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Crispy
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Posted: August 24, 2007 at 12:00am
"The Simpsons" has been around for 20 years and has become one of the most successful and iconic TV shows out there. Indeed, it currently holds the record for the longest running American sitcom as well as the longest-running American cartoon. And now, in this age of unoriginal movies, it has made the inevitable leap to the big screen. Maybe I should start by saying I was never a huge Simpsons fan. Sure, I watched it if it came on and I usually enjoyed it, but I never raced to the TV to catch it. In fact, when the movie was announced my exact thought was "meh." And after watching it, not much changed.
The citizens of Springfield are enjoying a Green Day concert on a stage floating in the lake. The lake is so corrosive due to pollution that it actually eats a hole in the bottom and causes it to sink. After all, the primary means of getting rid of any waste in Springfield was simply to dump it in the lake. Naturally, this is enough to persuade Lisa to go off on a successful campaign trying to get the citizens of Springfield to stop polluting the lake so much. Meanwhile, at Green Day's funeral, Grandpa Simpson has a vision of horrible things to come, but only Marge pays attention to him and sets her mind on deciphering the cryptic warning. While she's preoccupied with that, Bart has begun to grow tired of Homer's shitty paternal skills, and finds himself drawn to Ned Flanders' more nurturing style. Oblivious to this, Homer has adopted a pig and built a huge silo to store the pig crap in. The silo is full in no time (Homer helps a little) and Marge forces him to dispose of it. With the lake no longer an option, the line for the town landfill is long as hell. Being the Homer we all know and love, he ignores the town's efforts, dumps the silo in the lake and calls it a day. Obviously, a silo full of pig shit is more than just a small addition, this final pollutant in the lake has disastrous effects, causing hideous mutations in the wildlife. The EPA finds a mutated squirrel, which convinces them it's time to take drastic action. With the approval of President Schwarzenegger, Springfield is quarantined by putting a huge glass dome over the entire town. Now completely sealed off from the world, the newly trapped residents find Homer's silo and realize he is to blame for the quarantine. Forming an angry mob, complete with pitchforks and torches, they storm the Simpson house. And that's just the first half of the movie.
As you can tell, there is a lot going on here. In the first half, all the members of the family have their own thing going on and the story's constantly weaving back and forth between them. Fortunately, it's fairly easy to keep track of what's going on, but the sheer number of things happening at once brings it down a bit. The second half is completely different, having more than one instance where the story gets unbelievably slow. But worst of all, the movie is just not that funny. Sure, it has a few laughs here and there (I thought Bart's naked skateboarding scene was hilarious) but they're just too far and few between. The main problem lies in the fact that they just put way too much padding in to hit that ninety minute mark. In my humble opinion, they should have left out some of the fluff, added a few laughs and turned it into a three or four part season finale, since it's not that bad of a storyline in itself. Instead we're treated to this completely unnecessary movie. After twenty years, this is definitely not the Simpsons' crowning achievement. 4/10.
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ThunderStruck5a
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Posted: August 24, 2007 at 2:32am
i was fairly disappointed since i payed ten bucks to basically watch a really long episode of the simpsons. its what i expected though so i was let down gently.
7/10
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bluemeanie
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Posted: August 24, 2007 at 9:46am
I saw this opening night and just hadn't gotten around to writing a review for it. The criticisms listed above are...laughable, I guess, is the word. The movie is not funny? Then evidently you don't think the show is funny either because this is, basically, a ninety minute long episode. And, what's wrong with that? Isn't that what everyone was wanting? I know that's what I was wanting. I was gut laughing throughout the entire film. This was probably the most fun I had at a Summer movie all year, and I was nowhere close to disappointed. These writers and producers had this monumental task of making this film as great as it could be, and I think they succeeded beautifully -- from the opening with Homer pointing directly at the audience, to the ending, re-creating the famous Gorge Jump with Homer and Bart from Season One of the show. I can understand your not liking the film if you don't like the show, but to fault the film for being like an extended episode is ridiculous. That's what it is supposed to be. That's what "South Park", the movie was. 9/10.
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ThunderStruck5a
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Posted: August 24, 2007 at 12:47pm
im not saying it wasnt funny because parts of it were i guess what i am saying though is that i expected better. i think it was just how ridiculous the ending was (but i didnt know there was the thread between that and the episode in season one) and how typical-tv-episode-wrap up it was.
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Crispy
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Posted: August 24, 2007 at 2:48pm
Actually, bringing up South Park enforces where I'm coming from. South Park: BLU was like a long episode taken to the next level of raunchiness. Being its in a movie and not on cable, they had so much more freedom to make it even more extreme. The Simpsons Movie ignored that freedom and did what it had been doing all along with little exception, making Homer's opening monologue extremley accurate in my opinion. I was expecting a long episode, but I think I was expecting a really vulgar episode as well. And since I was never big on the Simpsons' usual shenanigans in twenty minute doses, ninety minutes worth was just too much for me.
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Chad
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Posted: August 24, 2007 at 7:20pm
I haven't seen this movie yet, so I'm not defending it nor damning it.
With that said... South Park is all about being vulgar and pushing the line, so naturally, making the movie push the envelope even more than usual made sense. The Simpsons has never been about that, so making Homer cuss like a sailor or having a sex scene between him and Marge would have been completely out of place.
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bluemeanie
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Posted: August 24, 2007 at 7:45pm
But, why would "The Simpsons" take it to the next level. At the end of the day...even with occasional language and adult situations...it's really more of a family show. Of course, it's not going to amp up the raunchiness too much. Even the reveal of the Simpsons genitalia was done in a non-threatening way that was not very shocking at all, I guess because Simpsons knew to expect it in the first film. This is just not a show that should be turned into a vulgar film, and thank God it wasn't. It's really a family show that was turned into, for the most part, a family film. What makes The Simpsons work on a different level than either "South Park" or "Family Guy" -- which is also reason why it has been so much more successful than either -- is that, deep down, these characters have a lot of heart and a lot of redemptive qualities. These characters are usually well-intending, no matter what they can. The Simpsons is satirical and cynical in a more intelligent, more subtle way and that's what makes the movie a good translation -- it sticks with that.
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Tristan
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Posted: August 24, 2007 at 8:29pm
What garbage. I've never been so unentertained by a movie in my life. I fucking enjoyed The Number 23 more than this, and that movie ate it.
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bluemeanie
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Posted: August 25, 2007 at 1:36am
Garbage? Don't see the film if you obviously don't appreciate the series. It's as simple as that. There is NO WAY you can be a fan of the show and think the film is garbage. And that goes beyond opinion to fact. This movie was not trying to convert people who didn't already watch the show -- it's been around too long to have to do that. It appealed to the core audience that watches the show, and it catered to them. It gave them everything they've wanted to see over the years and more. And if you seriously think it's better than "The Number 23", you have about as much taste in film as Jesse, the Dancing Outlaw.
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Edd
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Posted: August 25, 2007 at 1:31pm
While it WAS neat to hear Marge say god damn, this is the same type of humor from 2001 til now. Not very good. 5/10
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bluemeanie
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Posted: August 25, 2007 at 1:55pm
I still stick by that NONE of you can be fans of the show. EVERY person I know that has seen the film and has been a fan of the series has enjoyed the film very much, and that's not an exaggeration.
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Optimus Prime
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Posted: August 25, 2007 at 2:08pm
It seems that the only point of this movie being made is to see who the "true" simpson fans out there. There's no such fucking thing. You either watch the the show and like it, or in my case, think it's stupid and not funny at all. It's possible for someone to have a different opinion than you bluemeanie, just try and grasp that fact.
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Dametria
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Posted: August 26, 2007 at 2:57am
Dear lord thank you for the bountiful PENIS!? BWAHAHAHA!!!!
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QuietMan
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Posted: August 26, 2007 at 12:22pm
I'm with Thunder it had it's moments. It was okay but it wasn't awesome it is just a long episode, I can't really complain though I saw it for free lol
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bluemeanie
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Posted: August 26, 2007 at 2:50pm
That's not the point, you dullard. The point is -- true Simpsons fans seem to enjoy the film more. Plain and simple. That's the only point being made. If I didn't think people had differing opinions, I wouldn't be representing mine so bluntly. Grow up...and plant a tree...
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bluemeanie
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Posted: August 26, 2007 at 2:51pm
Previous statement directed at OptimusPrime. Don't want any 'dullard' confusion there...
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Tristan
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Posted: August 26, 2007 at 3:23pm
I've seen every episode a dozen times, and like everyone my age, I grew up with The Simpsons. I hated the movie, but I loved the show. So arguing that I'm not a fan because I didn't like the movie is dumb.
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bluemeanie
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Posted: August 26, 2007 at 11:32pm
No, it is rather logical, considering 99.9% of the people I know (yourself excluded, bringing it down .1 %) who are huge fans of the show absolutely loved the film. I really just think you missed the point.
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grain of sand
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Posted: August 27, 2007 at 10:22am
wow. i loved this movie.. i was so happy to spend my hard earned $10 on this opening day :)
i grew up my whole life with the simpsons and matt groenings life in hell comics, and have not missed an episode of the show..
when commotion starts, and homer starts frantically flipping through the bible and exclaims, "there arent any answers in here!" was worth it enough.
to see you people who say youve watched the show from the beginning say you didnt really enjoy this makes me kinda sad ha...
9.5/10
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bluemeanie
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Posted: August 27, 2007 at 10:39am
Here, Here!
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