The Simpsons Movie Anticipation Thread

He started his career by writing jokes for Yakov Smirnoff.

YAKOV SMIRNOFF: Hey, kid, I don't do Russian jokes for last ten years. Now I do jokes about relationships and things I observe.

It's not better than now, guys!

Good god, NO ONE would claim that. For the last five or six or seven years, yes.

Agreed.

Not me though. Actually, the more i watch the newer, wackier ones the more i see they're pretty good in their own fucked up way.

xp

You rang?

Thanks a lot, prick.

Futurama doesn't come into this at all, using it was a total straw robot, my bias notwithstanding.

As to the topic at hand, to be honest I'm not really jonesing for the movie. The trailer hasn't gotten my interest. I'm way WAY more interested in the new Futurama movies/shows up for '08.

xpost

But don't ask me, I'm just a nerdy Bab5 lover.

I'm totally peeing myself in anticipation for it, but I would =)

That was a good show. TEN YEARS AGO.

this helps me remember the good times. and forget series 8 thru...whatever the hell they're up to now.

btw, simpsons movie's gonna suuuuuuuuuuuck. i hope the whole plot is frank grimes-based.

I was contemplating whether to see norbit today. I think I'll just lounge around the house and jab toothpicks under my fingernails instead.

That's my limit, right there. I don't think I can get along with people who are too lazy or unimaginative to come up with something to do besides watch TV. Not that I hate TV or people who enjoy it (I enjoy a fair bit myself) or even who enjoy things that I think are meritricious crap that is actively making the world worse. But fucking christ, have SOME standards, even if I do disagree with them.

OTM.

i dunno i was sure this would blow but - albert brooks is the villain! hank scorpio!!!

! Okay, this could be cool.

thank you mister scorpion

I am now mildly interested - wtf will the movie even be about anyway

Overall I’d give it 10 out of 10, the movie is exactly what you would want and expect from a simpsons movie. And I could tell that everyone in the audience thought so too, it was uproarious laughter from start to finish..high praise, but it’s worth it. I hadn’t watched the simpsons in some time, but used to pretty frequently, so seeing them again was kind of cool-nostalgic-weird, but still funny…in fact funnier because there are things in this movie that could not be shown on tv. (to name just one thing…I will let you in on a secret Bart is well hung!)

:(((((((((((

waht

WAHT

I'm in St. Louis the weekend this opens, so I was thinking of taking the train to Lincoln's tomb on Monday so I could see this in Springfield.

(apparently there's a joke about which state their Springfield is in)

lol 2 true </surmounter>

Supposedly there are going to be advanced screenings in Springfields across America, right? I would check IMDB but that fucking picture of Denis Leary, jesus.

they are spending BILLIONS on marketing this movie.

Fingers crossed...

"beneath the surface of the idiot is someone quite smart", wow zing!

Sorry, posted this to the wrong thread!

Sure you did.

I really hope they didn't use any of the writers who have had anything to do with the show for past 8 or 9 years.

PLEASE MARK ANY SPOILERS
PLEASE MARK ANY SPOILERS
PLEASE MARK ANY SPOILERS
PLEASE MARK ANY SPOILERS

everyone's naked for the whole movie.

OOPS, SPOILER ALERT!

Final theatrical trailer up here:

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/thesimpsonsmovie.html

Still looks pretty much like typical post-Season 8 stuff, but the bit at the very end of the trailer is rofflicious.

The Simpsons has never been a good show - ever - and comparing it to something that actually makes people laugh, like Family Guy, seems a little odd to me. Family Guy is one of the finest cartoons to ever air. The Simpsons isn't. I'd trade in the entire catalog of The Simpsons just to get my hands on the 89 episodes of the UK's DangerMouse... but that goes without saying. Hearing that damn theme song, "The Simpsonnnnnns"... it makes me scurry for the remote every single time. I won't lie.

The Simpsons always struck me as a show people liked simply because it appeared to be "the thing" to do. The show has been on for a decade too long, at the very least, and hasn't made me laugh since I was too young and idiotic to realize the mindlessness of the humor. Or should I say "humor." The Simpsons isn't funny, so I'm not sure you could really call it humor. More like exploitation of a largely adolescent and clueless, but innocuous, group of fans. Adult fans, while having more of my respect, still puzzle me as well with their fandom. To me, that can be explained away in another way - nostalgia. It's the same reason I go back and play Tecmo Bowl on my NES. It's not a great game, but it is classic, and it makes me all tingly inside, thinking about the simpler days of yore.

What "humors" me most about Simpsons fans, however, at least in my personal experience, is their willingness and readiness to agree with me when I say the show sucks, and always has. This always baffled me, since fans of any given show usually defend it when attacked, but when I come out with theories on the show, that it's simple-minded, unfunny and completely and utterly beyond the point of mundane, Simpsons fans have seemed to be inclined to agree with me. This is bizarre to me, especially in light of the buzz surrounding the upcoming movie of the series that will no doubt be as bad as the show itself. C'est la vie.

Seth MacFarlane has more humor and talent in his left pinky finger than Matt Groening has in his entire body, plus the bodies of his nine cryogenically frozen clones he could afford to have created due to ridiculous DVD sales, syndication, and two decades of boring half of America with the same 390 episodes of crap. There's more variety in the episodes of Family Guy, more humor, insanity, cleverness, craziness and downright awesomeness, than there are in Simpsons episodes, and The Simpsons has over a decade of time and 300 episodes on its competitor.

that makes me want to punch my monitor

http://rs.tacklewarehouse.com/tac/ProductImages/RWHBR.JPG

check it
check it
and again
even here

FWIW, Old School Simpsons beats ANY school Family Guy any day of the week and twice on Sunday, but that's an issue for another thread.

But you could say the same for puncturing your taint with rusty bedsprings.

What? That there are already 4 threads about it, or that it's more entertaining than FG?

I meant the latter, but probably the former, too, this being ile and all.

All God's creatures by getting it on!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/upyerbum/101679226/in/set-1454847/

Ooops! This was supposed to go in the Seinfeld thread.

I am now a Simpsons character.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1356/767550907_9eee8ca215_m.jpg

How did that happen?

You go to the Simpsons movie website and make yourself into one. It's fun.

so who's been in any of the 7-Elevens that've been "turned into" Kwik-E-Marts? apparently it's pretty perfunctory (who'd ha guessed).

i have! it was awesome.
<br><a href="http://photobucket.com"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u288/aworldofamy/761018481_16d7d05c17.jpg"; border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
<br><a href="http://photobucket.com"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u288/aworldofamy/761875704_64534ab086.jpg"; border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

crap.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u288/aworldofamy/761018481_16d7d05c17.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u288/aworldofamy/761875704_64534ab086.jpg

The real Kwik-E-Mart doesn't have old-westy Bart 'n' Milhouse facades. :(

That just looks really depressing, actually...are the lines always that long?

that's horrible.

What was awesome about it, amy?

None of the people have yellow skin, either...some verisimilitude.

I would srsly be pissed if I lived next door to only that convenience store & was forced to wait 1/2 hour to get a pack of cigs & a fountain soda, or walk one mile to the next one to do the same.

there are so many 7-11's in burbank that i promise you no one is in that predicament, abbott.
i went with a couple friends and we had nowhere to be, so standing in line seemed like a fun adventure. i guess im just not that jaded about it- it was silly is all. and the pink frosted donuts with sprinkles were SO GOOD. i dont even like donuts!
the guy who rang me up even tried to give a "thank you, come again!"...he failed, but it was a cute gesture.
they also had some original art hanging up from the animators...this was my favorite:
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u288/aworldofamy/761889968_ee82508060.jpg

That actually is the 7-Eleven I go to, and yes it was really annoying when I walked there at 10:30 p.m. to buy perrier and there was a line out the door so I had to drive to vons.

I <3 perrier.

Way better than that foul san pellegrino shitfest gear, for example.

My favy mineral water though is this slovenian one called Radenska that has little hearts on the bottlecap.

So, the buzz cola is basically Vons Cola but they sell it for a dollar, of which 90 cents is pure profit.

Saw a trailer tonight. Very funny. The pig stuff made me giggle, hard.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/MarkGrout/AASimpsonsaa.jpg

Damn I got one of my kids on one in your local multiplex but it's on my phone and I am too stoopid to work out how to download a pic. And my son is insisting I point out the one in our cinema is better than one in your cinema 'cos it's 3D plastic models. He's a proper Nelson Muntz. Ha Ha!

Yeah, multiplex/pic off phone, same.

funny Krusty-Os disclaimer:

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2007/07/success.html

for some reason I saved my original boxes of Homer-Os for years (and the Peanut Butter Cup Bart-Os or whatever they were called) - I never ate the cereal. I threw them out last spring.

what were you thinking?!

I was thinking "how much could this mildly amusing piece of cardboard possibly be worth in 20 years if I continue to painstakingly preserve it?"

Don't worry I still have my Simpsons Monopoly, Simpsons coasters, Simpsons playing cards,and Simpsons 8-ball to keep me company...

Simpsons 8-ball? You planning on staying AWAKE until the premier?!?!?!

HA HA!

Fuck, someone release me from work. I tired.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/6901543.stm

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44001000/jpg/_44001935_homergiant203pa.jpg

it looks like he's pissing on the CAG's foot

CAG is called Helith.

http://www2.b3ta.com/host/creative/46786/1184604040/HomerChalk.gif

in case b3ta doesn't allow links:
http://www2.b3ta.com/host/creative/46786/1184604040/HomerChalk.gif

(got an error posting that, had two img and no /img. corrected problem, hit send, got a 404)

That was OK but kind of forgettable. Best bits: Marge's "Was that a moth? I hope it was OK" and Bart drawing Ned Flanders's face on his photo of Homer.

going Friday night with an assload of people. Expectations for the movie itself are kinda low, but crowd should be fun.

My favourite Simpsons episodes are always the most apparently mundane ones, like Bart Gets In Trouble At School or Lisa Has A Crush, not Homer Builds A Space Station ones, and the film tried to be both types, which kinda broke it. First half-hour was great, though.

best bit: spiderpig.

best bit: spiderpig.

yeah, i think you just unsold a ticket.

I think it was very sitcommy. Like a good sitcom. Like Wonder Years or something. The really emotional family stuff seemed to cut a little deeper than usual.

The whole thing kind of felt like it pandered to the fans at the sake of plot and development. Like Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back

More importantly:

Why did Moe's Tavern have a sign that said Moe's Bar?

Nobody spoil any jokes just yet thanks, I havent seen it!

I thought it was woeful. No zinginess except for Mr Burns' welcome 30 seconds. And wtf was the point of the Lisa storyline? And wtf was the point of Alaska? LAME.

And wtf was the point of Alaska?

THE SIMPSONS... ARE GOING TO... ALASKA!

Carina Chocano's LA Times review intrigues me:

In some ways, it reminded me of the final Seinfeld episode. As much as I laughed throughout, I kept wondering what was with all the emotional lessons. Strangest of all was Homer's retreat to the cave (or igloo, in this case), where he experiences an epiphany and sees himself clearly for the very first time.

In fact, The Simpsons Movie is basically a conversion narrative, in which Homer's eyes are finally opened to the error of his ways. The turnaround feels like the end of something - like, say, the series. Because where do you go from an (albeit briefly) enlightened Homer and sensitive Bart?

The only place I can think of is off into the sunset.

but i'm assuming this is just 'Homer learns his lesson' the way he learns his lesson in most episodes, then revert to type next week.

I am seeing this at 8:00 tonight.

Me too.

As much as I laughed throughout, I kept wondering what was with all the emotional lessons.

Because that's what makes the Simpsons great! They're actual characters with believable feelings who learn lessons! Like people do! What does she want, the Family Guy Robot Chicken non-sequitur hour, directed with proper emotional distance by Wes Anderson?

Seriously, the emotional resonance of the characters was smarter in this movie than any episode in 10 years.

I am wanting to see this now after months of being filled with trepidation.

Family Guy Robot Chicken

Robot Chicken >>>> Family Guy, come on.

it's pretty good! not as good as seasons 2-8, but better than anything in the last decade for sure.

Robot Chicken >>>> Family Guy, come on.

Robot Chicken is like 15 minutes of "What if Mr. T and ET had a kid? I think it would sound something like this"

Family Guy is 30 minutes of "remember the time we met Mr. T and ET's kid?" except Robot Chicken has made me laugh.

i hated this. it depressed me. no laughs. too much of that corny shit that they do so badly.

Family Guy is 30 minutes of "remember the time we met Mr. T and ET's kid?" except Robot Chicken has made me laugh.

I have cosigned this so hard the pen broke.

I fall on the "not too bad" side here. Plays to the crowd pretty hard at times but yet not in predictable ways. Gags of pure recognition are more of the "re-jumping Springfield gorge" variety, not another iteration of "Worst. _______. Ever."

Most of Springfield reduced to cameo roles, which is both ballsy and welcome.

Dark horse scene-stealer of the film: Ned Flanders?!

did you actually think anything he did was funny?

would you actually rather watch more lisa and her new unfunny boyfriend stuff than "most of springfield" jokes?

it was just totally uninspired. nothing surprised me or jolted me like good simpsons stuff could. RIP simpsons.

jesus it was fucking shit, the more I think about it the more shit it seems. the emotional scenes=crap and unconvincing attempts to return to some time 10 years ago or more, and the gags=awful one liners for as many stock characters as possible.

it was 80 mins long and by 50 mins me and my friends I saw it with were dying to leave.

i know, i almost walked out!

yes it was that bad, it was genuinely less funny than generic comedy films you watch on sky movies like fucking "scary movie 3" or something. truly a really long fall from grace, my main hatred was none of the gags were even remotely sharp, it was all so tame.

I'd rather watch it again than listen to you two.

And the first Scary Movie is up there with WHAS.

WHAS?

who is harry crumb?

i thought it weas extremely hilarious

I'm going to go in with no expectations.

wow the hatred is pretty extreme. there is no harsher critic of the show for the last ten years. i find it unwatchable. but come on! there were a few good gags, classic comedy/messing with expectations type of stuff. bart drinking whiskey was a pretty funny idea, but they could have done more with it....

but yeah looking back most of the best jokes were pretty generic yet competently executed comedy standbys.

Wet Hot American Summer.

WHAS is my favorite movie acronym after NOTLD, I think.

I'M GONNA SEE SMIPSONS MOVIE TODAY

NOT READING THIS THREAD COS OF DOUCHERY THO

I mean were you guys expecting it to be edgy?

I saw it last night and laughed a lot. So did everyone in the theater (which was full, for a 9:45 show, in Cleveland). Of course, lots of them laughed at the Chipmunks and Daddy Day Camp trailers too, but that's not what we're talking about.

did you actually think anything (Flanders) did was funny?

The hot cocoa? The extra pants? "I wish you didn't have the devil's curly hair?" It was all classic Flanders! (And by "classic," I mean "pre-Maude's-death".)

The "devil's curly hair" line was awesome. I do think that The Simpsons in general isn't as funny as it used to be but a lot of this was great.

Yeah, I don't think anyone is nuts enough to say this movie compares favorably to the first decade of the show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei3_CQ870sI

Amazing^^

Has anyone seen a positive review of the movie that shows any severe disappointment or outright disdain for the last decade of the show? I haven't seen one really even acknowledging a drop-off.

IOW, the movie has not been reviewed by Simpsons nerds.

Flanders had a few funny lines. Burns criminally underused. Lenny/Carl also.

Once again, can anyone tell me, WHY THE YOUNG IRISH DUDE...WHY ALASKA? seemed so fucking pointless

WHY THE YOUNG IRISH DUDE...

Man of oats?

I don't know if their actual review mentions it or not, but the yakking from the onion's a/v writers all week has been about that fact.

yeah, the review is by Nathan Rabin, the numbnutt in that back'n'forth who goes on about how it doesn't matter whether or not the simpsons is good as it once was, because NOTHING is consistently funny these days, and "like De La Soul" we owe it too much to complain, etc, etc.

I think Ethan has a thread on ILM about this fruitcake.

haha why did I write "nutt"?

also if the Simpsons ended it would be like Nathan's childhood ending and he's not ready for that. his words.

http://www.artistdirect.com/Images/Sources/AMGCOVERS/music/cover200/drc700/c777/c77754uxp82.jpg

It isn't the best movie ever, nor will it make fans forget the show's early-'90s golden years, but audiences will probably be too busy laughing to complain about any shortcomings.

nearly every review i've read has a sentence like this, which sounds like bet-hedging to me

haha why did I write "nutt"?

-- da croupier, Saturday, July 28, 2007 3:27 PM (Saturday, July 28, 2007 3:27 PM) Bookmark Link

http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/cs/sports/m-footbl/auto_action/102422.jpeg

There might be two other people on here that think this is funny. I stress the word "might".

You know what I waited this long for a Simpsons movie for? A fuck of a lot more Lenny and Carl, that's what.

Seriously. And I don't think Crazy Texan or Disco Stu got ONE FUCKING LINE.

disco stu is the worst character. you should be happy.

DAER MATT GREENING WHY THERE WAS NOT MORE ARTIE ZIFF IN SIMPSONS MOVIE? I SURE HOPE SOMEONE GOT FIRED etc. etc.

Lisa's boyfriend was Irish so that they could make the double-sided "Americans think all people of a nationality know famous people of that nationality"/"'The Simpsons' features random unnecessary celebrity cameos so let's subvert that expectation" joke combined with the "most Americans don't give two shits about the environment unless they think it will get them laid" observation in conjunction with Milhouse.

Homer moved the family to Alaska so they could make the Congressional payola at the expense of the environment joke.

Both of these "random" things fit in with the main event-driven plotline, namely the pollution problem of Springfield and how it was sealed off from the rest of the country as a result.

Also, Phil D OTM: who cares about a Simpsons movie that doesn't focus mostly on the Simpsons?

i haven't seen a new episode in at least 4 years but this was surprisingly funny and enjoyable. that might be lowered expectations talking but i liked it.

It was adequate, the hour I saw. Too much effort to expand emotional palette, not enough snap to the gags. Not enough of the funny (i.e. non-Simpson) characters. I'll still watch it again.

you only saw one hour?

in some theaters they show movies in installments now. he ran out of quarters for the last half hour.

I got poorly and missed the last bit.

wow some of you are grouchy. It's a Simpsons movie! I had a lot of fun.

wow some of you are grouchy. It's a Simpsons movie!

well indeed!

Are there any recurring characters on the show now (and ostensibly in the movie) that were created in the last decade? I asked this on another Simpsons thread and the latest anyone brought up was Cookie Quan, who first appeared with Gil in the Real Estate episode in season nine.

The South Park movie was an order of magnitude better but this is no surprise.

this was pretty good

yeah, better then I expected. not as much the self-referential b.s. that pervades the tv show now.

It was good.

not enough hans moleman*

*i don't necessarily believe this so much as i just want to fit in with all the other people demanding bit characters get more screen time

I thought it was fine. I don't want to compare it to years of hi-larious episodes, but I lol'ed a lot.

trapped like...carrots

This was really funny, I had so many LOL moments. The whole thing with Homer being a jerk kind of left a bad taste in my mouth, but it was still definitely worth it.

This was so funny, it did slow down towards the end but the clip with Burns during the credits was hilarious!

I hadn't watched the Simpsons since the mid-90s, so I thought the movie was gr8!

I wanna to go visit the 7-Elevens in L.A. that have been turned into Kwik E Marts, mebbe get me some Duff beer or Buzz cola. I wonder if they have promotional underpants for sale with "Duff" printed across the gluteal area like the ones Moe was wearing.

The 7-11 in Burbank is no different than most 7-11s now promoting the show except it has full-time security watching the place along with cutouts, a television playing the Simpsons 24/7 and a new film crew every day. I only with I'd be in town when they were building it, I would've seen it for sure. I do recommend it. It's surreal and I wish they'd keep it full time or bring it back every summer.

Has anyone seen a positive review of the movie that shows any severe disappointment or outright disdain for the last decade of the show? I haven't seen one really even acknowledging a drop-off.

This is what prevents me from wanting to see it, despite the "great reviews" from so many critics and "fans." I don't remember laughing once during any trailer or promotion.

It's a bit like Paul McCartney albums. If the reviewer hints that Paul's work is just as good as it's ever been (as if it could be a lost track from the Revolver sessions!) I know it's a sycophant of some sort and to ignore the praise.

I went to the Kwik E Mart in Burbank. Short queue. I waited less than 5 minutes to get in...but they were out of the pink-iced donuts with sprinkles -- doh!

Oh well, my frenz say the donuts are exceedingly sweet. My teeth would probably hurt from all the sugar, and then I'd fall into a diabetic coma or sumfink.

I got two cans of Buzz cola, a comic book, and a 22 oz blue colored, vanilla-flavoured squishee. It was delicious and very refreshing on this warm summer evening.

The signs were funny. I'll post them later. My fave was the one promising "satisfaction guaranteed or your money grudgingly refunded" and the handwritten on-the-spot one apologizing for being out of Krusty-O's and Buzz -- signed Apu. Unsurprisingly, the proprietors were actually South Asian. The guy selling hotdogs was like a real life version of Apu. But I don't eat meat and the cream cheese jalapeno roll thing looked very dodgy, so I didn't buy any.

There were no Duff underpants to cover my duff to be had though. : (

I loved it - laughed out loud a bunch of times. It does explain where all the good gags went from the TV show. I now half-wonder whether the past 8 or 9 seasons were a conspiracy to lower everyone's expectations so as to make the movie more enjoyable and lucrative.

I thought it was kind of dull overall, but still enjoyable. The fact that they still used the intro formula (something happens that causes the main plot but really has nothing to do with it) was nice. I think the best moments were when a joke that seemed to come from the first few seasons would pop up, making me realize that at least some writing was from people who haven't worked on the show in years. The other weird moments were those that would not appear on the tv show but did in the theater (showing Bart's wang when skateboarding as a prank, showing Otto actually smoking out of a bong).

Homer's characterization of the inuit woman as boob-lady was a laugh. Still wondering why they didn't show anything at Eski-moe's tavern other than Homer, the video game, and some beers. Did they have some contractual thing where they couldn't introduce new characters? (Irish boy being a one-show gag, not an actual character).

I also think that the theater I went to had a solid 20 minutes of commercials and the most loathsome previews possible. I remember saying "I really hope Jason Lee rots in scientologist hell for this garbage" at the chipmunks one.

Oh god, the Chipmunks trailer where one of the chipmunks eats his own droppings! As if they were introducing GG Chipmunk.

^^ OTM, since when has shit-eating been acceptable in kids' movies?!

I did laugh at 50% of the previews essentially being TV commercials

i didn't understand why they used the classic opening and did bother doing a couch gag??

do they really show bart's penis?

if so... ew.

yes, they do, but it's not 'ew' at all, it like a very simple drawing. It's funny when it happens, no, really it is.

yeah I was expecting a couch gag too!

Seriously, why is Moe's Tavern called Moe's Bar in the movie?

xpost re barts penis

But there's a whole thread about this issue on IMDb which is funnier. People saying they're mums won't let them see the film if it's true, and so on.

Seriously, why is Moe's Tavern called Moe's Bar in the movie?

I noticed that too, really random

I don't think I'd have noticed if it wasn't for this thread.

Simpsons movie fails to reward those paying attention shocker

Perhaps it was some sort of >>chuckle<< MAGIC sign?

But yeah that one second fleeting shot of an incorrectly lettered sign definitely ruined the entire film.

cinemagoers tend to be less culturally sophisticated than TV viewers hence the name change

Kwik-E-Mart Burbank is just about gone. It was amazing while it was there.

http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=simpsons.htm

i'm glad all the hatahs on this thread don't make simpson movies

And in 1998, producer Ian Maxtone-Graham, interviewed by the London Independent, referred to "the beetle-browed people on the Internet," adding: "They see everything as part of a vast plan ... That's why they're on the Internet and we're writing the show."

Readers B+ (666 votes)

i'm glad all the hatahs on this thread don't make simpson movies

Haha, that's the opposite of the usual "well why don't YOU make one and see if it's better!"

do you wish the fans of the movie DID?

That's why they're on the Internet and we're writing the show.

Foolish man, looks like we're all on the internet now! MUAHAHAHAHAHA...

Saw it last night.

It was a surprising movie in a way. A lot of complaints regarding latter episodes of the Simpsons point towards the characters having become over-predictable talking heads making clichéd remarks and pop/polit culture references all the way through. Others would argue that Family Guy has taken the comedy torch and run with it in a more subversive direction. So it's nice to see that the creators have apparently taken these factors into consideration. The negation of obvious catchphrases and character traits (Homer says "D'Oh" maybe only 4 or 5 times throughout) is kind of welcome, and the use of stock characters like Apu, Moleman, Lenny and Carl etc, while still missed, seems to be getting the Simpsons back in line with making jokes as opposed to in-jokes. A friend commented that it felt like the movie was actually playing towards a (surely non-existant) audience of people who had never watched the show before, and I can see that in a way.

That said, for the first 30 minutes of the film I felt as though I was watching Family Guy. Many of Homer's lines were delivered with the same matter-of-fact sneeringly observational idiocy typical of Peter Griffin and pals. The Homer I know is more naive, more bungling rather than reckless and sarcastic. Still, animated humour has moved on since 1990 and I guess subversion is almost necessary for fear of making the Simpsons look dumbed down or soft.

As for the jokes, there are many and it's good to see the Simpsons engaging in elevated slapstick rather than wise-cracks once again. I use the term "slapstick" loosely here, much of the humour deriving from action and comic timing; visual jokes and utterances that you just don't see coming. I won't name examples or I'll spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet.

Plot-wise, it's all over the place as ever. Consequence leads to consequence, as in any episode worth its salt. Inconsistency, depending on how you view it is either one of the show's weaknesses or great strengths. Expecting a consistently deep and meaningful extravaganza of a film will only lead to disappointment. But if you go to the cinema to watch a feature-length Simpsons episode with slightly flashier animation then that's what you have really.

But then, there's definitely no feeling of having pulled out all the stops. Considering this is most likely the cap on seventeen years' worth of the most important show in the history of television, I was often left wondering, is this really all they could come up with?. For something that should count as an absolute phenomenon, a return to form and a climactic end to an illustrous but shaky compendium of comedy, it comes off as merely just "quite a funny film", no more no less.

I guess with the Simpsons expectations will always be astronomically high, and the amount of disillusioned detractors ready to pour hot water on the film will be equally numerous. So did the writers do well in foregoing a "proper movie" for a fun-sized romp? I guess that's up to the audience and how much they are prepared to invest in the Simpsons' dynasty.

the most important show in the history of television

I'm a big fan and all but COME ON

there's a couple of "perfect strangers" who'd beg to differ.

LARRRRRRY

i suppose Shakey watches "the News"

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:g7ahy0DKilHr5M:http://64.58.142.209/files/images/teaser_0.jpg

kekekekekekekeke

spiderpig was so funny though omg.

I can't watch Rachel anymore now that she's such an omnipresent sellout haha

I'm all about Ina Garten these days

(best show ever = the Twilight Zone, of course. or maybe Twin Peaks.)

he didn't say best

there's really someone named ina garten? is her last name davida?

hmmm, you have a point there. I dunno what makes a show "important".

Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa = sexiest woman on Food Network

I dunno what makes a show "important".

cultural impact and influence perhaps, in which case The Simpsons definitely wins

I dunno, surely some sitcom had a wider and more long-lasting impact on television programming and cultural mores ("I Love Lucy"? "The Honeymooners"?)

in terms of impact on its medium, the Simpsons hasn't spawned many imitators (the Critic? Family Guy?) or changed the way television shows are structured and written

dude save it for matt groening RIP thread

I love Matt Groening! I stood in line for him to autograph my copy of School is Hell! (pre-Simpsons)

Ina Garten needs a movie now!

or a hoax RIP thread

Rupert Murdoch: "American Idol is the most important show in television history"

(googling "most important show in television history" returns some funny results)

Aw, Shakey Mo, that's great abt School is Hell. I way-too-much relate to Bongo.

it was at the 1987 San Diego Comic Con

Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa = sexiest woman on Food Network

She should have a partner named Dennis "Den" Pharaos.

I'm watching it tonight. Should be good. But maybe not, as bogan co-workers singing that spider pig nonsense at work all day.

It was definately better than I expected.

Better than the more recent episodes, definately.

"definitely," dammit

Oh whatever

I had a feeling I spelled it wrong though....

It isn't as bad as when I used to spell it "defiantly" though

LARRRRRRY

-- Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 1 August 2007 15:52 (Yesterday) Link

Ned, coming from such a well traveled dude, I'm surprised if you're saying Seinfeld is more important than the Simpsons (especially outside of the States).

I dunno, surely some sitcom had a wider and more long-lasting impact on television programming and cultural mores ("I Love Lucy"? "The Honeymooners"?)

-- Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 1 August 2007 17:04 (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

Hai, what are these shows?

I can't imagine anyone in a foreign country (or even anyone outside the NYC metro area) watching and enjoying Seinfeld.

oh yeah, basically the sense of humor and story telling sensibilities of everyone in their twenties now has basically been created by the Simpsons.

If you watch any cartoon, sitcom, or even comedy movie, you can see how much the humor style has influenced basically everything in the US. It's to the point where a lot of the gags and post-modern jokes aren't fresh anymore, which is a shame.

only simpsons influence on me:

when i see nice things i go

"mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm <nice thing>"

Okay someone introduce the next grozart to the wonder and glory that is "Perfect Strangers".

i've never seen The Honeymooners.

as bogan co-workers singing that spider pig nonsense at work all day

OMG, a colleague today has been doing the same thing. It's basically put me off watching this movie entirely.

or even anyone outside the NYC metro area)

lol

SPIDER PIG GUYS!

AS FUNNY AS EVER!

SPIDER PIG!!!

Anyone post the NY Times review where AO Scott calls the TV show the apotheosis of American civilization?

someone once said on ilx that "married with children" was the obv template for the simpsons, which induces the rather queasy thought that MWC might be the most influential show ever (if only by proxy).

might as well say The Waltons (never saw that either)

the only template "Married With Children" set down was for having a popular & subversive sitcom on FOX

Okay someone introduce the next grozart to the wonder and glory that is "Perfect Strangers".

A well-traveled thread:

I AM LUUKING FOR MY KOZZEN LARRY!

I thought it was ok. entertaining.
But I did enjoy the ATHF movie more. More lolz for me.
probably "comparing apples & oranges" but whatevah.

GOTT PUNCH OTM

the spooky choral version of the Spider Pig theme during the credits was so lovely.

re Spider Pig, i only just found out about this the other day.

why did they use Arnold Schwarzennegger instead of Rainier Wolfcastle

everyone big-upping Perfect Strangers on here is a poseur, where were you when my "Balki >>>> Borat" argument got me laughed out of the room on ILE last year?

i was wondering that too!! xp

where were you when my "Balki >>>> Borat" argument got me laughed out of the room on ILE last year?

hey waitaminit I remember taking a lot of shit for making this exact same comparison too!

everyone big-upping Perfect Strangers on here is a poseur, where were you when my "Balki >>>> Borat" argument got me laughed out of the room on ILE last year?

I never read any of the Borat threads because I didn't want to have the movie spoiled.

same thing with me and perfect strangers threads.

i want to see this movie soooooo bad.
but i'm stuck in a world of shitty amusement parks and shitty food.

haha OK yeah Shakey you had my back on that. but then I didn't really mean you since I don't think you were one of the people talking about Perfect Strangers on this thread.

has there ever been a Perfect Strangers reference in The Simpsons?

there were a couple of passing Urkel references I think

well The Simpsons were always, among other things, kind of a rejoinder to cheeseball 80's sitcoms, without making many explicit nods to them.

has there ever been a Perfect Strangers reference in The Simpsons?

-- blueski, Friday, August 3, 2007 4:19 PM (29 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

Balki/goat/toilet joke or something?????

Barting Over episode

Larry: Balki, why are you dancing in the toilet?
Balki: What? You never heard of "Flush Dance"?

i swear a goat was involved

entirely possible - nonetheless, not one of the better episodes

Treehouse of Horror XV:

n a parody of Perfect Strangers, Kang and Kodos are preparing the Simpsons for dinner for their "boss." Bart and Homer are the main course, Lisa is in a soup, and Marge and Maggie are pies. Bart is frying on a skillet, while Homer keeps eating himself. The boss comments on the delicious meal, whereupon his stomach bursts open, liberating Bart, who, in turn, delightfully exclaims "Cool, I'm vomit!" Kang and Kodos get a hyper-galactic promotion. Bart is sad about being an orphan, but he is adopted by Kang and Kodos. The Perfect Strangers theme song then plays over the opening credits.

I AM LOOKING FOR MY COZEN LARRY! + Andy Kaufman = Borat (also = me asleep)

-- Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, October 18, 2006 3:11 PM (9 months ago) Bookmark Link

well the sense i got from it was that he saw through the formal comedy cliches at work but still thought they were done effectively. i mean i'm not gonna go line for line but you have to admit there are some pretty negative parts in there. me, I just fail to see how this is all just a slightly more explicit/'edgy' version of Latka Gravas/Balki Bartokomous as played by a much less entertaining performer.

-- Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Thursday, November 9, 2006 8:10 PM (8 months ago) Bookmark Link

hooray we agree

I just fail to see how this is all just a slightly more explicit/'edgy' version of Latka Gravas/Balki Bartokomous as played by a much less entertaining performer.

you're right but... SFW dude.

you misspelled stfu

Was Kang in the movie? I think I saw a voice credit but don't remember any aliens (unless it was in a Where's Waldo crowd scene).

actually he's not right about the much less entertaining performer part. xp

i want to reiterate that this movie reeked btw.

no s1ocki's right, my post was completely safe for work.

Jordan, Kang & Kodos were originally going to be complaining during the credits but it got cut. They might have been in some other deleted scenes as well.

slocki pls uniterate

Was Kang in the movie? I think I saw a voice credit but don't remember any aliens (unless it was in a Where's Waldo crowd scene).

I was wondering that too. Maybe he was cut, or maybe he sang in the anthem during the credits?

Anyway I just saw this movie and it was nice. About what I expected. It did show off the limits of the series, though: It's still a sitcom, and sitcoms don't become movies very easily.

(Compare say South Park, which is satire, which can work in that longer format much better.)

jesus it was fucking shit, the more I think about it the more shit it seems. the emotional scenes=crap and unconvincing attempts to return to some time 10 years ago or more, and the gags=awful one liners for as many stock characters as possible.

it was 80 mins long and by 50 mins me and my friends I saw it with were dying to leave.

i don't want this to be true but it is. someone upthread said they pandered to fans but it's exactly opposite; in an effort not to scare off casual viewers and children with arcana and um, wit, everything was flat and cursory and the rhythm was so lazy and sitcomy. Flanders was creepy. There were some good gags, stranded. It all fit together though, felt like a movie I guess. I'm not sad or anything, just kicking myself for not seeing Bourne Supremacy.

i mean even these days they make episodes (marginally) funnier than this on the fly, how could the time factor not result in something sharper?
it seemed like they strained to avoid topicality to such a degree that most of it feels generic, so many jokes in name only. disheartening until you remember you've sat through stuff like this for at least 10 years.

I shouldn't say everything was cursory, I quite liked the stabs at emotion, just for being there. I should stop thinking about it, my opinion is just gonna trend 'hater' if I keep it up. It's late. I should have drank first. It was "enjoyable", "just a movie" etc. fin.

Others would argue that Family Guy has taken the comedy torch and run with it in a more subversive direction.

Are those "others" you speak of 19-year-olds who don't know that "potty talk" /= "subversive?"

Oh here we go...

I AM LOOKING FOR MY COZEN LARRY! + Andy Kaufman = Borat (also = me asleep)

-- Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, October 18, 2006 3:11 PM (9 months ago) Bookmark Link

-- Shakey Mo Collier, Friday, August 3, 2007 12:03 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

ppl who quote themselves are AWESOME

Still, "paraplegereeno".

I quite liked the stabs at emotion, just for being there.

The movie is something of a betrayal of the really interesting emotional point the series has reach in the last four or so seasons, but if I remember right it was written back then, so that makes sense; plus the current emotional scene is possibly too bleak and tortured for a big popular movie.

90 minutes of Moe suicide jokes wouldv'e rocked.

I was thinking the Marge/Homer dynamic, but yes, where was the Lenny-in-physical-pain stuff?

I thought this was entertaining enough. I didn't laugh all that much, just a few chuckles here and there (esp. compared to the non-stop yuks of the 5-year-olds in the theater at 11 PM on a Tuesday night, who seemed to love any and all instances of comedic violence) -- but I had a good time.

SPOILERS!

I saw this last night, and had mixed feelings about it. There were numerous one-off gags that were really funny, but the main story felt kinda predictable and safe. Okay, it was nice that they focused on the Simpsons family, and tried to invest some emotion into it (Marge's video), but on the other hand the whole scheme (Homer fucks up/is bad father, but in the end proves his worth) felt played out, and didn't really do anythig the series hadn't already done a hundred times.

I guess if you see the film as an extended TV episode it was guide entertaining... But like someone mentioned, since the movie has been so long in the making, you'd think the writers would've pulled off their guards and done something more unexpected and daring. The biggest disappointment was the finale, which fell totally flat. Homer rides the bike, throws away the bomb, and... that's it. He's the hero. How cliched can you get? I guess the guys behind South Park were right in doing the South Park movie while the series was in prime, because the movie felt like it went even further than the series had done before. Whereas the Simpsons movie was perfectly funny, but also felt calculated and safe.

Some random remarks:

* Lisa's love-story was totally tacked-on, seemed like writers thought they need to provide her with a storyline of her own too.

* The meta-jokes about this not being the TV show weren't really that funny. Okay, this is a movie, you don't have to watch commercials in the middle, we get the point.

* The other end credit jokes were nice, but the one about Maggie's first word was really cheap. Though I guess it was meant to be cheap.

* What was the point of that one dude dying in the end? Had the film-makers promised some character would die, and this was their way of dealing with it?

* Am I the only one who was worried about what happened to the Spider-Pig? It was left in the burning house! And then the house collapsed! Seemed like the movie totally forgot about the whole pig.

Spiderpig was no more - he had become Harry Plopper. It was Harry Plopper who disappeared from the plot. (Me? Pedantic?)

Oh, but otherwise Tuomas OTM.

I enjoyed the film as a series of one liners, but the plot was pretty lame and was all to familiar. However, when it comes down to it I laughed a lot and will enjoy it again when it come out on DVD (for the xmas market).

* What was the point of that one dude dying in the end? Had the film-makers promised some character would die, and this was their way of dealing with it?

Dr. Nick's catchphrase on the show was "Hi, everybody!". His last words were "Bye, everybody!". I bet the writers had been sitting on that one for ages.

* Am I the only one who was worried about what happened to the Spider-Pig? It was left in the burning house! And then the house collapsed! Seemed like the movie totally forgot about the whole pig

He will appear in an upcoming episode.

Ah, hope they'll explain how he was miraculously saved from the burning and collapsing house.

"The choral version of "Spider Pig" from the movie soundtrack, credited to Hans Zimmer, reached #24 on the British singles chart for the week ending 2007-08-05. At 64 seconds, it is the shortest track to ever reach the British top 40."

Maybe it's cuz I've caught the show only about half the time in the last 4 seasons, but I thought the Marge/Homer dynamic was far more touching here than anything in Ratatouille. What really interesting emotional point of the series do you mean re M/H, Cas?

also, "You're a woman. You'll hang onto it your entire life" most penetrating movie line of the year thus far.

Who said that line to whom?

Marge to Lisa.

assuming nothing in The Apatow Canon tops it.

not that i've seen or heard, and you're right, the line was awesome

also, "You're a woman. You'll hang onto it your entire life" most penetrating movie line of the year thus far.

oh for the love of god.

morbz if you liked that penetrating insight may i recommend a little television program called 'reba'

hang on to what?

Anger

For the last few seasons it has been more or less explicit that Marge is going to leave Homer as soon as the kids are grown.

Of course, due to the nature of the show, this is mostly because she's had to put up with him for eighteen years plus backstory. And since the kids don't grow, she will be stuck with him forever, except in flash-forwards. All that is implicit, which is probably a good thing.

In the movie, the weight of what Marge has already put up with in her life seems greatly reduced, and it's back to the simpler "I'll put up with you forever" plots of the earlier seasons. I kind of like the dizzying "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolf?"-style menace of their recent relationship -- but again, only because they've "earned" it over the past 18 years.

women are going to be hanging onto a lot of anger caused by ILXors

i am watching this 'on demand'. this is what i demanded. it sucks.

Coming out on my 48th birthday

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/simpsons-movie-sequel-summer-2027-release-date-1236534270/

Wild to think that the first movie came out 20 years the Simpsons shorts first aired on the Tracey Ullman Show, and the second movie is coming out 20 years after *that*.