The Simpsons Movie (2007) Reviews

• Not The Simpsons I grew up with...

  gregory433232007-07-29

  I'll be honest, I don't think any of the reviewers that have given this movie 10 stars have seen any episodes of the show pre-2000. I went into the movie thinking it would probably be decent. I figured it would probably be in the style of the newer episodes but with better overall material. That's pretty much how it turned out. Anyone who says it was a return to the older *better* Simpsons is kidding themselves. The Simpsons greatness was based, in my opinion, on two things: characters that we imagine existing in our society (think the comic book guy, Moe, Flanders) and simply hilarious and very quotable lines. This formula has since been replaced by humor that is situationally based, and quite frankly, just not very funny. I saw this movie yesterday afternoon, and I can hardly think of one line that had me cracking up. There were some funny moments, yes, but nothing comparable to the brilliant one-liners from the show's glory years.

• "That's good..but not great"

  jdwhite792007-07-27

  My thoughts on the movie can be summed up by that Homer Simpson quote above (and if you are the type of person who recognizes that quote and remembers what scene it is from then you probably share my sentiments). The movie was decent, better than anything produced in the last 5-6 years, but still far short of the glory days (Seasons 5 - 9). Here is basically what kept this movie from being really great: 1) very minimal focus on supporting characters...some characters (Sideshow Bob, Skinner, Supernintendo Chalmers, Skinner's mother, Apu, Gil, Groundskeeper Willie, Milhouse's parents, Sideshow Mel) were completely nonexistent. Oh, and Flanders (the secondary character who was featured the most) had 1 funny line at most. (the one about Buddha). 2) I understand that a movie needs a much deeper plot since it is much longer than an episode but this was just focused too much on the plot and not enough on creating worthwhile funny gags. Also, episodes usually have 2-3 different ideas going on at the same time but this didn't really (at least outside the Simpson family). There was the whole Simpsons running away which turned into saving Springfield thing. The only other plot ideas were the Homer & Marge (which has been done at least, what 5 times already) and Homer & Bart (which has also been done several times). 3) Most of the humor in the film was shallow, slapstick humor, not the good deep sarcastic, witty humor we've come to know and appreciate (And you call them steamed hams despite the fact that they are obviously grilled..Well, I,..Um, One thing I should....). It seems to me that this movie was clearly made with the masses in mind (as compared to hardcore fans) and the type of humor/jokes reflected this. An example: I thought the following line was one of the funniest in the movie: Cletus: You know how I'm able to that trick with my thumb Cargill: 4 generations (or 40 years I can't remember which he says) of successful inbreeding? In the theater like 3 people laughed (and I was one of them). Yet at the start of the movie when Homer was trying to hammer the nail and he jammed the hammer in his eye, the whole crowd (except for me) was going nuts. Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie..I just didn't love it..I don't remember any lines/gags/scenes which are so memorable as to repeat over and over again (i.e. Pray for Mojo, Steamed Hams, Homer buying the matter transporter--"2 dollars..um, well, I don't know.... I'll give you 35 cents"...) Oh and one other thing. If you see a review from a person who says that this was the funniest movie ever and non-stop laughs, etc..they probably weren't born before 1990 and haven't seen any Simpsons episodes pre-2000 because there's no way any hardcore tried and true Simpsons fan would have come to that conclusion after seeing this.

• I'm so glad it didn't suck!!!

  rayato2007-07-25

  Let me just say I had my doubts. The last couple of seasons of 'The Simpsons' have been lackluster at best and I genuinely thought that their chance to make a great Simpsons film passed roughly 10 years ago. BOY WAS I WRONG!!! I am a huge Simpsons nerd and it is my privilege to say that "The Simpsons Movie" belongs in the very small group of classic Simpsons episodes ("Bart the Daredevil", "Mr. Plow", etc.) Very funny and very timely. Great animation and some nice cameos. Really don't want to give any spoilers so I'll just say if you're a Simpsons fan: you will love this movie. And if you agree that the Simpsons lost their edge, you will be pleasantly surprised as was I. 8.5/10

• Hole in the D'oh-nut not too large to jump a shark!

  andrewinet2007-07-28

  'The Simpsons' TV show is best in the business for plot twists, outrageous reversals, whiplash satire and one-liners, making the best episodes as satisfying as many great films. Topping that - or even matching it - with the long awaited movie was always going to be a challenge. I was entertained but, truthfully, no more than a middling episode of the series. The richness of the Springfield lore and background characters is sidelined to focus on the family itself, with too much Homer in particular - yes, I never thought I'd say that, but it's true. We love 'The Simpsons' for its frenetic pace; it's clear here the writers struggled with the structure for a longer format. Possibly a Robert Altman / 'Nashville' approach would have worked better, or maybe something like "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", allowing us to see the great range of characters and supporting a stronger, over-arching story. The decision to focus almost exclusively on the family itself brought out the TV show's occasional tendency towards sentimentality - Colin & Lisa? Went nowhere. Flanders & Bart? Didn't buy it for a second. Oval Office scenes? Rainer Wolfcastle would have been funnier, or GWB passing the buck that bit edgier. This isn't meant to be The Waltons! More playfulness with the film format itself would have been welcome too - the opening 'Itchy & Scratchy' sequence and Homer's response were great but, as it turned out, too little too early for the film seldom ventured from the straight & narrow thereafter. Maybe Terry Gilliam to direct Simpsons II? Early rumours (some time ago, I know) suggested the Simpsons Movie would be the final word on the show, but the commitment to another couple of seasons meant the film lost that seat-of-the-pants, anything-could-happen edge. I really believe the team should have one last hurrah with a final movie. Just don't try to jump the shark - blast it out of the water! Get radical, guys - that's when you're at your best!

• Not very original or funny

  ultimecia_omega2007-07-30

  This post contains some mild spoilers. The long awaited Simpsons Movie has arrived and at first glance it seems to be doing really well. It's had some good reviews in the media and it's doing well on IMDb. Im not particularly sure why though. I found The Simpsons Movie to be an overly long episode of the later seasons quality. The "funny" gags were few and far between (Spider Pig just was not funny), there wasn't nearly enough screen time for some of the fan favourite characters (skinner, moe, barney...for example) but i can understand its hard to please everyone in such a limited amount of time. The overall plot of the story felt no different to what you might see in your average episode and used the same old routines we have grown tired of (Marge leaving homer, the town of springfield VS simpsons, nelsons laughing are some examples). The animation was top notch as you would expect and i particularly enjoyed the music which didn't quite feel like your average Simpsons music but i thought it matched the movie quite well. After such a long wait and much hype i can honestly say i was disappointed with The Simpsons Movie. Perhaps i was expecting too much though. Nevertheless i would still recommend seeing this movie, it was still entertaining and it did have some stellar laugh out loud moments (moe's bar scene was hilarious), just nowhere near enough for a Simpsons Movie. 6/10