The Downward Spiral.

Rating: 2/10 (5 August 2007)

I went to see a midnight showing of the movie after I got off work. My good friend and long time Simpsons fan who also works with me came along. As the movie started, I noticed the goosebumps on my arms, the hairs on my body standing on end, and the anticipation in the air. I loved the opening; not what I expected, but pleasing. Sadly, the first scene and maybe the first ten or twenty minutes delivered to me and the rest just left me asking "Wait... The early season writers wrote this?" Yeah, I admit it, I am on of The Simpson "fans" that regularly says to my friends.. "Yeah man, I like the early episodes, but after awhile, they just lost the heart, you know? Episodes like 'Secrets of a Successful Marriage' and 'One fish, Two fish, Blow fish, Blue fish' actually made me relate and feel like I wasn't just watching a cartoon series."
As common as it is today to hear that or similar statements from fans, it couldn't be further from the truth.
The movie was...bad; easy, cheap laughs for the most part. Hardly any of the witty, smart aspects were there at all. There were a few gags here and there that delivered, but never at any time did I think it could compare what-so-ever to the old episodes, unbelievably written by most of the writers that worked on the movie.
What annoyed and angered me more than anything was the horrible attempted political commentary (E.P.A. as a villain?), and Green Day, of course. What I love about the simpsons is the simpson univerese itself. Of course, there were always guest stars from time to time, but it always felt like "The Simpson Universe-anytown U.S.A" to me. It felt like the episodes could be shuffled around, and not one would affect the other. The writers developed each character so well that it hardly seemed like a cartoon. The "good" Simpsons are timeless. That's the word: Timeless...
...but horrible current political commentary and a Greenday appearance make it painfully clear exactly when this movie came out. If the political commentary was clever or sharp in any way, it MIGHT have worked. Instead, you have your random, cheap laugh, Family Guy-like humor that has unfortunately polluted comedy on screen to the point where it's rare to find something that actually makes your soul giggle and feel like it was worth it (Like the old Simpson seasons).
Why was Burns not the villain? Can someone please explain this to me? It is "THE Simposns movie" for God's sake. The man had one scene. Sorry, I know that this is immature and just plain horrible to say, being that every fan would want to make the movie his/her own way, but c'mon. Team Mr.Burns up with Sideshow Bob! Make us feel like we're in Springfield! Anyways, I'm getting off track. Back to my review: What I love most about the old episodes is, in fact, the heart and moral quality. The movie spent most of its time with bad political humor, Homer acting not quite like himself, and a Bart who we just don't recognize on screen. Bart hates Flanders. We all know this. Bart thinks Homer is an idiot, but he loves him. The whole Bart/Flanders story was awful and just...painful to watch. I don't even need to address Homer trying to win Marge back because we've all seen it a billion times before and this was by far the most predictable unimagined way to tell the classic story that we all love: Homer makes mistake. Marge is mad at Homer. Homer dosen't know what to do. Homer makes everything okay somehow. Homer gets Marge back.
(By the way, in the scene where Homer watches the video Marge left him in the cabin, does Julie Cavner's voice sound a little off? Is it just me?) Oh yeah, and if Homer is messing up , where are Patty and Selma to voice their opinion? Where was Skinner? Where was Poochy? Kidding.
It felt like a stretched-out, recent episode that wasn't quite as bad as other episodes, but definitely not even remotely worthy of the big screen. For Christ's sake, if you're going to make a movie that triggers to the "New Simpson fans," at least give us Gill. Poor Gill.
WORST. MOVIE. EVER.