[3.8/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] I don’t think I realized how rough Al Jean’s stewardship of The Simpsons could be until Matt Selman took over as showrunner. I haven't loved every episode of season 35, but even some of the weaker entries are head and shoulders above this one, written and showrun by Jean. The tone just feels so dead and random and unpleasant. It’s easy to become inured to that when you’re receiving it every week, but when you only get Al’s style periodically like this, it’s downright bracing.
Let’s highlight the two good things in this episode. One, its heart is in the right place. The idea that Marge feels unappreciated, and deserves to be recognized for how much she does for the family is a nice emotional throughline. The notion that after how much of herself she gives in service of Our Favorite Family, it is right, not just permitted, for her to do something nice for herself, is a solid idea.
Two, the ending is sweet. Homer finally seeing how much Marge does, understanding how much she deserves recognition and a chance to treat herself for that, and wishing he’d done it himself is sweet. The effort by the show to pay tribute to Marge, and by extension, the many parents like her, is warm-hearted and commendable.
It just does next to nothing to earn that warmth.
We’ve played this game before, so I won’t belabor the point, but suffice it to say, you can't spend 95% of the episode with Homer being an oblivious jerk, and Marge being an exaggerated cartoon character, and then try to patch it all up with some treacle at the literal last minute. There’s no sense of build or a growing epiphany or sense of mutual understanding. Instead, Homer is an ass for the vast majority of the episode, has a too-late realization, and everything’s supposed to be fine.
Maybe it would be if this episode weren’t painfully unfunny. I’ll give it this much -- there’s nothing offensively bad here. Sometimes the jokes in latter day Al Jean episodes are awful in a way that makes you cringe. The whole shtick with Smithers dyeing his har post Barbie comes close, but thankfully that's the worst of it.
Unfortunately, what we do get is a bunch of bland gags that are all but devoid of humor. The whole exchange with Comic Book Guy’s pants-collecting cousin is stupid and laughless. The return of The Yes Guy is fine, but all the crud involving jewelry purchases has no bite or even chuckles to it. The random interlude with Burns seems to be going for a more conversational style of comedy that falls entirely flat in the execution.
And god help me, the songs! Why the songs?! Simpsons ringer singer Kipp Lemon does a great job replicating the sound and feel of Elton John’s music, but the lyrics have no comic punch to them. The riff on “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” about Homer being a bad husband is even more tepid, and maybe worse than the one from the Xmas episode. What’s the deal with bad, useless songs this season? It’s a strange recurring thing that you can't pin on Al Jean.
I’ll give the episode credit for the wordplay of “Photo Oppenheimer”, but otherwise this one is a comedy desert, which drags just about everything else down.
Unfortunately, the plot is not particularly good either. Again, there’s something to be said for the idea of Marge feeling overlooked and overwhelmed. The Simpsons did a good job exploring that idea in “Homer Alone” and even in the writer-maligned “Some Enchanted Evening”. But here, all we get is an abortive, extended dream sequence fake out, loony complaints and problems from the family (dog-heimers? really?), and a bizarre way for Marge to get some solace.
I get what they’re going for here -- with Marge wanting to do something special just for her and feeling guilty about it. Again, you could do something with that! There’s real meat in the idea that Marge has internalized her own subservience to the point that she feels ashamed of treating herself once in a while. But excruciating interludes where she improbably sells a pair of antique pants, and then buys a fancy ring, and then goes on a goofy sequence where she tries to hide it around the house robs the situation of any real humanity. If you want us to feel for these characters, you have to make them and the situation feel at least a little bit real. This doesn’t. It feels like an over-the-top excuse for some meh-at-best humor, and then the show wants to turn around and try to make meaning out of it.
Worse yet, the show wants to have its cake and eat it too with Homer. At first, he’s not ignoring Marge's needs; he’s just subject to a cell service blocker at Moe’s. (Why? This is such a stupid narrative framing.) But then, he’s rude to Marge about his torn pants, and doesn’t let her know about his tickets to a baseball game, and even starts out the final scene mad at her for not doing her usual “duties” around the house. He really sucks here, and that can work if you’re telling a story about Homer realizing he’s wrong and should appreciate his wife, but you can't just tack that on in the final ninety seconds of the episode!
I’ve said this before, but none of the emotional material in the episode is earned. It’s just a bunch of bad jokes and cartoon character nonsense that they hope to save with a last second turn towards earnestness. That approach absolutely does not work.
Overall, this one is a reminder that while the Matt Selman era certainly has its ups and downs like any show; it’s still a welcome change from getting this style and tack from the series on a weekly basis.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2024-05-09T23:07:11Z
[3.8/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] I don’t think I realized how rough Al Jean’s stewardship of The Simpsons could be until Matt Selman took over as showrunner. I haven't loved every episode of season 35, but even some of the weaker entries are head and shoulders above this one, written and showrun by Jean. The tone just feels so dead and random and unpleasant. It’s easy to become inured to that when you’re receiving it every week, but when you only get Al’s style periodically like this, it’s downright bracing.
Let’s highlight the two good things in this episode. One, its heart is in the right place. The idea that Marge feels unappreciated, and deserves to be recognized for how much she does for the family is a nice emotional throughline. The notion that after how much of herself she gives in service of Our Favorite Family, it is right, not just permitted, for her to do something nice for herself, is a solid idea.
Two, the ending is sweet. Homer finally seeing how much Marge does, understanding how much she deserves recognition and a chance to treat herself for that, and wishing he’d done it himself is sweet. The effort by the show to pay tribute to Marge, and by extension, the many parents like her, is warm-hearted and commendable.
It just does next to nothing to earn that warmth.
We’ve played this game before, so I won’t belabor the point, but suffice it to say, you can't spend 95% of the episode with Homer being an oblivious jerk, and Marge being an exaggerated cartoon character, and then try to patch it all up with some treacle at the literal last minute. There’s no sense of build or a growing epiphany or sense of mutual understanding. Instead, Homer is an ass for the vast majority of the episode, has a too-late realization, and everything’s supposed to be fine.
Maybe it would be if this episode weren’t painfully unfunny. I’ll give it this much -- there’s nothing offensively bad here. Sometimes the jokes in latter day Al Jean episodes are awful in a way that makes you cringe. The whole shtick with Smithers dyeing his har post Barbie comes close, but thankfully that's the worst of it.
Unfortunately, what we do get is a bunch of bland gags that are all but devoid of humor. The whole exchange with Comic Book Guy’s pants-collecting cousin is stupid and laughless. The return of The Yes Guy is fine, but all the crud involving jewelry purchases has no bite or even chuckles to it. The random interlude with Burns seems to be going for a more conversational style of comedy that falls entirely flat in the execution.
And god help me, the songs! Why the songs?! Simpsons ringer singer Kipp Lemon does a great job replicating the sound and feel of Elton John’s music, but the lyrics have no comic punch to them. The riff on “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” about Homer being a bad husband is even more tepid, and maybe worse than the one from the Xmas episode. What’s the deal with bad, useless songs this season? It’s a strange recurring thing that you can't pin on Al Jean.
I’ll give the episode credit for the wordplay of “Photo Oppenheimer”, but otherwise this one is a comedy desert, which drags just about everything else down.
Unfortunately, the plot is not particularly good either. Again, there’s something to be said for the idea of Marge feeling overlooked and overwhelmed. The Simpsons did a good job exploring that idea in “Homer Alone” and even in the writer-maligned “Some Enchanted Evening”. But here, all we get is an abortive, extended dream sequence fake out, loony complaints and problems from the family (dog-heimers? really?), and a bizarre way for Marge to get some solace.
I get what they’re going for here -- with Marge wanting to do something special just for her and feeling guilty about it. Again, you could do something with that! There’s real meat in the idea that Marge has internalized her own subservience to the point that she feels ashamed of treating herself once in a while. But excruciating interludes where she improbably sells a pair of antique pants, and then buys a fancy ring, and then goes on a goofy sequence where she tries to hide it around the house robs the situation of any real humanity. If you want us to feel for these characters, you have to make them and the situation feel at least a little bit real. This doesn’t. It feels like an over-the-top excuse for some meh-at-best humor, and then the show wants to turn around and try to make meaning out of it.
Worse yet, the show wants to have its cake and eat it too with Homer. At first, he’s not ignoring Marge's needs; he’s just subject to a cell service blocker at Moe’s. (Why? This is such a stupid narrative framing.) But then, he’s rude to Marge about his torn pants, and doesn’t let her know about his tickets to a baseball game, and even starts out the final scene mad at her for not doing her usual “duties” around the house. He really sucks here, and that can work if you’re telling a story about Homer realizing he’s wrong and should appreciate his wife, but you can't just tack that on in the final ninety seconds of the episode!
I’ve said this before, but none of the emotional material in the episode is earned. It’s just a bunch of bad jokes and cartoon character nonsense that they hope to save with a last second turn towards earnestness. That approach absolutely does not work.
Overall, this one is a reminder that while the Matt Selman era certainly has its ups and downs like any show; it’s still a welcome change from getting this style and tack from the series on a weekly basis.