Muppets Most Wanted (2014)

“Muppet Most Wanted” opens after 2011’s “The Muppets” ends as our beloved heroes bask in new found fame until they realize the still-present camera means one thing: Sequel. The Muppets have always played with the fourth wall and the jokes come fast. The opening song declares sequels as inferior and –- in an inspired bit -– surmises aloud that parent company Disney only green lit this because it’s still holding for “Toy Story 4.” The plot, though, is inferior, clever bits aside. Ricky Gervais plays an oily talent manager who fools the gang into a European tour that is a ruse to rob museums, masterminded by his frog boss, a Kermit look-alike with only a facial mole to set him apart. And a twerpy Russian accent. And no talent. Meanwhile, Kermit is sent to a Siberian prison run by Tina Fey, and housed by the likes of Ray Liotta and Danny Trejo, expert villains. There are many cameos. None must see. Director James Bobin goes for the spirit and madcap anything goes jokes of the older films, but the “Shawshank” and “Silence of the Lambs” winks ring awkward. That said, few entertainments balm one’s soul as well as the sight of Beeker. B

Date Night (2010)

In “Date Night,” Tina Fey and Steve Carell play wife and husband, Realtor and accountant, and parents. Tired, rushed and dull, and from suburban Jersey. They are the nameless, voiceless extras you see in the far background of spy thrillers about exotic couples. But in this film, on their one night out to New York, Claire and Phil are the stars. Mistaken for blackmailers at a snobby Tribeca restaurant, Claire and Phil find themselves face-to-gun barrel over a stolen jump drive, and must run from potential killers (Common and Jimmi Simpson). So off they go, across NYC on the run. The great kick of this comedy is that the couple is absolutely out of their element the entire film, freaked by guns and reeking pay phones and car chases. Fey and Carell never lose sight of their characters’ normalcy, and that’s what makes them special. Various cameos pepper the film: Ray Liotta, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig, etc., with Mark Wahlberg providing deadpan comedy gold as a shirtless James Bond hunk that normally would have the starring role. A-

Baby Mama (2008)

Riding on the charisma of its leads, "Baby Mama" is a good comedy. It follows a single woman (Tina Fey) who can't bear childre and instead relies on a surrogate (Amy Poehler) for a baby. The rub comes from Fey being a neat freak career-minded Philadelphia businesswoman, while Poehler plays a South Philly ditz. Maybe I'm biased to like this film with its references to cheesesteaks, birch beer and Tastykakes, which made up a lot of my Philly-bred youth, and if so I can't help it.

Fey and Poehler work wonders together, carrying over charisma from "SNL." Steve Martin, Greg Kinnear and Siqorney Weaver round out the cast, who more so than the writing, make this film shine. It's not one to watch repeatedly. But for a quick laugh, it's solid. The way-happy ending is forced, but it goes with the territory. One final note: It could have been a grade A had the actors switched roles. B