I’m not sure why I would feel the need to review this movie. If you like the Simpson’s on TV, go to see the movie. If you don’t like the Simpson’s on TV, you’re probably a huge loser.
The Simpson’s movie is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. The classic Simpson’s style animation is cleaned up just a little for the big screen without losing the quality that you know and love. All the characters you know and love are here somewhere, along with some new ones. The plot is fairly simple. Springfield has become so polluted over the years that the citizens finally take some action to clean up their lake, at Lisa’s insistence, of course. However, when someone, guess who, tips the pollution scale over the top the U.S. governement decides to take action to keep their mess from spilling over into the rest of the country, and Springfield is doomed. Of course, it becomes the Simpsons’, task to save Springfield from this danger, while learning a heatfelt family lesson along the way.
No big special effects. No outstanding acting. No brilliant cinematography. No fantastic direction. Just pure and simple Simpsons fun. This movie is very funny, and is chock full of all the normal Simpsons type off beat moments and sly references you are used to, and if this is your type of TV show, you will laugh a lot during the movie.
Despite having been around 18 years, I suspect that there are a lot of people who don’t realize how high a standard The Simpsons has set, in terms of being consistently well-written, funny, dense, and subversive.
I think this is the case with all animation - not a lot of real opportunity for dead spots, and I think 18 years attests to how well they’ve done just that.
Although, given opening weekend grosses, I think that the next movie won’t take 18 years to get to…
I haven’t watched it that much in recent years, but I still love the episode where Homer runs over the leg of the star Springfield University placekicker, and in the locker room the doctor tries to console him by saying that at least he has an education. But the kicker Lubchenko majored in communications, so he and the doctor agree that he’s screwed - “Lubchenko learn nothing…NOTHING!”
I love reminding my friend who majored in comm at UCLA of that episode.
I saw it on opening night. Liked it a fair bit. I wouldn’t say I loved it, though - probably a B+, maybe an A-, not an A.
My simpsons standards are pretty high. I consider the first 5 seasons or so to be the best television ever. By far.
The best episodes from that era (homer grows hair, dustin hoffman as lisa’s substitute teacher, the strike at the nuclear plant, etc.) are just up another level from the movie.
There were some horrible episodes later on (the one with the panda comes to mind). The movie is MUCH better than those episodes. It just doesn’t quite have the genius of the early 90s simpsons.
I haven’t watched it that much in recent years, but I still love the episode where Homer runs over the leg of the star Springfield University placekicker, and in the locker room the doctor tries to console him by saying that at least he has an education. But the kicker Lubchenko majored in communications, so he and the doctor agree that he’s screwed - “Lubchenko learn nothing…NOTHING!”
This episode was on here the other night and I laughed out loud at that line, being a Communications major myself who now works in a totally un-related field (mutual funds).
I’ve been a fan since the Tracey Ullman days. One of my favorite episodes is when Homer launches a hunger strike to keep the Isotopes from moving to Albequerque. He begins hallucinating that an old Hispanic man with slicked-back white hair, a moustache and wearing a suit has appeared before him:
Homer: “Who are you?”
Vision: “Hello Homer, I am the ghost of Cesar Chavez”
Homer: “Why do you look like Cesar Romero?”
Vision: “Because you don’t know who Cesar Chavez is”
Ironically enough, the minor league baseball team in Albequerque changed their name to the Isotopes the season after that episode aired. Life imitating art.
The other night the re-run was one around here of when Marge baysits the Flanders kids.
Homer is asleep on the couch while Bart and Lisa are jousting in their living room on their bicycles. As they go crashing over the furniture Homer just rolls over and mumbles, “A canoe made out of country ham…you know I’ll eat it.” Then he falls back asleep.
Later on, Marge teaches the Flanders kids to believe in themselves and Rod climbs the church to rescue Bart from the Ape who has kidnapped him. On their way down the steeple Bart says they shouldn’t touch hands because that is gay. Rod asks, “What does gay mean?” And bart says, “Uhh…it’s means you used to be scared but aren’t anymore.”
Then Rod looks down at Ned and says, “I’m gay daddy, I’m gay! Mrs. Simpson made me gay!” HAHA
I thought the movie was pretty good. Kind of reminded me of the edginess the Simpson used to have but seems to have lost. I haven’t watched hardly any of the last few seasons. Lots of good episodes before that, some of the best are:
The episode where Homer gets his gun and is mad that he has to wait 3 days cause he is mad NOW. The episode with John, the gay guy. They hit every stereotype they could in that one from Homer bitching about the gay people taking all the tough names like Lance and Steve to trying to convince Bart he’s not gay and taking him hunting so that all the diet sodas in the world won’t turn him. Most of the halloween episodes. The football episode where Homer is the coach and ‘cuts’ the entire crew during the closing credits.
Anyway, the movie had some of that old Simpson feeling to it. The best part, where I about spit out my popcorn, was when Homer jumped in the sinkhole in the sandbox to escape and gave the whole town the finger with both hands and yelled so long suckers only to get stuck halfway down.
If your’re a long time Simpson fan you won’t be disappointed with the movie.
I’ve never really liked any of the Halloween episodes, not sure why. Other favorites of mine:
The family has to join the Witness Protection Program after Sideshow Bob is released from prison (great spoof of DeNiro in “Cape Fear”).
Marge starts working out after getting mugged and eventually starts taking steroids. She confronts the mugger and kicks his ass in the street, a la Sonny beating up Carlo in “The Godfather”
Burns builds a casino and becomes so obsessed with it that he becomes a crazy recluse like Howard Hughes
Homer sues an “all you can eat” restaurant after being kicked out for still being hungry despite eating the entire buffet and two plastic lobsters.
Burns loads up the company softball team with major league players.
Marge and Ruth Powers take off on a Thelma and Louise-type adventure through the desert.
Lisa becomes a vegetarian and disrupts Homer’s pig roast as a protest.
Homer becomes a bootlegger after Prohibition takes affect in Springfield.
That reminds me of the episode when homer clogs the sewer drains before a big rain and the city floods. Ned flanders wakes up, thinking the great flood has happened and he’s in heaven, but then he sees homer floating around. Ned says “oh jeez looks like heaven is easier to get into than Arizona State” LOL… I’m an ASU grad…
Burns loads up the company softball team with major league players.
This was always my favorite episode. I like Krusty the Clown a lot. The guy just makes me laugh. There was one episode where he talked about characters from Itchy and Scratchy that didn’t make it, one was called "Ku Klux Clam’. That still makes me laugh. Laughing…
I also love Lenny and Carl. Ever see the epsiode where the Simpsons have to leave their house? They go to Lenny’s house and can’t figure out how he can afford such a nice place until they hear this loud banging sound. Then Lenny pulls back a curtain and says, “I share a common wall with a Jai Lai cort.” HAHA, just the thought of that makes me laugh.
Plus this exchange between Lenny and Carl at Moe’s…
Lenny: If you ask me, Muhammad Ali in his prime, was much better than anti-lock brakes.
Carl: Yeah, but what about Johnny Mathis versus diet pepsi?
Moe: Oh, I cannot listen to this again!
I must think like a 13 year old because I loved this movie. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard in a movie theatre. Homer is simply awesome. Part of the fun for me was seeing this movie in a nearly full theater in Times Square on a Friday afternoon. There was a row of guys behind us that made for unexpected entertainment from previews to the end.
What happened after the credits?
And my favorite Season 1 episode is the one where Homer thought he was going to die after eating bad blowfish at a Japanese restaurant. He had a list of things to do before he dies (i.e., tell off his boss, listen to Lisa play the sax, etc.) but ends up skipping a bunch because he got stuck at Moe’s.
