Doh! Give the gift of 'The Simpsons Movie'
By Bruce R. Miller Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, December 16, 2007
The wait is over.
The DVD version of "The Simpsons Movie" is available this week. For fans -- who waited more than a decade for the film -- that's great news. At home, you can stop the action, read the signs and revel in Springfield.
Better yet? The first family of television manage to tackle everything -- from an overzealous government to Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." The result is a sprawling, often unwieldy film that deserves the time and space it takes.
The plot? Springfield has become so polluted President Arnold Schwarzenegger orders an EPA guy (voiced by Albert Brooks) to put a dome over the town. That causes quite a few problems but doesn't bother Homer because he knows an escape route. Rather than stay and fight, the Simpsons flee to Alaska (from "Dome Sweet Dome" to "Nome Sweet Nome") where life is good, but not that same. That prompts Marge to press her husband to return. When he won't budge, she leaves with the kids. Sure, enough, "The Simpsons Movie" turns into one of those big adventures that only summer seems to embrace. Homer returns, too, but not without a few bumps of his own. (A joke about "a rock and a Hard Place" is classic.)
To make sure all of the family members have a moment, director David Silverman tosses Lisa an Irish boyfriend, Bart a problem with his dad and Maggie the ability to rescue them all.
"The Simpsons Movie" doesn't feature any original songs, but it does have some fun lines ("If you can find a greasier sandwich, you're in Mexico"), film spoofs (Spider-pig, anyone?) and a bit of toon nudity. Bart, it seems, takes his dad's dare to skateboard naked around Springfield. Silverman cleverly disguises the naughty bits (a la "Austin Powers"), then inadvertently lets Bart flash. It's harmless stuff but part of the reason this cartoon got a PG-13 rating.
Marge gets to swear, too, which ups the ante, but nothing in "The Simpsons Movie" is so awful a kid shouldn't see it.
Listen in the theater and you'll hear laughs throughout -- adult and child ones, which says something about the characters' universality.
In the beginning, the Simpsons are in a theater watching an Itchy and Scratchy film, prompting Homer to wonder why anyone would pay to see something they could get at home free.
"The Simpsons Movie" answers the question. It's big -- and chock full of the things that make the series must-viewing. Always defying authority, the Simpsons ensure our freedom to laugh at anything, even government. Look closer and you'll see real political parody. But don't get too close.
Part of the film's fun is its ability to fill a screen with more characters and comedy that you can absorb in one setting.
Ay carumba, dude. They did it.
Also: 'Balls of Fury'
Two words: Don't bother.
Looking a bit like one of the less-distinguished members of "Saturday Night Live," Dan Fogler has great physical ability, not the chops to take a mediocre script and make it memorable.
"Balls" is discount "Dodgeball" - a lame comedy that elevates Ping-Pong to prime time prominence. Fogler, a former wunderkind who lost at the Seoul games, has never regained his stride.
Still, there's an international plot bubbling that suggests an evil mastermind (Christopher Walken) is pitting powerhouse against powerhouse. An FBI agent (George Lopez) drafts Fogler and puts him in the line of fire. The result? One of those unbelievable competitions that gives new meaning to "sudden death."
Created by the folks behind "Reno: 911," "Balls" has the same sensibility, not the same quality. Its script seems unfinished; its look is cheap.
Directed by Ben Garant, it's just one title riff after another.
Fogler has potential to be another heir to John Belushi. He just doesn't know how to work the camera the way Thomas Lennon does. As a German rival, Lennon knows just how to raise an eyebrow for supreme effect.
James Hong (as Fogler's "Karate Kid" muse) is well-versed, too. But Walken is so under-directed he's practically a parody of himself. Wearing geisha robes and wigs, he's in his own world, expecting everyone else to catch up.
No one does, but "Balls" hits the wall long before that reality hits.
This is a Ben Stiller film without Ben Stiller's talent. It's a dumb idea made dumber by its inability to suck us in and hammer the fury out.
When Ferrell made his skating and racecar spoofs, he had more than a single joke in mind. Here, it's hard to laugh at the one the creators are serving up.
It's ping without the pong. "Balls" without any of the fury.
Also:
Film: "Blade Runner"; "Boy Eats Girl"; "Braveheart," special edition; "Bring it On: In it to Win It"; "Cinderella II"; "Deep Water"; "The Evil Dead"; "Halloween"; "Hatchet"; "Illegal Tender"; "National Treasure"; "Once"; "Stardust"; "Underdog"
TV: "The Adeventures of Young Indiana Jones," volume two; "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," volume five; "Mod Squad," season one; "One Tree Hill," season four.
The DVD version of "The Simpsons Movie" is available this week. For fans -- who waited more than a decade for the film -- that's great news. At home, you can stop the action, read the signs and revel in Springfield.
Better yet? The first family of television manage to tackle everything -- from an overzealous government to Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." The result is a sprawling, often unwieldy film that deserves the time and space it takes.
The plot? Springfield has become so polluted President Arnold Schwarzenegger orders an EPA guy (voiced by Albert Brooks) to put a dome over the town. That causes quite a few problems but doesn't bother Homer because he knows an escape route. Rather than stay and fight, the Simpsons flee to Alaska (from "Dome Sweet Dome" to "Nome Sweet Nome") where life is good, but not that same. That prompts Marge to press her husband to return. When he won't budge, she leaves with the kids. Sure, enough, "The Simpsons Movie" turns into one of those big adventures that only summer seems to embrace. Homer returns, too, but not without a few bumps of his own. (A joke about "a rock and a Hard Place" is classic.)
To make sure all of the family members have a moment, director David Silverman tosses Lisa an Irish boyfriend, Bart a problem with his dad and Maggie the ability to rescue them all.
"The Simpsons Movie" doesn't feature any original songs, but it does have some fun lines ("If you can find a greasier sandwich, you're in Mexico"), film spoofs (Spider-pig, anyone?) and a bit of toon nudity. Bart, it seems, takes his dad's dare to skateboard naked around Springfield. Silverman cleverly disguises the naughty bits (a la "Austin Powers"), then inadvertently lets Bart flash. It's harmless stuff but part of the reason this cartoon got a PG-13 rating.
Marge gets to swear, too, which ups the ante, but nothing in "The Simpsons Movie" is so awful a kid shouldn't see it.
Listen in the theater and you'll hear laughs throughout -- adult and child ones, which says something about the characters' universality.
In the beginning, the Simpsons are in a theater watching an Itchy and Scratchy film, prompting Homer to wonder why anyone would pay to see something they could get at home free.
"The Simpsons Movie" answers the question. It's big -- and chock full of the things that make the series must-viewing. Always defying authority, the Simpsons ensure our freedom to laugh at anything, even government. Look closer and you'll see real political parody. But don't get too close.
Part of the film's fun is its ability to fill a screen with more characters and comedy that you can absorb in one setting.
Ay carumba, dude. They did it.
Also: 'Balls of Fury'
Two words: Don't bother.
Looking a bit like one of the less-distinguished members of "Saturday Night Live," Dan Fogler has great physical ability, not the chops to take a mediocre script and make it memorable.
"Balls" is discount "Dodgeball" - a lame comedy that elevates Ping-Pong to prime time prominence. Fogler, a former wunderkind who lost at the Seoul games, has never regained his stride.
Still, there's an international plot bubbling that suggests an evil mastermind (Christopher Walken) is pitting powerhouse against powerhouse. An FBI agent (George Lopez) drafts Fogler and puts him in the line of fire. The result? One of those unbelievable competitions that gives new meaning to "sudden death."
Created by the folks behind "Reno: 911," "Balls" has the same sensibility, not the same quality. Its script seems unfinished; its look is cheap.
Directed by Ben Garant, it's just one title riff after another.
Fogler has potential to be another heir to John Belushi. He just doesn't know how to work the camera the way Thomas Lennon does. As a German rival, Lennon knows just how to raise an eyebrow for supreme effect.
James Hong (as Fogler's "Karate Kid" muse) is well-versed, too. But Walken is so under-directed he's practically a parody of himself. Wearing geisha robes and wigs, he's in his own world, expecting everyone else to catch up.
No one does, but "Balls" hits the wall long before that reality hits.
This is a Ben Stiller film without Ben Stiller's talent. It's a dumb idea made dumber by its inability to suck us in and hammer the fury out.
When Ferrell made his skating and racecar spoofs, he had more than a single joke in mind. Here, it's hard to laugh at the one the creators are serving up.
It's ping without the pong. "Balls" without any of the fury.
Also:
Film: "Blade Runner"; "Boy Eats Girl"; "Braveheart," special edition; "Bring it On: In it to Win It"; "Cinderella II"; "Deep Water"; "The Evil Dead"; "Halloween"; "Hatchet"; "Illegal Tender"; "National Treasure"; "Once"; "Stardust"; "Underdog"
TV: "The Adeventures of Young Indiana Jones," volume two; "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," volume five; "Mod Squad," season one; "One Tree Hill," season four.
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