Homer does it again

Movie Review
The Simpsons Movie
Directed by Matt Groening

After 18 years and 400 episodes, the world’s most beloved dysfunctional family has finally made its way to the big screen. And what can fans expect from it? A 90-minute version of the regular 30-minute TV episodes.

Marge and Homer Simpson in The Simpsons Movie

Not that there’s anything wrong with it. If the TV episodes often focused on one of the characters, or on the relationship between a pair of characters, the film allowed Simpsons creator Matt Groening and his team of writers to develop a storyline involving all five members of the Simpsons’ household.

Bart gets mad at Homer again for being his usual irresponsible, dim-witted self. Lisa takes on another advocacy and finds herself a boyfriend. Marge’s patience with her stupid, lazy husband is stretched almost to a breaking point. And even Baby Maggie is given a significant role in the plot. All these happen while Homer commits one of his trademark self-serving acts that throw everything into chaos.

Yes, you can say that there’s a lot more going on in the movie than in your average TV episode, but after 18 years, the writers know these characters and their material well enough to create a tight story that can run for an hour and a half (up from just 20 minutes, counting commercials) without boring their audience. It’s the Simpsons we all know and love, just longer and not on free TV.

As it should be, Homer is the focus of The Simpsons Movie. Homer’s blunder — as episodes almost always involve one of his stupid mistakes — is his biggest yet. Lured by the promise of free donuts, he decides to dump a silo full of pig excrement into Springfield’s already horribly polluted lake, instead of waiting in line to dispose of it properly.

The result is an environmental catastrophe of national proportions. To prevent the pollution from spreading, the whole of Springfield is covered with a gigantic glass dome- — the ill-advised decision of an inept White House. Now, Homer has to find a way to overcome his selfishness in time to save his marriage, his family, and Springfield.

It goes without saying, of course, that The Simpsons Movie is hilarious and packed with the familiar yet hardly tired comedy we have all come to expect from this classic. The laughs begin almost as soon as the opening credits roll in. A sequence with Bart skateboarding buck naked out of a dare from his dad is one particularly long laugh out loud moment.

They take swipes at everything, both pop culture and political icons. Homer calls his new pet Spiderpig while making it walk on the ceiling, and President Schwarzenegger blurts out: "I was elected to lead, not to read." Lisa tries to rally her neighbors to save their lake in a forum called "The Irritating Truth," while the head of the Environmental Protection Agency blatantly admits that the dome covering Springfield was sourced from one of his own companies.

A host of secondary characters are all present too — religious, poster-perfect father Ned Flanders; the practically senile Grandpa Simpson; money-hungry CM Burns; pseudo-celebrity Krusty the Klown; and Moe’s Tavern owner Moe — playing their usual comedic supporting roles.

As with all good movies, there’s redemption for the dysfunctional Simpson family, and themes of family togetherness, fatherhood lessons, and forgiveness are evident. It’s still not quite the sort of movie you expect your seven-year-old to glean morals from, but it’s not the irreverent Simpsons of the early 1990s that parents and schools wanted banned either.

It’s simply the Simpsons of Springfield — the family of five that has entertained us for almost two decades — up on the big screen.

It’s a hilarious comedy, and I don’t suppose you can ask for much more than that.


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Homer does it again

Movie Review The Simpsons Movie Directed by Matt Groening

Movie Review
The Simpsons Movie
Directed by Matt Groening