Friday, July 27, 2007 | by nathan

The Simpsons Movie

Went to see The Simpsons Movie last night at midnight. Now. I know that it’s fashionable to talk about how the Simpsons isn’t as good a show as it once was, and how Family Guy and South Park have edged it out as the envelope-pushing animated sitcoms, but dammit, give me Homer any day. The thing that is unspoken in all the talk about the Simpsons’ decline is that it’s no longer novelty. The show was controversial and below-the-belt once, but American culture isn’t known for staying with things all that long. Hell, even I’ll agree that after 18 seasons, the show sometimes feels like it’s stretching to find new territory (Grampa and Selma falling in love? What was that?)

Still. The thing about the Simpsons that I love is that when an episode, a quip, or a sight gag is funny, it’s always funny. I laugh just as hard today at "Lisa The Vegetarian" as I did the first time I saw it. I can’t say that for Family Guy, whose cut-away gags and throwaway lines, which, while funny, are meant to surprise, to come out of left field and smack you in the face, and once you see them coming they lose their zing. Let’s not talk about how some of them go on WAY too long (okay, we get it. Peter fights the chicken. Episode running short, guys? What is that?) I can’t usually watch an episode of Family Guy more than once.

South Park is brilliant, but it tends to lose itself in social commentary, some of which doesn’t make sense. (Al Gore as a lisping drama queen proclaiming, "Oh my God, you guys, I’m so cereal" ? What was that?) 

I admit, I did worry, at first, about a Simpsons movie. I was worried they’d fall in to the South Park movie trap, to try to see how much "not-safe-for-TV" stuff they could cram into two hours. I do love the South Park movie, a lot, but the Simpsons is a different show, with a different humor, and it scared me to think they’d go for the cheap stuff.

Don’t get me wrong; there’s a fair bit of racy stuff here, but it’s not overdone, and it’s done well every time. I love that Marge gets the one serious curse word of the whole movie. I love the Austin-Powers-esque scene with naked Bart on the skateboard. Pretty much the whole first half hour is brilliant. Of course not all the peripheral characters get moments to themselves, because at this point there are hundreds of them. Most people get some good throwaway lines, but the family dynamic is center, and the humor is solid.

After 400 episodes and, now, a movie, I really do think this show is strong. Perhaps not as strong as it was, say, in the 1992-1998 era, but strong nonetheless. Despite the occasional controversy, The Simpsons has never been built on the idea that controversy equals humor; it’s just a patently funny show that isn’t novelty anymore. I’m looking forward to as many seasons as the producers are willing to create, and I couldn’t recommend the movie more highly. So, everyone, stop trying to sound cool by bashing the Simpsons and admit that you can do an "excellent" Mr. Burns and can quote Ralph Wiggum for hours. Go see it.