The Great Muppet Caper (1981)

“The Muppet Movie” behind him, clearly made for and dedicated to the unbounded imagination of children, literal and those of us north of 39, Jim Henson moved forward with “The Great Muppet Caper” as a 1940s mystery movie that’s honest to God something made for himself, with a wink of genius satire. Once again in the “We’re making a movie” vein, Kermit the Frog (Henson) and Fozzie Bear (Frank Oz) play twin (!) newspaper reporters who get caught up in a diamond heist masterminded by Charles Grodin against his diva sister (Diana Rigg) in London. Along the way, they meet Miss Piggy (also Oz), and end up staying in a hotel populated by other Muppets (Scooter, Animal, etc.), and ride bicycles, drive in a bus, break in into a museum, and skydive. The bike scene blew my 7-year-old mind in 1981, and still does. Henson directs this go-round and it’s just a magical romp that again let’s children be in on the joke, no cynicism. Happiness. Best gag: Kermit teaching a taxi driver (Beauregard) to, well, drive, when the guy does not understand straight from reverse. New films pale. A

Death at a Funeral (2007)

“Death at a Funeral” is a perfectly British comedy, and perfectly horribly vulgar as only the British can get away with, so wickedly, gleefully well. It is a light-as-spongecake gem about a FUBAR family, a dead father, a gay dwarf, ingested psychedelic drugs and nudity. The beauty of this film is not just in the one-liners, the zingers, the absolute silliness of it all, but the performances: Matthew Macfadyen as the surpassed son, Rupert Graves as the famous son living in NYC, Alan Tudyk as the accidental drug user, Andy Nyman as a one-upper germ freak who is literally shat on, and Peter Dinklage as the conniving man of challenged height. Not even a full 90 minutes, the film leaves one desiring more. That’s my mark for a good comedy. A point Judd Apatow could well learn. It also gives hope to the directing career of Frank Oz, post “The Stepford Wives” remake. A-