After 18 seasons, and a massive amount of critical and ratings success, creator Matt Groening and executive producer James L. Brooks give us what die hard fans of the weekly series have been waiting for: “The Simpsons Movie.”
In a wink wink, nudge nudge moment in the film, Homer states, “Who’s the sucker who’ll pay to see something they can watch for free?”
My question exactly. Why go see a movie when I can just turn on the TV? Would this even be worth it?
I found out that it was worth my time and money.
The stage is set when Springfield decides to clean up the polluted Lake Springfield and bans waste dumping there.
However, in typical Homer Simpson (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) fashion, he dumps a silo of his pig’s waste into the lake, which inadvertently dooms all of Springfield, including his family and himself.
Springfield’s lake debacle garners national attention and causes President Schwarzenegger (Harry Shearer) to order to isolate the town from the rest of the world by covering it with a dome.
Now Homer is in trouble with the community and also his family. Homer’s indifference eventually pushes his wife Marge (Julie Kavner) to try to save Springfield on her own.
In this film, satirical humor on religion and politics are a given, but there are moments of emotional clarity that are featured as well.
Homer eventually realizes how much his family really means to him when he feels rejected by Bart (Nancy Cartwright), who connects with neighbor Ned Flanders (Harry Shearer), and has to face the disappointment Marge feels when Homer dumps the silo into the lake.
I do not follow the series religiously, but I enjoyed the film. Fans of the series should be equally as excited about the Simpson’s jump from the small screen to the big screen.
Not every expectation can be met, but with the focus on the environment, we can see the writers experimenting with new material, and that is something any fan can appreciate.
“The Simpson’s Movie” is PG-13 for irreverent humor throughout and can be seen at Carmike 14 Cinemas.

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