Yellow Fever

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE

After 18 seasons on TV, this movie was a long time coming. And with so much success there comes massive expectation. Despite this (and maybe because the overall quality of the show has been in decline over the years), I wasn’t expecting TOO much from the movie. But as it turns out, it’s a pretty decent comedy! Certainly not up to the heady standards the show once had back in the day, but still leagues ahead of most other movies that pass for “comedies” these days.

The story (in typical Simpsons fashion) is wildly imaginative and completely over the top. But it also serves as a wry send up of a reactionary American government and a none-too-subtle warning about environmental pollution. The jokes (for the most part) really hit the mark, and show that the writers haven’t quite tapped out their comedic well JUST yet. What I was most impressed with was the emotional aspect of the movie. Bart has often looked elsewhere for a father figure on the regular show, but never before has it been handled in such a touching manner. And Marge’s plea to Homer (that he watches on videotape) actually made me well up a little!

Some people have criticised it, saying that it’s nothing more than an extended episode of the show, but why is that such a bad thing? You have to remember just how large the scope of the their regular show can be. Over its 18 year run, the average Simpson’s episode has managed to squeeze in more emotion, drama, action and gags than most feature length movies. Trying to come up with a story that has a beginning middle and end and STILL fit it into 19 minutes means moving the plot along at a breakneck speed with little or no time to breathe. In fact, most episodes regularly have whole scenes cut out of them, just because of time constraints. But now the movie format has finally given the writers some breathing room to expand on their plots and jokes.

Also, many people have lamented the short presence or even absence of the vast wealth of familiar characters that the show is best known for (Krusty, Apu, Mr. Burns etc), but I think the writers made the right decision to focus the bulk of the story on the Simpson’s family themselves. It is their first big movie outing, after all. I’m sure there’ll be countless sequels in which the additional cast can get more of a look in.

I found that watching The Simpsons in the cinema was a WHOLE difference experience to watching it plonked on the sofa at home. After so many years of giggling quietly to myself, it was a bit strange to hear this massive response of laughter at the end of each joke. Though in saying that, it did make laughing out loud myself a whole lot easier :P

Even if you feel like the show has grown stale these past few years, you owe it to yourself to give the movie a go. And I dare anyone to resist the hoggish charms of Spider-Pig :D