Decent film that does not compare to the best seasons

Rating: 7/10 (27 August 2008)

When I listened that they were going to make a Simpsons movie I had all the bad sentiments for how bad the last seven seasons have been. The show has become an incoherent succession of unfunny events with one-liners scattered here and there and has lost all the spirit that made the show so good in the beginning, and I was afraid the movie would be a continuation of this. Well, my expectations were so low that I actually thought the movie was fine although it doesn't compare to the best episodes in the starting seasons.
The Simpsons was always an intelligent criticism to society, episodes made you think and there were one-liners yes but these served as a complement to the humour and not as the only thing on which the show hangs on. There were very established characters, funny references to pop culture but above all, the show had a heart and created many memorable moments that were why the series was so successful and gained its so deserved reputation. Sadly, the late seasons have destroyed whatever character development was established before, with characters not acting as we knew them but in some random strange way for the sake of creating some ridiculous plot. The trade-mark criticism to society has gone, leaving the episodes insipid and empty, and there are no memorable moments to remind us that the characters we were watching were actually very human and a (if stretched) reflection of society.
The movie however respected the built-up character of the protagonists (even though this is in relation to the late seasons) and at least did not change it further - although Bart going with Flanders could have never happened. The plot was better than anything seen in the last years of the TV show but does not compare to the brilliant starting seasons. There were no moments to remember in this movie but at least there were some nice touches like giving Maggie her character back and better jokes than they have been used to lately. All in all, I think this movie looked better for me given the very low expectations I had, but it is sad to know that the show will never go back to be the same and that it is now living off its reputation, with less and less people watching that it will eventually have to die.