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I'll tell you why so serious

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

King Kong (2005), Heavenly Creatures (1994), The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003); what do they all have in common? Well other than the fact that they are all high quality films, they all share a director with the little seen; little loved 1989 New Zealand film Meet the Feebles (1989). That's right; before Peter Jackson won critical acclaim for his magnificent spectacles and J.R.R. Tolkien adaptations he was the director of a twisted, tawdry parody of The Muppets (1976-1981), ranking up there with The Toxic Avenger (1984) in its level of vulgarity.The movie aptly juggles a multitude of stories surrounding the struggling variety show cast and crew. The main character of Meet the Feebles is an aging star, Heidi the Hippo (Danny Mulheron) who is struggling to keep her relationship with adulterous producer Bletch the Walrus (Peter Vere-Jones). That, in addition to a sugary sweet love story between a hedgehog and a poodle is about the tamest thing about Meet the Feebles. There are subplots involving drugs, STDs, Vietnam flashbacks, gun violence and plenty of puppet sex.The sheer ridiculousness of this nightmarish puppet show makes it too ghastly to look away. It appalls intrigues and impresses in equal measure. Everything from the camera-work to the puppeteering to the script are crude yet wildly effective. The size of each anamorphic puppet varies from elaborate sock puppet to a multi-crewed giant all requiring a certain level of skill which while not on par with Jim Henson, is fun to watch.This film, coupled with Peter Jackson's Dead Alive (1992) makes me wonder where the director would be if he had stayed on the path of grotesque horror and gallows humor. Give the man a humungous budget, award winning actors and the top technical talents of Hollywood, and he'll give you a triptych of timeless classics. Give him just $750,000 a hand-held camera and some felt and he'll give you a memorable marionette experience that won't be equaled until Team America: World Police (2004). One thing's for certain if he had stayed on the path we wouldn't have had to endure The Frighteners (1996).The script written by Jackson and three other New Zealanders is fresh and funny giving the audience everything from silly muppet-like puns to ribald musical numbers including "Sodomy" sung by Sebastian the Fox (Stuart Devenie). Much of the gross out humor is provided by a character simply known as The Fly (Brian Sergent) who buzzes around for tabloid gossip and develops his photos in a toilet.The rest of the film is filled to the brim with knife throwing, machine gun toting; cocaine sniffing mayhem intermingled with rabbit-HIV and sadomasochism for good measure. I'd recommend this film to anyone with a warped sense of humor over a certain age. Those who were endeared by Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and Gonzo the…whatever, should probably avoid Meet the Feebles. Not because of its cynical treatment of hand puppets might ruin fond memories but because those same fond memories might be replaced by rude hilarity that ensues in Peter Jackson's 8th best film.http://www.theyservepopcorninhell.blogspot.com

While it's nice to see the great mainstream success that filmmaker Peter Jackson has achieved, there are those such as this viewer that really would like to see him return to his roots in outrageous, over the top low budget class-sicks such as "Dead Alive", "Bad Taste", and this memorable bit of cinematic insanity, which takes Muppet like puppet characters straight into hard R territory. These characters are cast and crew of a variety show with more than its fair share of behind the scenes tumult. The star hippo is completely stressed out, the frog knife thrower (a Vietnam veteran) is a hopeless drug addict, and the rabbit MC believes himself to be dying of a venereal disease. In this wonderfully warped vision that co-writer / co-producer / director Jackson creates, puppets have sex, defecate, swear, vomit, and gruesomely slaughter each other. Yup, this is far from being appropriate for kids, but that's the whole point, and one is compelled to keep watching this deliciously dark comedy just to see what nastiness Jackson and company will come up with next. First rate puppeteering, truly fun puppet design, enthusiastic vocal performances, and genuinely catchy songs are part of the package in this priceless puppet perversion. The characters are entertaining, too, whether they're endearing (such as well intentioned nice guy Wobert the Hedgehog) or just plain despicable (Trevor the Rat, who indeed is every bit the walking and talking vermin). The movie is a marvel in terms of art direction and spectacle. One of the gut busting highlights has the flustered, in-over-his-head director fox staging his own production number where he pays tribute to sodomy. Jackson just dives headfirst into the mayhem, leaving all of the credits for the end, and does a fun job of skewering show business in general, with the appropriate casting of a fly as a stereotypically sleazy journalist set on exposing the hapless rabbit's secret. And the jokes keep coming when we get an update on the surviving characters before the end credits begin. If the prospective viewer really enjoyed "Dead Alive" and "Bad Taste", they should find this adequately amusing as well. Eight out of 10.

Peter Jackson's 1989 puppet extravaganza "Meet The Feebles" is a film which defies classification. Is it black comedy, or some kind of sick film created by sick men with 'bad taste'? I think I know what the film is going for watching it and I assure you, it works. It's unlike any movie I've ever seen before, but it does work. Let me alert you though, if your viewing history with Peter Jackson doesn't go past "Lord Of The Rings" and "King Kong" then you may want to think twice before watching Jackson's earlier films, because I'll say it loud it clear: "Meet The Feebles" may very well be the most repulsing movie I've ever seen. It may not be as gory as "Braindead", Jackson's own zombie gore-fest masterpiece, but it is more sickening. It's hard to describe it because it defies every convention ever created, but it is gross. However, if you can tolerate the gross and obscene and find humor in black comedies, then "Meet The Feebles" is sure to amaze you. The film follows a troupe of performing puppets called The Feebles who present a variety show of sorts. Throughout the film we experience a whole abundance of problems with the cast. I don't want to spoil anything about the movie because I feel it is the most effective if the viewer has no clue but they're getting into, but I recommend to go into the movie naively, making everything you see all the more shocking, and in effect, all the more hilarious. And yet again without spoiling, the film's final scene is a force to be reckoned with. It manages to be one of the most striking closing sequences in any movie, capping off the unique movie. Peter Jackson like few other filmmakers has a knack for creating films that are unique and original in their own respect every time. From the splatter fest of "Braindead" to the epic proportions of "Lord Of The Rings" to the haunting, sickening and hilarious tones of "Meet The Feebles", Jackson is the real deal in film making. But take this as your final warning folks, "Meet The Feebles" is not for the weak of stomach.

Hollywood executives must have lobotomized Peter Jackson when he started the "Lord of the Rings" franchise, because his earlier New Zealand productions were so much better.Just look at this sickly cracking showbiz satire, complete with an array of mostly disgusting Muppets from hell, acting as a walking compendium of the seven deadly sins (and some more). The sheer audaciousness of this nightmare folly is to be applauded, but the astounding fact remains that behind all the cold misanthropic viewpoints on display there's still a beating heart pumping warm blood into this creatures.Certainly not to everyone's taste and riddled with too many drawn-out plot excesses, this one-of-a-kind pic still deserves a huge cult following.7 out of 10 panty-sniffing anteaters