The Simpsons Movie. Was it worth the wait? Hmmm...

Rating: 5/10 (6 February 2008)

The Simpsons is one of the legit hit phenomena of the last 20 years. Ever since it's conception in 1989, it's wowed, dazzled and amused audiences with its perfect blend of comedy, satire and sharp characterisation.
America's favourite dysfunctional family have become so ingrained in modern pop-culture that I wondered how long it would be before they emerged onto the big screen. And although creator Matt Groening first hit on the idea of a Simpsons movie way back in 1992, it took a further 15 years for the finished result to fully emerge. And the big question surely on everyone's lips is...was it worth the wait?
I'm afraid not. In spite of all the hype surrounding it, the 11 writers who wrote the screenplay, its lengthy production process and mass expectations, The Simpsons Movie comes up short in far too many areas.
I must admit that in recent years, I do feel The Simpsons has lost a fair bit of its sparkle. There was a time when I tuned into the show with almost religious fervour. Nowadays I only dip in every now and again to give it a casual glance.
The first ten seasons were pure televised brilliance. Consistently entertaining. Sharp satire. Witty as hell. But then after Season 11, it suddenly began to lose focus, and become increasingly more tired and formulaic. And that's a problem that infects The Simpsons Movie too.
The film has a plot that really wouldn't have looked out of place in the TV show. Homer adopts a pet pig that he names Spider-Pig (and then later Harry Plopper. Funnier names crossed my mind, Harry Trotter, e.g.). When he puts the pig's waste in a silo and dumps it into Springfield Lake, it pollutes the water so badly it starts churning out mutant squirrels.
The EPA declare Springfield an environmental hazard and encase the town in a massive glass dome. When the people realise Homer's responsible for all this, he escapes with the family and hides out in Alaska. But when the EPA decide to nuke Springfield, Homer realises he must return to clean up the mess he's made.
As I sat through The Simpsons Movie, I laughed aloud exactly five times. A sad reduction of the comic edge The Simpsons once had. The TV show certainly opens up onto the big screen with confidence. There is one dazzling moment where the camera glides through an entire lynch mob made up of just about every character from the show. Bart gets a bit of full frontal nudity (only a bit, mind you!), and Marge even gets a cuss-word that would have been too extreme for the TV format.
But for every laugh-aloud moment scattered throughout the film, you have to wonder why you're not laughing the rest of the time. I first began to get a sinking feeling about the film within the first five minutes when Grampa Simpson has something like a psychic fit while at church. He rolls around the floor muttering portents and predicting doom. I get the impression this scene was intended as an hysterical set-piece, but it falls curiously flat. I didn't laugh once. In fact if anything, the scene feels cringeworthy rather than funny.
And the rest of the film settles into the same kind of scattershot humour. There are many, many sight gags. Too many to recall. But where some of them hit the mark, others go far off it. I liked the scene where Homer discovers Alaska is not the way he envisioned it. So he remedies the situation by putting up a picture of it over the windscreen of his car, and he says, "There, that's better!"
And one wonderful scene halfway through makes the film worth seeing for this one moment alone. Marge wants to go back to Springfield, and when Homer refuses, she packs up the kids and leaves without him. Marge leaves a videotape for him, saying she's reached the end of her tether with him. She can't just look the other way anymore, and turn a blind eye to his selfishness. And to prove she means what she says, she taped this message over they're wedding video.
Its a surprisingly tender scene. The one moment where the film forgets about trying to be funny and instead makes a strong, dramatic statement. But the cap on the scene is Homer is so devastated, that when the scene fades out it follows up with a cue-card saying, To Be Continued...Immediately. An absolutely delightful moment inspired in its creativity. I laughed for several minutes.
I also liked Homer's M.C. Escher inspired dream sequence that compels him to do the right thing. I just wish the rest of the film had some of the same inspiration. Things come to a satisfying dramatic conclusion, but the comedy just doesn't come fast enough.
Subplots like Lisa getting a crush on an Irish boy, and Bart seeing Ned Flanders as a potential father figure feel underdeveloped. They don't really go anywhere. And there is disappointingly little of Simpson favourites Mr Burns and Principal Skinner.
The Simpsons feels a bit stretched at feature length too. There's a nice self-mocking cameo appearance from Tom Hanks, but the film isn't all that it should have been. Its easy to say that's because The Simpsons works best as a TV show instead of a film. But the sad truth is, The Simpsons ran its course a long time ago. The film is just as empty as the show has become.
Where it once cornered the market of primetime animation, The Simpsons now seems decidedly tame when held up against the no-holds barred material of South Park. The Simpsons is a spent force. You'll probably disagree with that today, but in time, you'll come to see that I'm right.