Wow, sometimes something that looks good on paper doesn't quite work out on screen, and it's hard to parse why, specifically.

I'll be the first to admit, sometimes the Simpsons got too much for me. Year after year, I sort of glazed over the good stuff, the frenetic, fast-paced edgy dialog and situational comedy, and couldn't see past the basics: a yellow family of dopes running around dealing with the same people over and over and over. When i liked Simpsons, I REALLY like Simpsons, and when it bores me, I guess it REALLY bores me.

However, recent seasons of Simpsons really amped up the variety, the random, often surreal references, and most of all, the clever subversion of mainstream cultural issues. I guess I just assumed that the film would be more of the same. But it totally didn't work.

I think there's something to the issue that the Simpsons appeals to a huge swath of cultural demographics, young and old and conservative and liberal, animation buffs and kids, amused parents and geeks, everyone. But the money being made on the Simpsons isn't on the intelligence of the show, but on the recognizable imagery, the familiar, lovingly appalling characters, and the 'collect them all' quality of character recognition and retention. Essentially, the cartoon is fun for kids, and sells product. I fear they dumbed down this script, and even more obviously, the pacing, to appeal to the mainstream at the expense of the cleverness and pacing that I enjoy the most. They marketed the Simpsons movie to the world, and sad to say, that meant slowing it down.

The pacing was clearly slower. A second longer after visual gags, the virtual lens lingering on a hammy expression or obvious explanation that' totally unnecessary. Dialog was frequently drawn out, almost filler in quality. Much of the personality of the various Springfield residents was bled out, most of them relegated to chanting, clapping, cheering, ranting, and running around in weird CGI crowds. The dialog, while having it's moments here and there, was disturbingly straight-forward. There wasn't enough zing, and certainly not enough clever wordplay. It was face value. The animation quality, such as it is on an abstractly styled show like this, was uneven. Maybe it's years of watching the polished show, but I became very aware when scenes felt off, inking became scratchy, or when the CGI cell-framing, seen in Futurama, was used. It was distracting. I guess that's the danger of an otherwise incredibly consistent animation style.

Overall, it reminded me more than ever why Family Guy, despite the hammy animation choices, seems to have inherited the Simpsons crown for subversive, fast-paced, intelligent humor clothed in harmless-looking cartoon style.

All was not lost, however, There were several laugh-out-louds, dare I say it. Little things cracked me up, though not necessarily my sophisticated viewing companion. Comic Book Guy, at one point, when trying to help decipher Grandpa's mysterious tongue-spoken warnings to the town (the word "epah!" which had eluded their comprehension) offered that it was the sound Green Lantern made when Sinestro banished him to something or other... then he acted the scene out in a half-assed, ate too many nachos kind of way. I liked that.
Another scene included the family moving to the unspoiled paradise of Alaska, to escape Springfield's pollution issues, only to discover that the Alaskans gleefully sell their souls on a regular basis to corporate environmental harvesting of natural resources. They are even give a grand in cash when they enter the state. The whole thing was pretty good political satire. I also liked the whole intro with Itchy and Scratchy as astronauts, that became it's own little animated Citizen Kane, with Itchy murdering Scratchy (or vice versa) returning as the solemn only survivor, becoming president, but being haunted by his crime. I even found the Spider-Pig's dim expression pretty amusing (and the Inuit chorus of the Spider-Pig song towards the painful end ('does whatever...a Spider-Pig does') but in the way, I'm afraid, I expected to enjoy Ralph and some of the others.

All in all, this was another film where I was struck more by the absence of brilliance than any single wrong move. The bar was set high by the best of the shows, and unfortunately, the film was 90 minutes of Itchy in my spine, not Itchy making me laugh, so I was disappointed.

Your mileage may vary!

4/10 Clicks

Related posts:

1. Simpsons Spoils Lost Sorta Kinda
2. 3Caps – Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special
3. Review: Reefer Madness : the Movie Musical

You know, I look at this picture and I feel like I SHOULD like it.



Note...

~> Suicide doors.
~> Chrome 22s.
~> Ice bucket in back console.
~> Handgun shifter.
~> "MOBSTR" debossed in door leather.
~> Oddly attractive carshow porno starlets.

But yet, something's so wrong.

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2. Wrong: Epitaph Mountain Carvings
3. Wrong: Vat Grown Hamster Cloak, Dead

I am really quite taken by the gorgeous star of Chuck, and Ferguson is one of the best interviewers on TV (only Jon Stewart is in his league); I love the way she says 'no' as a two-syllable word.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP0kqwwF5fY

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2. September = Chuck-tember!
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I declare wrong only because it's false, not because people still believe this Worth1000 photo is real, just because the press got a hold of it overseas...

http://www.snopes.com/photos/odd/giantman.asp

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1. Wrong: Worth 1000′s Mutant Animals
2. Wrong: Giant Inflatable Monkey Crotch
3. Wrong: Giant Hamburger’s Pooh vs Aliens Mashup

If you pay attention around here, you'll have noted that Lung and i both are kind of addicting to modding stuff, often for no good reason. Few mods are as satisfying as unnecessary aesthetic tweaks.

I'm all over this. Got the firmware ready and am good to go:



It's a mod that tweaks your conventional iPod to make use of the iPod Touch's graphic interface (sand touchscreen) which basically means, GRAPHIC user interface on the iPod.

I'll report on the results after i do it.

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2. iPod Touch : Upgrades!
3. the ipod shuffle finally appeals to me

Man, this had me all kinds of cracking up. And not JUST because it's red and awesome and well-detailed.

http://technabob.com/blog/2007/12/19/wo ... dboard-pc/

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2. Wrong: Worst Wrong non-Bomb Threat Since Boston
3. Wrong: drive, talk and shave

Spoiler space, because I'm nice occasionally...
















I'm giving ONE last warning!!






















The new Captain America is indeed the Winter Soldier. He agrees to become Cap in next week's "Captain America" #33. As long as he doesn't have to answer to Stark, he'll play the role. Discuss.

Related posts:

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2. Captain America Spoilers…
3. Cap Event in Summer 09?

They told me there were no cameras allowed!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/18/sing ... -hang-out/

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From the Too Strange to Not Own Department:
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/12/17/un ... anese.html

the links just went down for whatever reason, but if they come back up, there's a shot of the kit itself. The boar is motorized, on wheels, and has a creepy black hide.

Related posts:

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3. Wrong: Theres a BOAR In the Way

#
?Do they ask questions about classified subjects?
#
?Do they seem unusually strong, smart or self-assured?
#
?Do they say God instead of Gods?
#
?Have you seen them before, but you know it's not the same person?
#
?Do you see them hanging around secured or restricted areas?
#
?Do they seem to hear music that no one else can hear?
#
?Do they seem unusually fearless, as if death has no meaning for them?
#
?Do they exhibit sociopathic behavior around other humans, especially defenseless children?
#
?Are they unusually adept, almost empathic, with machines?
#
?Does their spine glow red when they get... excited?

http://www.quantummechanix.com/HowToSpotaCylon.html

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1. Get Your Own Full-Scale Cylon, Scare Self to the Deaths
2. Wrongrobot’s Worlds Collide; Tina Fey Edition
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