I went and saw the Simpsons Movie on Saturday evening and I still am not sure how to review it. The parameters for doing so are as uneven as the show has been over the last 10 years. Should I judge it on its own merits and not compare it to the show? If I do compare it to the show, do I look at the entire 18 years of it, the last 10, or the show at its peak (seasons 3-9, with the peak in my expert opinion coming in Season 8 (1996-97) - Kang and Kodos as Clinton and Dole, Hank Scorpio, Homer as a boxer, Rodney Dangerfield guesting, Bart working at a brothel, Flanders nervous breakdown, Homer's spiritual quest, Homer seeing an alien, Rex Banner and prohibition and way too many other great episodes)?
Was it a good movie? Absolutely. I was laughing my ass off at many of the jokes. The writers came up with an interesting story and filled it with plenty of jokes. The biggest problem I had was the "what-ifs". What if they made the movie ten years ago? What if Phil Hartman was still alive to voice some of the most classic characters (Troy McClure, Lionel Hutz and Lyle Lanley the monorail salesman)? What if they brought Conan O'Brien back as a writer? The other major question was where were Sideshow Bob and Sideshow Mel? I read one review that had a comment that really rang true (apologies to whoever wrote it that I am not giving you proper credit), that it seemed the writers, producers and the director played it too safe. One of the greatest things about the South Park movie was that Trey Parker and Matt Stone saw the line and jumped clear over it, by turning it into quite possibly the greatest movie-musical of all time. This movie played like a good episode of the show and compared to the last 10 years, possibly the best of the lot. However, when one considers what could have been back in the show's heyday, it is simply enjoyable and watchable.
5 out of 6 beers - namely because it exceeded the low expectations established by the last 10 years, but it couldn't quite meet the high expectations of the show at its peak.
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