Now, I do think the new Muppets movie is far from perfect, but happily consider it their comeback and welcome more Muppet movies with open arms.  And if they do another one, I'll be sure to bring the paper towels.

2 comments:

  1. Michael, I'm counting down the minutes til I get to see this movie. I'm making Joe take me on Thanksgiving. He is not a big Muppet fan having never watched them when he was little, but he thinks there is something endearing about how excited I get over Muppets!

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