BEAT THE CLOCK: a review of "Jim Henson: Idea Man"

 

"JIM HENSON: IDEA MAN"
Written by Mark Monroe
Directed by Ron Howard
*** (three stars)

UNRATED

"Run, rabbit, run

Dig that hole, forget the sun 

And when at last the work is done

Don't sit down, it's time to dig another one

For long you live and high you fly

But only if you ride the tide

And balanced on the biggest wave

You race towards an early grave"
-"Breathe"
Pink Floyd

lyrics by Roger Waters
music by David Gilmour, Roger Waters & Richard Wright  

In my most recent review posting about Director Andrew McCarthy's documentary "Brats," I wrote about how I thoroughly enjoyed that film as it transcended its primary subject matter to showcase a certain dichotomy that exists for its principal film subjects, as well as all of us in the audience, regarding the sense of perception we hold for ourselves and when it conflicts with the perceptions others have of us.

With Ron Howard's fine documentary "Jim Henson: Idea Man," I was struck by this very quandary as Jim Henson never seemed to think of himself as a puppeteer, even though that is of what he is most famous and beloved for generations. He never saw himself as one who necessarily provided entertainment for children, although his now iconic work has entranced and enchanted generations of young viewers. Jim Henson described himself as "an experimental filmmaker," and through Howard's documentary, we can greatly understand how Henson's more subversive, and often gently anarchistic qualities, were always fused into his work that otherwise was filled with delight and flew on the wings of his restless imagination. 

That in and of itself would make for a great documentary about this feverishly idiosyncratic artist who achieved a monumental and still enduring body of work in a life cut too short. Which makes "Jim Henson: Idea Man" a tad frustrating because as good as it is, we can see how easily it could have been better, greater, more comprehensive, innovative and fully equal to its subject. 

To be clear, my feelings are not generated toward Ron Howard himself as he has more than proved over 40 plus years that he is an immensely skilled cinematic storyteller and those skills are deftly on display here. I have a feeling that more corporate entities were at work behind the scenes, creating a work that is designed to be more of a "feel good" experience, where the darker, more complex and possibly troubling aspects are not delved into as deeply as they could have been so as to not upset a certain..shall we say...corporate brand. 

Ron Howard's "Jim Henson: Idea Man" follows a standard cradle to grave narrative structure, featuring copious archival footage, classic film clips of Henson's wide body of work, and interviews with family members and key contributors, including his arguably closest collaborator Frank Oz, who met Henson at the age of 17 and was hired by him immediately after graduating from high school.  

We are given a travelogue through Henson's creative beginnings and the origins of what would become some of his most treasured characters and technological advancements as he begins his partnership with his then future wife Jane Nebel with the Muppet (an amalgamation of "marionette" and "puppet") themed sketch comedy show "Sam And Friends" (1955-1961), the nightly lead in to "The Tonight Show."  

After a trip to Europe where he encountered puppetry being regarded as a serious art form, we follow Jim Henson over time as he develops his craft, characters and reputation through a series of commercials and guest appearances on "The Steve Allen Show," and "The Ed Sullivan Show" among others. We view his involvement with the birth and endurance of "Sesame Street" (1969-present), the first season of "Saturday Night Live" (1975), his desires and trials to create what would become "The Muppet Show" (1976-1981), which then would lead him into creating feature films including Director James Frawley's "The Muppet Movie" (1979) plus the grander, darker cinematic visions of "The Dark Crystal" (1982), co directed by Henson and Oz and Henson's "Labyrinth" (1986), his collaboration with George Lucas, the late David Bowie and starring a then 14 year old Jennifer Connelly.  

Throughout "Jim Henson: Idea Man," Ron Howard delivers a warmly presented portrait of a timeless artist who has amassed a timeless--and ubiquitous--body of work. He was a figure possessed with what one collaborator referred to as a "whim of steel" regarding his seemingly tireless work ethic fueled by his restless imagination. Yet, as widely known as he was--albeit it through the work and the characters-Jim Henson as a human being was more enigmatic to the rest of us, definitely and perhaps even to those closest to him. The film also suggests that Henson quite possibly housed a clandestine anxiety concerning the relationship between his art and his mortality and if he would have enough life to birth all of the ideas that flowed through him. To that end, I was truly gobsmacked by some brief images Howard included in the film of Henson's truly ahead of the curve surrealist live action eight minute short feature "Time Piece" (1965), starring himself and serving as an unnerving yet playful representation of his inner turmoil regarding his relationship with the speed of life.   

To that end, that one specific film project seen within "Jim Henson: Idea Man" is one in a series of revelations about the titular subject Howard presents. Or at least, these were revelatory facts to me. For instance, it never occurred to me that for a puppeteer as innovative and immersive in creating characters that possessed true soul as he was--seeing Muppets riding bicycles and driving automobiles in a very real human world still remains landmark cinema for me-Jim Henson had never even seen a puppet show as a youth and furthermore, he actually carried no interest in puppeteering whatsoever. For Henson, puppeteering was a means to an end, and in his case, the endgame was finding a way into working within the television medium, which is what really consumed his passions. 

It also surprised me that Jim Henson never truly possessed an interest in creating works designed for children, let alone educational material, as he leaned towards more absurdist comedy and even comedically violent scenarios, including one early pitch for what would become "The Muppet Show" entitled "Sex and Violence With The Muppets." His involvement with "Sesame Street" hinged upon his ability to engage with his more subversive creative tendencies, which ultimately paid off beyond his expectations, I can only imagine. For Henson, never once utilized his art to talk down to children. He created what would entertain himself, which did serve as educational while entertaining children and adults for generations on conceptual multi-levels.  

This aspect about Henson's creative spirit certainly provides a greater context towards the darker tones and elements within both "The Dark Crystal" and "Labyrinth" but for me, I think it definitely played into a film as enormously magical as "The Muppet Movie," which I still contend is a harrowing film considering its plot of a human conduit of consumerism and heartless greed spending the entire film trying to hunt down and kill Kermit The Frog in order to sell frog legs in a restaurant chain. Saccharine, cloying, overly twee and most importantly, NOT treating his audience--especially the youngest members--as mindless consumers but instead as human beings deserving of the absolute best entertainment he could possibly devise.   

And then, there was the information presented near the film's beginning that I also never knew anything about regarding Jim Henson's childhood or upbringing. So upon learning that his Mother practiced in the faith based Christian Scientist religion, an experience I had after Henson's passing reverberated loudly within me...which I will reveal later.  

Very much of Ron Howards' "Jim Henson: Idea Man" succeeds through all of the aforementioned material plus the copious archived footage of witnessing the sheer physicality of Henson, Oz and their collaborators made all of the Muppet magic happen. Howard performs a strong job of sticking to the theme of Henson hurtling through life as if he were constantly trying to beat the clock, a theme which allows Howards the opportunity to give the film a deeper context of who Jim Henson was as individual as he worked exhaustively at the expense of his relationships, his family life and even his own health. 

It was as if Howard's film is suggesting that if Henson were truly married to anything at all, it was to his creative spirit. Maybe Jim Henson was even more of an enigma than we, or those closest to him, could ever know, including his own children who proclaim that they really began to know their Father once they began working for him. Perhaps all we need to know about Jim Henson is what Jim Henson delivered in the work. I'm not sure.

Now, I wish to assure you that nothing presented here felt designed to tar a figure as universally beloved as Jim Henson. But, I was pleased that we did have the chance to see some human shadings and flaws alongside the brilliance. To see ourselves embrace Henson through our perceptions of him a one kind of artist when he saw himself as being a decidedly different kind of artist. And in the end, do the perceptions matter when we have the unimpeachable body of work forever? 

All of this being said, I still contend that "Jim Henson: Idea Man" could have been even better. For as much information we do receive, Howard's film moves at a fast clip, sometimes a bit too fast as if it was trying to hurry us along to the next Henson milestone instead of allowing the story to breathe and us luxuriate more in the work, the inspirations and the people who made the work we all revere so powerfully. I simply wanted more. Not a three hour epic necessarily but somehow a film that is a hair over 90 minutes doesn't feel like enough to do a subject like Jim Henson justice.  

Most egregious to me was material completely skimmed over most likely due to the fact that Disney owns The Muppets and this film was produced for the  Disney+ platform. Just announcing that Jim Henson sold The Muppets to Disney and all was well is nowhere near sufficient enough and truly just announces itself as having more to say in that story but due to corporate interests, whatever story could be told will remain unshared. I felt that to be a purposefully wasted opportunity because we never, at any point, gather a great sense as to why he sold and what it meant to him to sell something that had been an extension of his own being. Frankly, there are aspects like this one that felt to me to be less like a documentary and more like a press kit.  

And now, I have a short story to share with you, the very one that I alluded to earlier...

In 1991, after graduating from college, I spent four years working as a clerk in the campus bookstore, in a department called "General Books," the kind of which existed before the Border's and Barns and Nobles of the world really came into fruition. On one occasion, most likely in 1992, the store was  hosting an appearance and book signing by Douglas Adams, at that time on a book tour promoting Mostly Harmless, his latest entry in his irreverent The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy series. 

When one young-ish fan finally made his way to Adams after waiting patiently and nervously in the queue, I vividly remember him at last having his moment. He addressed Adams by thanking him for his visit to Madison, for the books he had written and for signing his copies. Then, it took a bit of a turn when he mentioned that he wanted him to watch his health and take care of himself for he and Jim Henson happened to be personal heroes and he was still reeling from Henson's passing two years prior. Douglas Adams, through his grace and generosity, gave this fan more to this moment, one that I am certain he still remembers. Adamas expressed that Jim Henson was a personal friend of his and that he still felt "mad" at him for his death at the far too young age of 53 as he explained, "Jim didn't believe in doctors." An ironic statement as Adams himself would pass away in 2001 at the even younger age of 49.      

I shared that story because I just felt that for all we learn within the film, there was so much unsaid or untouched because the powers that be are focused more upon the Muppet brand than the creative genius behind them. While my issues with Ron Howard's "Jim Henson: Idea Man" certainly do not derail the film as a whole by any means. I suppose for a figure that we all possess a certain personal attachment, especially to those of us who literally grew up with his visions, any documentary film to be made would have to feel as personal in its full intent if it is to capture a sense of the wonder and pathos of the man himself.

Ron Howard's "Jim Henson: Idea Man" gets pretty close. I wish we could get even closer.