Muppets Fans Can’t Understand ‘Saturday Night’s Hate for Jim Henson

Jason Reitman’s SNL origin story, Saturday Night, hasn’t even hit movie theaters yet, but it’s already sparking an explosion of online opinions. Most recently, Muppet devotees have been wading into the discourse, due to the film’s depiction of Jim Henson, as played by Cousin Greg from Succession, who, confusingly, also plays Andy Kaufman in the film.

Over on the Muppets subreddit, fans have been responding to a recent Slate article that makes mention of the film’s “dismissive” treatment of Henson. One user noted that this news is “disappointing if true.” Another Muppet fan pointed out that “it makes no one look good to treat Muppets as badly as (the SNL cast and crew) apparently did. Good biopics should capture the magic of their target.”

But others defended the film, suggesting that the “Muppet SNL skits are probably the worst thing Henson ever did,” and reminding everyone that “it’s pretty well known that the SNL writers hated the Muppet segments.”

It’s true that the SNL cast and crew didn’t love facilitating Henson’s “Land of Gorch” sketches. John Belushi complained about those “mucking fuppets,” and head writer Michael O’Donoghue bitterly proclaimed, “I don’t write for felt.” Famously, O’Donoghue expressed his dissatisfaction by tying a Venetian blind cord around the neck of a Big Bird stuffed toy. “He was lynching Big Bird. And that’s how we all felt about the Muppets,” claimed writer Alan Zweibel.

But this incident actually occurred in O’Donoghue’s office, not in Henson’s dressing room as Saturday Night would have you believe. 

Despite playing fast and loose with the details, Saturday Night does represent the basic truth of this creative friction. The problem is more in the nuances of the portrayal of Henson himself, who’s viewed purely from the perspective of Lorne Michaels and his collaborators. I recently caught Saturday Night at the Toronto International Film Festival, and its take on Jim Henson may have been the most irksome element of the entire film for me. Henson really only exists as a punchline in the film. His over-the-top cartoonish squareness, in comparison to the hip, freewheeling SNL gang, is repeatedly played for laughs.

The audience I saw the film with was howling at the goody-two-shoes characterization of Henson. We’re repeatedly invited to laugh at Henson’s complaints about his mistreatment, as do the characters. After Henson earnestly protests to Michaels that the crew re-positioned his Gorch characters in compromising positions, Michaels keeps a straight face until finally guffawing in a nearby stairwell. 

As a long-time fan of Henson’s work, I may be slightly biased here, but this seems pretty unfair for a several reasons. For one thing, while he may have neglected to use profanity, Henson was hardly the buzzkill the movie makes him out to be. This is a guy who experimented with LSD, once tried to launch a psychedelic nightclub and was deeply embedded in the counterculture of the 1960s, as evidenced by his documentary and non-narrative films.

Henson, I would argue, was a true genius. Whether or not Michaels deserves that rarified designation is debatable. Henson’s Saturday Night Live contributions may not have been the highlight of his career, but that doesn’t mean that he deserved to become Saturday Night’s go-to comedic foil. 

Moreover, while “The Land of Gorch” didn’t last for too long, Henson is one of the reasons that SNL even existed in the first place. Henson’s involvement with the show was one of NBC’s “non-negotiables” during contract talks with Michaels. 

In fairness, Saturday Night also does a disservice to George Carlin, and really lays into Milton Berle — although that one may be more deserving. 

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter (if it still exists by the time you’re reading this).