Is it possible that those of us who were in our early twenties when "The Simpsons" debuted in 1989 are now the same age as Homer and Marge? The show holds the record for the longest running sitcom, and its unique mix of biting satire, violence, and surprising sentimentality have molded and informed our culture for an entire generation. But should that generation bring the kids?
"Why pay for something you can watch on TV for free?" Homer yells at the silver screen (they're watching "The Itchy & Scratchy Movie") and with that taunt, the film is up and running. First we get familiar Simpsons plot points: Bart skateboards naked on a dare; Lisa goes on an environmental crusade; and Homer adopts and cherishes a new friend, a pig eventually renamed "Spider-Pig" (it does whatever a spider-pig does). It all feels like a regular episode but at the one-and-a-half episode mark (45 minutes or so into the film) the plot kicks in, Homer dooms the town of Springfield and it's off to Alaska!
The story is simple: Homer dumps his beloved pig's droppings into Lake Springfield, making a toxic lake even more toxic and mutating a small woodland creature into a many-eyed monster (shades of the classic 3-eyed fish episode). Springfield is now, officially, the most polluted city in America. President Schwarzenegger (that's right), pushed into action by an evil EPA director (voiced with gusto by Albert Brooks), drops a giant plastic dome over the town and all of our favorite characters. The President does this without reading the plan, explaining, "I was elected to LEAD, not to READ."
Homer and the family are about to be lynched when they find a way out. They head for Alaska where Marge - along with a wise Inuit woman - teach Homer a poignant lesson about how he's nothing without the people who love him. Like some of the best Simpsons episodes of the past, the sentimentality here is touching and beautiful. Galvanized, Homer then makes a series of stupid decisions that, of course, end up saving the day.
Running at a lean 86 minutes, "The Simpsons Movie" doesn't feel like three episodes strung together and, thankfully, it's a lot funnier than recent seasons have been. The jokes and one-liners come every few seconds and almost all of them will shock, surprise, and delight even the most jaded "Comic Book Guys" in the audience. It took 18 years for this to hit screens? They took their time I guess, but it was well worth the wait! Whoo-hoo!
Parents take note: "The Simpsons Movie" is PG-13 but only marginally more graphic and risqué than the television series. Lots of slapstick violence (including the brutal "Itchy & Scratchy," of course), more sexual innuendo than usual, and a few incidents like Marge saying a curse word and Otto the Bus Driver smoking a bong. Oh, and we get some brief full-frontal nudity from Bart, which is sure to cause even 40-somethings in the audience to giggle. The bottom line is, if your kids watch the show regularly, they won't be shocked by the move to the big screen.
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