Decent

Rating: 7/10 (3 August 2008)

I am not an avid viewer of The Simpsons and have only seen a few episodes, which were fine but didn't set the world alight. I approached this movie with anticipation as the hype surrounding it was mammoth.
The hype was over the top but it was a good comedy with a message that is important. However quotes from the press like "best comedy of the decade- News of the World" and "laugh a minute" from reviewers on IMDb are far fetched. This movie has extreme high points but it misses regularly. Scenes like Bart's skateboarding naked and the regular gay jokes are brilliant. As are the scene with Mr Burns' suicide quip and 'Grand Theft Walrus'. There's also beautifully animated scenes including Homer's broken snow heart but there are also the low points; Homer and Bart on the roof is yawnsome and a terrible final scene as is Tom Hanks unfunny cameo.
It feels in the film as if the makers were torn between commercial success and making the best movie they could. At times the adult themed jokes and innuendo is great but then scenes of Homer or Bart getting injured are put in for kids to laugh at. And is it so impossible for kids to enjoy a scene without action or dialogue; Homer's broken snow heart and the touching Carpenter's classic song deserved longer on screen.
Schwarzenegger as president was really good but the underuse of certain characters like Maggie, Mr Burns and Krusty meant Homer, Bart and Marge got to take up most of the screen time with their insanely annoying voices (clear your throats and Bart stop laughing).
As for the story, it is good and the Alaskan animation is lovely. Unfortunately Homer is hard to like and the father-son relationship is inconsequential as both Homer and Bart are irritating and to be honest have very few redeeming features.
My favourite show on TV is Family Guy and even though Peter Griffin is sexist and stupid he is ridiculous in his attempts to do good and bad, which lead to hilariously compromising situations. And at the end of the day he always cares about his family. Homer to me just feels hollow and is hard to like. His epiphany (very funny) feels unreal and I can't say I was rooting for him and Bart to survive.
In all The Simpsons survives the hype but it could have been so much better with a more adult rating. Now excuse me I'm going off to watch Family Guy. No annoying voices, great belly laughs and a baby who wants world domination and his mother dead. Watch and you will not be disappointed.