[7.7/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] This episode is extraordinarily stupid but also extraordinarily funny, and it’s hard to know how to square that. But ultimately, I still liked it quite a bit, and I can appreciate it as a dose of solid comedy (at least until the abbreviated third act), even if the storytelling gets way too cartoony for this series.
The first act is mostly about Homer winning the loyalty of a murder of crows. The gags that ensue are dumb but funny. The crows fetching him donuts and other sundries, Moe’s painting of a “crow bar”, and Homer gently reassuring a freaked out Marge that a group of crowds is called a murder are all solid, albeit loony laughs. But this is also an episode where Homer’s avian allies can understand english, tuck themselves into bed, and fly Maggie from her window, so the whole thing is kind of bonkers.
The highlight of the episode is its second act, where Homer starts using medical marajuana to treat his eye pain after a betrayal from the crows. Let’s be real, most of these are just standard pothead jokes. But man, Jon Vitti and company write them well, and Dan Castelanetta delivers them even better. Just the way he says the word “Wow” in response to Ned’s reading of the Bible, or his mindless THC-infused laughs are infectiously funny. A fun cameo from Phish, and the absurdity of an increasingly disheveled Homer trying and failing to stop medical Mary Jane from being outlawed again won me over. Most Homer humor is founded on him being a big dope anyway, so leaning into that via him partaking in pot is a pretty natural comic move that pays dividends.
Things only come crashing down from there, though. There’s a solid concept to it at first, with a reefer-ruffled Homer stumbling into Burns’ good graces by laughing at his boss’s weak jokes, only to struggle with what got him the job when he can no longer rely on pot. But from there, it turns into an insane Weekend at Bernies homage with a fluid-dripping Burns being controlled by Smithers like a marionette for the plant’s investors. This one’s already pretty wacky, but for some reason, that’s a bridge too far, and not terribly funny.
Still, enough in “Weekend at Burnsies” is to make this one of the humorous highlights of season 13. It’s just a big gag-fest, one that seems to give up all pretense of The Simpsons taking place in reality. But it brings enough laughs to the table to earn a partial pass for it.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-01-19T02:53:30Z
[7.7/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] This episode is extraordinarily stupid but also extraordinarily funny, and it’s hard to know how to square that. But ultimately, I still liked it quite a bit, and I can appreciate it as a dose of solid comedy (at least until the abbreviated third act), even if the storytelling gets way too cartoony for this series.
The first act is mostly about Homer winning the loyalty of a murder of crows. The gags that ensue are dumb but funny. The crows fetching him donuts and other sundries, Moe’s painting of a “crow bar”, and Homer gently reassuring a freaked out Marge that a group of crowds is called a murder are all solid, albeit loony laughs. But this is also an episode where Homer’s avian allies can understand english, tuck themselves into bed, and fly Maggie from her window, so the whole thing is kind of bonkers.
The highlight of the episode is its second act, where Homer starts using medical marajuana to treat his eye pain after a betrayal from the crows. Let’s be real, most of these are just standard pothead jokes. But man, Jon Vitti and company write them well, and Dan Castelanetta delivers them even better. Just the way he says the word “Wow” in response to Ned’s reading of the Bible, or his mindless THC-infused laughs are infectiously funny. A fun cameo from Phish, and the absurdity of an increasingly disheveled Homer trying and failing to stop medical Mary Jane from being outlawed again won me over. Most Homer humor is founded on him being a big dope anyway, so leaning into that via him partaking in pot is a pretty natural comic move that pays dividends.
Things only come crashing down from there, though. There’s a solid concept to it at first, with a reefer-ruffled Homer stumbling into Burns’ good graces by laughing at his boss’s weak jokes, only to struggle with what got him the job when he can no longer rely on pot. But from there, it turns into an insane Weekend at Bernies homage with a fluid-dripping Burns being controlled by Smithers like a marionette for the plant’s investors. This one’s already pretty wacky, but for some reason, that’s a bridge too far, and not terribly funny.
Still, enough in “Weekend at Burnsies” is to make this one of the humorous highlights of season 13. It’s just a big gag-fest, one that seems to give up all pretense of The Simpsons taking place in reality. But it brings enough laughs to the table to earn a partial pass for it.