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The Simpsons Movie: Woohoo!
The Simpsons Movie made me laugh as much as the TV show used to - which is to say, a lot.
In the 1990s, The Simpsons was not only the best comedy on TV, but the best show of any kind, live action or animated. I watch very little series TV, but back in that decade, The Simpsons was the one prime time show I made a point of catching as often as I could. It was that rare mix of brilliant satire and genuine heart.
The quality faded around the turn of the century as the yellow clan settled into a comfortable rut. The Simpsons is still funny on the small screen, but it isn’t as inspired as it once was. I suppose that’s inevitable when a series has been on the air for some 20 years, if you count the early shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show.
Moving on to big screen however, creator Matt Groening and his team have gotten their mojo back. From the 20th Century Fox logo to the final end credits, the gags never stop - and neither do the laughs in this story of a man and his swine.
The ever-clueless Homer falls for a pig and keeps him as a pet, even creating a theme song for him.
“Spider Pig, Spider Pig
Does whatever a spider pig does
Can he swing from a web?
No he can’t, he’s a pig.”
Naturally, the pig leaves lots of “presents” for Homer, who scoops them into a silo on which he helpfully scrawls “Pig Crap.” When he dumps it into an environmentally unstable lake, he starts a toxic chemical reaction that makes the nuclear power plant seem like a perfume manufacturer. The citizens want to hang Homer high, and his family, especially Bart, is more disillusioned with him than ever.
All of the major characters get a spotlight, with even baby Maggie getting the best laughs of her career, although Lisa is a little shortchanged. Each supporting player puts in at least a cameo, and of course, some special guest voices pop up, but you can discover those for yourselves. That the writers can still squeeze touching moments out of Homer’s 9,219th major blunder is nothing less than impressive.
A third-act detour to Alaska slows the momentum a tad, but with so many gags and references crammed onto the Cinemascope screen, there’s always something to pick up the slack, including a few “you can’t do that on TV”-type gags.
Casual fans can enjoy the story, while Simpsons connoisseurs will pick up on references to old episodes. Keep an eye out over Springfield Gorge where you’ll find a reference to one of my favorite early shows, “Bart the Daredevil,” in which he attempted to jump the chasm on his skateboard.
The Simpsons Movie is neither the best comedy nor the best animated film this year - both of those are still Pixar’s Ratatouille. But this movie made me laugh louder and more often than most of this year’s comedies combined. It’s a lot like the TV show, in that I’ll be more than happy to catch reruns.
GRADE: A-
PS Just in case anyone was wondering, the credits tell us the movie was “filmed on location in Springfield, . Vermont may have won the title, but we Ohioans can go ahead and plug in our state. Besides, we’re still the home of Nancy Cartwright, AKA Bart.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Reviews
Comments
By rick
July 29, 2007 8:17 AM | Link to this
I would have to disagree. I attended the Premier showing on Thursday evening. I thought the film was awful.