Magnus D'ohpus

I'll admit I was a bit nervous. After being subjected to every half-ass comic book (Flash?), sequel (last week out of 4 movie posters I saw all 4 were sequels), and sometimes both (Spiderman 3), I was a little sceptical about the timing and expectations of a Simpsons movie. The show has spanned 19 years and covered everything already. Would it taint my memories of the ground breaking wit and social commentary that has outlasted all the subjects of its jokes? Well, they couldn't be doing it for the money, as we've seen the series almost dare Fox to kick it off the roster. I now have heard about that it had actually been in the works for some time and had just took awhile to get everyone together and crank out something Simpsons worthy. Also, why not? Why not have a Simspons movie now? We don't need to waste any time with character development or attention conforming to reality. With these asides we can jump right into the zaniness that are Simpsons plots and start laughing at the jokes. Although this plot isn't as disconnected as some where the ending is almost like a different show than the beginning. Many of the critics have dissed it (although reassuringly most have liked it) for being like just another episode. I think that would be o.k., 90 minutes of the best jokes and animation from the all-star Simpsons writers and artists would be worth my 8 bucks. But, I think it's bigger than just another episode. Actually, I'm glad they didn't try to do some huge epic thing that shook the series up. But, strangely enough for being 90 minutes it probably has fewer amount of minutes for characters outside the family than an episode. And I think that is good they focused on the family. The series is called "the Simpsons". It's the irreverence for outside expectations that makes the Simpsons the most relevant show on TV and it's irreverence that gets the Simpsons in their jams. (Actually though, the whole premise of the problem was based on a true event of people having to dispose of pig crap in their local waters.) So, the movie could sit around and get hung up on trying to encapsulate the fullness of 18 seasons (impossible) or just go for it and add a huge nugget into the Simpson experience, which they do. Enjoy some killer animation (keeping the drawing thing real), all-star jokes, a plot that is interesting and still makes a few jokes, and the longevity of the Simpsons who have been putting in work for a long time.

~As an interesting side note, after I watched the Simpsons I watched another movie, The Devil and Daniel Johnston. It was a great movie about a Brian Wilson type dude named Daniel Johnston who made some interesting music and movies in the mid-80-90's before getting hit by some mental issues. Dude went way down in the dumps before making a comeback in early 2000's at a couple shows. Guess who was in the movie meeting him before one of his shows? Matt Groening.