Why The Simpsons Shouldn't Run for 87 Minutes

Rating: 5/10 (29 July 2014)

I like The Simpsons. Its one of only two sitcoms I'll watch. They've seen better days, but I'll still defend their newer episodes. So of course I eventually watched their movie. But even after reading reviews, I was still disappointed by how average The Simpsons Movie is.
As many have said, The Simpsons Movie is less a movie and more a long episode. The scope is barely larger than the more outrageous episodes, and the animation is only slightly better. I'd sooner believe it cost $7.5 million to make before $75 million. We're on the big screen, with a higher budget than ever...but why?
The worst part of the movie's mediocrity is the writing. While the usual chuckles are still spread through the film, the arcs of the characters are just rehashes of dozens of episodes. Homer causes chaos because of his selfishness and stupidity. Homer and Marge bicker, but eventually make amends. Homer and Bart settle their differences. Its nothing we haven't seen before. Its totally predicable, yet ultimately pointless. Homer will never grow up, he'll fight with Marge over and over again, and he'll choke his son when it suites the scripts. Not even a big-budget movie can convince The Simpsons to evolve. And you can only run on a premise for so long before it grows stale.
I suppose these problems also exist in the series. But they were contained in 30 minutes, plus commercials. They also used other characters from the show to add spice and satire. They are little more than cameos here.
The Simpsons Movie could have been explosive, emotional, or the bridge to update a tiring franchise. Instead, its nothing. Which isn't to say its unfunny. It just should have been more. I'd only recommend it to devout Simpsons fans, and they've all seen this already.