Reviewed by Stuart O'Connor
Stars the voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner,
Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria,
Harry Shearer, Albert Brooks
Written by Matt Groening, James Brooks et al
Certification UK PG | US PG-13 | Australia PG
Runtime 87 minutes
Directed by David Silverman
It’s here at last, the film we’ve been wanting to see for almost 20 years. Now comes the hard part — just how DO you review a Simpsons movie? Spare a thought, please, for us poor critics. With a film such as this, we will be screamed at by fans if we reveal too much of the plot. Or give it a bad review. Or give away too many of the jokes. It’s one of those movies where people really do want to go in cold. And besides, it’s the Simpsons — when has plot ever been that pivotal to the TV show?
So here goes nothing: The Simpsons Movie is good. Very, very good. But is it great? Sadly, no. In short, it certainly isn’t D’oh!, but it’s not quite Woo Hoo! either. While I did sit there and laugh — an awful lot, I will admit — through the entire film, there was something lacking, something that’s hard to define. The South Park movie had it — I can watch that again now, and I’ll still laugh myself sick at it. I guess it’s an edge. I expected the Simpsons to be a little more in your face on the big screen; they had the chance to be a bit naughtier, to take it to the next level. But they didn’t. And that let me down a little.
Clocking in at 87 minutes, The Simpsons Movie is like four really good episodes of the TV show, back to back — although the plot this time has more of a flow to it and is not as scattershot as we’ve come to expect. The film takes well-aimed potshots at government (particularly a certain stupid president), bureaucracy, environmentalism, religion (Homer flicks through the Bible and declares: “This book doesn’t have any answers!"), the hand that feeds it (ie, Fox) and some brilliant swipes at the Disney monolith. The jokes come at a steady pace, and pretty much all of them hit the mark. My favourite? Little Ralphy Wiggum, on seeing Bart skateboarding past naked, says: “I like men now.”
OK, look away if you don’t want to know any of the plot. But I’ll try not to give too much away. According to exec producer Al Jean, the general theme of the film is “what happens when a man doesn’t listen to his wife”. So basically, Homer ignores Marge and gets in trouble. This time, bigger trouble than usual. By adopting a pet pig (and I’m still giggling at the joyful sillyness of the “spider-pig” song) and then dumping a silo full of its crap into the already over-polluted Lake Springfield, Homer enrages the Environmental Protection Agency so much that Springfield is sealed under a glass dome to stop the contamination spreading. All with the approval of President Schwarzenegger, of course — cleverly played here by Rainier Wolfcastle. Long story short: townsfolk get pissed off with Homer and the Simpsons flee to a new life in Alaska. More stuff happens after that, but I guess you’ll have to go see it to find out. Just make sure you stay through the closing credits to catch baby Maggie’s first word.
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SECOND OPINION | Neil Davey ??? And so, 18 years in the making and The Simpsons finally get to make their big screen debut. Was it worth the wait? Generally, yes. But really chaps, 18 years for this? Quite simply, for the time taken and the talent involved, the resulting gag-per-minute ratio is slightly disappointing. That’s not to say it’s not funny. It is, and there are moments when the average audience goer is at risk of a little bladder-related accident. But these moments are alarmingly few and far between, with wry chuckles and smiles the more frequent response.
So there are big topical themes, pretty much every Simpsons character present and correct and lots of opportunities for throw-away background gags. The set-up is ripe for a satirical battering and the smartly observed humour the cartoon is so famous for however, after a terrific opening — which peaks with Bart’s hilarious naked skateboard dare through Springfield — things rapidly tail off. It still delivers laughs but not quite as many as you’d expect, not least as most of the best gags — Spider-Pig, Homer and Bart on the roof, Homer and the huskies — have featured on the various trailers. A pleasant diversion but some way off the classic it really should have been.
• Official Site
• The Simpsons Movie at IMDb
