The Simpsons Movie
Starring: Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Hank Azaria
Director: David Silverman
Genre: Animation / Comedy
Duration: 1hr 25mins
Rated: PG-13 for irreverent humor throughout.
Plot: When Homer pollutes the lake with toxic waste Springfield comes under fire from the EPA, possibly even leading to its complete destruction. D’oh.

My Review: I went into The Simpsons Movie with few expectations other than a continued experience with the characters we’ve all grown to love over the past 18 years. Well that and the hope that after such a long wait we’d see something new from the Simpsons clan. Unfortunately the movie turned out to be little more than a bloated, regular episode and not even one of their best at that.

The story focuses on the issue of pollution in the Springfield lake. Following a surprisingly boring townhall meeting which is usually rife with humorous outbursts (well okay, Moe does stand and say something like, “This is why we should hate kids.”) Springfield decides to prohibit all further dumping in the lake. This goes well until, of course, Homer decides it’d be quicker to dump his pig crap silo, yes that’s right, in the lake so he can get over to a donut giveaway. Right around here was when the jokes dried up for me. The whole interaction with the pig Homer rescues provides the movie’s fill of jokes and fun parts. While I really enjoyed this angle, why oh why did they have to create an entirely new character to bring the best laughs? The Simpsons is overflowing with hilarious characters already that we know and love. Instead why not apply a little Ralphie, Dr. Nick, or even Officer Wiggums? Ralphie is a gold mine and should have been completely excavated for this movie, but sadly he gets one brief appearance with one line. I won’t ruin the line as it is of course very funny.

Pollution and environment protection is nothing new in the Simpsons as they’ve had numerous episodes regarding this angle already. So why go back and revisit this? Well it felt like they were afraid to try anything new at all. Not only do they reuse the environment angle but they also reuse the new boy that comes to town and pursues the same sense of saving the world through reduced emissions as Lisa, igniting her infatuation. Remember when Lisa lived in the tree to impress the new boy that was a Level 5 Vegan (he didn’t eat anything that casts a shadow)? It was pretty much like this the whole time. Nothing new, just recycles and, like I said, not even their best recycles.

Watch for a few new people characters including Arrrrnold as the President (speaking of, after 18 years of using McBain in lieu of Arnold, why switch now?), a power crazed EPA director voiced by Albert Brooks, and even a cameo by Tom Hanks (as Tom Hanks) provide little support to the story. While Brooks’ character, Russ Cargill, adds a few (very few) laughs I again think they could have self-contained the cast with better success.

This movie is rated PG-13, so I don’t think it’s entirely little kid friendly though its likely to draw a lot of kids (the audience at my viewing could have filled a daycare), but decide for yourself. The items for concern include: Bart’s penis (despite pulling an Austin Powers’ cover-up sequence it still eventually gets revealed), Bart gets drunk drinking whiskey (at least he has good choice to select Johnnie Walker Red Label), a robot that commits suicide w/ a revolver, Homer double fists flipping the bird for an extended period, Otto smokes from a bong, and Marge drops the G-Damn bomb.

If you’re a die hard Simpsons fan then it doesn’t matter what I say, you’re going to go see this anyway. You probably should in that case as it was a long, long wait to get them on the big screen. If you’re a casual viewer that has trailed off in recent years with the show’s decline then you’re likely to be disappointed. If you’re a complete novice to the Simpsons then you don’t need bother.

My rating: 2/5 stars
High point: Finally seeing The Simpsons on “the big screen” + spider-pig.
Low point: Took few risks by retreading old jokes with a boring storyline.

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