7/27/2007

Itchy/Hillary '08

Posted by Brandon |


I have a confession to make and it's something that I'm a little afraid to say...

While bloggers around the world are going crazy over The Simpsons Movie that opened today, I have to admit, I thought it was just OK. Will my membership in the fan club be revoked?

I think I just expected a whole lot more. There were some funny moments, I did laugh quite a bit, but nothing really stood out and I don't remember many of the jokes.

When The Simpsons TV show was at it's best, it had some serious bite to it, the jokes were sharp and cutting and hit the spot right on. That bite is what makes the older episodes and selected newer ones worth watching over and over again. But quite often over the past few years it hasn't had that same bite. While these episodes are still funny, they don't hold up to multiple viewings. That's why I rarely watch the syndicated episodes on TV anymore, they show too many of the newer episodes that were funny only once.

The Simpons Movie, despite bringing back a lot of the old writers, unfortunately doesn't have that bite. It's funny, but a lot of the jokes just miss the mark and seem like missed opportunities in the long run, just like a lot of the newer episodes.

I'm also disappointed that they didn't use the other characters more. While I love Homer, the best part of The Simpsons is Krusty and Moe and The Comic Book Guy and Groundskeeper Willie and all of those other goofballs. They barely had any meaningful screen time and I think the movie suffered because of it. I can only take so much Lisa.

And if the amount of laughter in the theater was any indication, I wasn't the only one disappointed. Other than the mentally-handicapped teenager in front of me that was going crazy, singing along, yelling things at the screen and exclaiming "uh-oh" or "ohhhhh" over and over again, the response was fairly muted even with a lot of excited kids in the theater.

So, if you are a long-time Simpsons fan, you should definitely go see it, but don't get your hopes up too high. But if you're a retarded guy in a tie-dyed shirt, by all means, run out and see it. You'll be cackling and jumping around in your seat like there's no tomorrow.

4 comments:

Whit said...

If it makes you feel better, I've always loved the Simpsons and have already decided this was a rental.

Anonymous said...

I saw it last night, and agree completely. It lacked the spontaneity and random humor of the series - every joke was "punched", and allowed wayyy too much time to breath.
Also, taking the Simpsons out of Springfield for so long was a critical error that should never have been allowed to have happened.

A sore disappointment, to be sure.h

Avitable said...

Really? I've been watching them since the Tracey Ullman show, and while I thought the last few seasons have really been below par, I thought the movie was absolutely fantastic.

From Ralph deciding he liked boys to Kent pinning his face back to Hans Moleman getting run over to Martin kicking the shit out of the bullies, this hearkened back to the heyday of The Simpsons.

One of the main reasons that I enjoyed it, I think, is that I like Homer. He is by far my favorite character, and while I enjoy the supporting cast, they're too one-dimensional for anything more than a supporting role, and so it seemed to work perfectly.

I plan on seeing this at least once more in the theaters, maybe even twice.

kapgar said...

I'm right there with Avitable. Seeing as how the show hasn't really excited me much lately, I had low expectations for the movie and I wound up freaking loving it! I, too, plan to see it at least one more time in theaters.

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