Daily News from New York, New York • 57

-j r. DAILY 57 i (V.i Friday, December 11, 1992 THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL Michael Came. Directed by Brian Henson. At area theaters. Running time: 80 mins.

Rated G. century London. Henson has taken some literary license by having the Great Gonzo play a blue furry Charles Dickens who hangs out with a rat His anorexic sidekick is, of course, Rizzo the Rat The ersatz Dickens, who actually wipes a window if not the floor with his THE SON OF THE late Jim Henson, the i amazingly gifted puppe teer who first dreamed up the beloved Muppets, director Brian Henson has some mighty big shoes to fill. The good news is he succeeds he carries on the family tradition of exceptional children's entertainment with "The Muppet Christmas Carol," a delightfully imaginative musi don't like" the moneylender whose idea of Christmas giving is to giftwrap his usual eviction notices. The fun really begins when Scrooge returns to his gloomy Victorian townhouse and he's seriously spooked by his encounter with a series of ghosts.

They are so effective that Rizzo expresses his concent That's scary stuff," Rizzo notes. "Should we be worried about the kids in the audience?" "That's all right," Gonzo reassures him. "It's culture." Certainly Miss Piggy, who has been quoted as saying that her role "has Oscar written all over it," seems to be aware that this is a cultural high for the Muppets. She not only resisted her usual impulse to hog the scene, she also removed all of her jewelry in order to appear dirt-poor as Cratchit's wife. Miss Piggy's character transformation is remarkable.

The special effects, which allow Caine to fly over the bright lights of London like Superman, are also exceptional. The songs by Paul Williams tend to sound exactly alike but, even so, this witty and engaging movie is a joyous Christmas treat for tots and parents. KATHLEEN CARROLL supposed chum Rizzo, is the self-appointed narrator who hovers around, anticipating the action as his story unfolds. It's the day before Christmas and the creatures in Scrooge's sweatshop namely his chief accountant, Bob Cratchit, who could only be played by the sweet-natured Kermit the Frog, and his fellow bookkeepers are so terrified of their boss that all that can be heard is the nervous scratching of their quill pens. An all-singing, all-dancing number sums up Scrooge's character.

At one point, a chorus of velour vegetables chimes in and the narrator notes that "even the vegetables JilV JUiJt-uJMiiiijiJu-iijmiiM 'A Michael (Scrooge) Caine transmuted into a Broadway play by Aaron Sorkia A Marine at the Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba dies after a hazing incident Two young Marines are charged with the death but a nosy Navy legal ace in Washington (Demi Moore) suspects there's more to the story. She's prodded by her own superior to assign a lazy Navy lawyer (Cruise) to the case, perhaps because he can be counted on to handle the case without generating public embarrassment The unwritten Marine code cal adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale. It's a measure of Michael Caine's talents as an actor that he's able to give a straight-faced, remarkably convincing performance as the notorious tightwad Ebenezer Scrooge while surrounded by pint-sized veteran scene-stealers. The Muppets seem surprisingly at home on the quaint, cobblestone streets of 19th- MUM: Marines Wolfgang Bodison (c.) Kevin Pollack, joins In strategy sessions as they gather evidence that eventually leads to a disturbing conclusion. The movie's setup scenes have good energy to them.

Cruise is well cast as an untried lieutenant the son of a great man, who has to be taught to take his job seriously and live up to his heritage. Demi Moore is attractive and determined as his superior. The Guantanamo commander, a crusty old dog, is played by Nicholson. Everything leads up to the ESI mi 1 jf a NOT EASY BEING GREEN: Kermit V2 A FEW GOOD MEN. Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore.

Kevin Bacon. Directed by Rob Reiner. At area theaters. Running time: 130 mins. Rated R.

C3i OB REINER'S 'A FEW Good Men" is one of those films that tells you what it's going to do, does it, and then tells you what it did. It doesn't think the audience is very bright There is a scene that is absolutely wrong: A lawyer played by Tom Cruise previews his courtroom strategy to his friends. The strategy then works as planned which means that an element of surprise is missing from the most important moment in the movie, and the key scene by Jack Nicholson is undermined robbed of suspense. That's a shame, because in many ways this is a good film. The flaws are mostly in the screenplay; the film doesn't make us work, doesn't allow us to figure things out.

The story is based on fact, as ROGER EBERT nX 4 -r fMr 4r. I j- means that the two suspects won't talk, even to save them selves. One, a black James Marshall (r.) refuse to cooperate with lawyer Tom Cruise. kid played by Wolfgang Bo-dison, is so fiercely proud of the Corps that he would rather go to prison for years. The other, a dim and easily impressed white farm boy, goes along.

Cruise is all for settling the case out of court and getting back to his beloved Softball games. But Moore won't let him. A third friend, played by and improvises new obscenities. Cruise is an effective contrast, as the immature young officer who discovers himself. Bodison, the stubborn defendant, gives the most interesting performance in the movie, because we can see the battle going on inside him.

But the movie doesn't quite make it, because it never convinces us that the drama is happening while we watch it. It's as though the defense team, sneaked a courtroom scene, with Kevin Bacon playing the prosecutor assigned to convict the two young Marines. We have already met the Nicholson character in Cuba. We know he will turn up again, and he does, in denouement that would have had greater power if the movie didn't telegraph it Instead of the pleasure of figuring out Cruise's strategy, the audience is left with a lesser pleasure, that of watching good actors do good work. Nicholson 4is always.

to watch, barks afid, THE BROADWAY VERSION OF 'A FEW GOOD MEN' opened at the Music Box Theater on Nov. 15, 1989. In danger of closing early after mixed notices, the play suddenly picked up business by word of mouth and it eventually ran for 497 regular performances and 15 previews. The Aaron Sorkin drama starred Tom Hulce in the role played by Tom Cruise on film, Stephen Lang (Jack Nicholson) and Megan Gallagher (Demi Moore)..