Movie Review: The Simpsons Movie

Films that make me laugh within two minutes are very rare. Those that manage to do so within twenty seconds have practically never existed. Until now. The Simpsons Movie is a cracker right from the 20th Century Fox logo, where Ralph Wiggum pops up and does his own rendition of the company's celebrated fanfare. This shouldn't be unexpected, given the TV show, the most popular animated program of all time, has made fun of Fox countless times over the course of 18 seasons and 400 episodes.

Now that the world's favorite yellow family has finally made the transition to the big screen, they even have the guts to do some self-spoofing, as the most famous dumb-ass in animation history, Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta), in a moment of truly inspired meta-cinematic madness (another one being Bart writing "I will not illegally download this movie" on the chalkboard), states while watching an Itchy & Scratchy movie with his kids: "Why pay for something we can get for free on the TV? I say everyone in this movie theater is a sucker! Especially YOU!". The last sentence is accompanied by his finger pointing directly at the camera, before the familiar title sequence begins, proving beyond any doubt that: a) Homer is deservedly considered the greatest television character ever aside from Fonzie; b) It was totally worth waiting 18 years for The Simpsons Movie.

Having been kept a secret for months prior to the film's release, the plot is actually ridiculously simple: because of the growing concern for the environment, no one is allowed to dump garbage in Lake Springfield anymore. However, someone ignores this and dumps a load of pig, uh, crap in the water, causing a major pollution and prompting the President, Arnold Schwarzenegger (!), to charge Russ Cargill (Simpsons veteran Albert Brooks) with securing the area.

Hence a gigantic glass dome that isolates Springfield from the rest of the world, prompting the inhabitants to put a price on the responsible's head. His name? Homer Simpson, of course ("D'oh!").Naturally, he chooses to run off to Alaska, only to realize he will eventually have to deal with what he has done and seek forgiveness. But given he is Homer, he might as well try to have some fun on the way, leaving it to Marge (Julie Kavner), Lisa (Yeardley Smith) and everyone's favorite TV brat, Bart (Nancy Cartwright), to actually save the day.

Considering the differences in creative freedom between big and small screen, one might think, even hope, The Simpsons Movie will be edgier than the TV version. Those people will be sorely disappointed, as the film tries to be nothing more than a 90-minute version of one of the best episodes of the show, and succeeds. Then again, it's not like the feature length counterparts of Beavis & Butt-head or South Park were that different from the network originals (aside from the swearing not being bleeped out in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut). And in the particular case of The Simpsons, its longevity has made it an indelible, recognizable part of everyday life, meaning any changes in tone or themes would be like betraying the show's spirit.

Thus, except for a few PG-13 gags regarding sexual orientation (Ned Flanders: "The Lord invites me to confess to something" Homer: "Gay gay gay gay gay gay gay...") and bestiality (Homer's weird relationship with a pig), everything is just as all remember it: Lisa is still an annoying smart kid, Bart is still a master of mischief, his dad is still incredibly, deliriously moronic, Mr. Burns (creepy, despite only two scenes at his disposal) is still a vicious evildoer, and the movie is a rock-solid reminder of why the series is the ultimate cult program.

All a die-hard Simpsons fan is looking for, he will find here. Hilarious physical gags? Check, in fact the bigger screen allows the 11 writers (just imagine if this gets an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay), including creator Matt Groening, to come up with more spectacular stuff than usual (just watch as Homer finds himself between a rock and a hard place - literally!). Tender moments between Homer and Marge? Heck, probably the best in Simpsons history! The big, fat bloke strangling Bart? Check ("I'll teach you to laugh at something that's funny!"). Movie spoofs? Check ("Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig..."). Celebrity guest appearances? Just one (Tom Hanks), but it is priceless.

In the end, all these things turn The Simpsons Movie into an unstoppable gag-machine, a film that will make you laugh for the entirety of its running time, the most fun anyone will have in a cinema this year. It is so good it is hard, if not impossible, not to say: "Yeah!" once baby Maggie pronounces her first word: "Sequel?"

Creature Comforts: Self Image, Wingin' It, and Art

With its second episode, Creature Comforts continued to showcase its unique format (using excerpts from real person interviews and placing them in the mouths of a wide variety of animated animals) and provided me with another half hour of fun, easy-going summer viewing.

The episode was again divided into three segments, each dedicated to a certain topic. The first topic, "Self-Image," found animals as varied as cats and condors, owls and rabbits talking about their appearance and the appearance of others. At the top of the show, a male cat considered himself a ten on the good-looks scale, while his female companion said she didn't think anyone could think of themselves as a ten except Sean Connery. "Of course, these days, not so much anymore." Another highlight of this segment included a fly caught in a spider's web, each saying the other looked good-- the fly as a device to charm his way out of the spider's grasp, the spider referencing how good the fly looked to eat. Of course, the real charm of this situation comes from the fact that when the human voices were making these statements they were simply complimenting each other, not concerned about where they fell in the food chain.

In the second segment of this episode, I quickly forgot that the dialogue was coming from off-the-cuff remarks made by humans and simply allowed myself to believe these were the words of the animals that were talking. This was made very easy by the perfect stop-motion animation of the characters as well as the pairing of characters to topic, specifically birds talking about flying. There were a number of very funny moments in the "Wingin' It" segment that almost had me thinking this was scripted television. Those scenes included the one-legged, arm-in-a-sling cardinal talking about performing aerial tricks and how any landing you walk away from is a good one. The cardinal then proceeded to fall off of his perch. Another standout was the baby bald eagles (voiced by children) talking about how scary flying is and how one shouldn't look down when soaring at such great heights. The biggest laugh of the episode came from the penguin attempting to describe how birds fly, pseudo-scientifically talking about how the air flows above and below their wings and it's their constant flapping that keeps them in flight. "I don't know. That's just me assuming."

The last segment, simply entitled "Art," highlighted how the choice of setting, not just the choice of animal, added to the comedic effect of relaying these interviews. The dogs talking about how much they enjoyed art were not just dogs, they were dogs playing poker! The flies talking about pop art were wisely placed on top of a soup can, a la Andy Warhol's famous print. The program also represented two women fawning so sincerely over what makes great art as two pigeons resting on a statue… that they eventually pooped on. The dogs, flies and pigeons could literally have been situated anywhere in this animated world, but Creature Comforts is proving it's a much smarter show than that.

Book Review: "The Forgotten Man" by Robert Crais

I never heard of Robert Crais before I stumbled across "The Forgotten Man." This was not only an enjoyable read; it made me a fan of Crais's work. I can't get enough of his writing. The man writes in a style that's fast-paced and entertaining and the characters he crafts are believable and easily identifiable, too.

"The Forgotten Man" is an account of a bizarre episode in the life of celebrated Los Angeles private investigator Elvis Cole. Cole gets a early morning heads up from friends on the L.A.P.D that an elderly homicide victim with his last dying breath admitted to being his long lost father. Cole grew up without the knowledge of the identity of his biologic father.

His mother was not much help suffering from psychoses that rendered her delusional at times. She would run off for days at a time only to be brought back home by detectives hired by her father. Cole's mom filled his head with fabrications about his father, telling him that he worked as a human cannonball in a travelling circus. As a boy he would also run off after carnivals to desperately seek out his father.

Cole is allowed to piggyback his investigation with that of L.A.P.D. homicide detectives Diaz and Pardy. Physical evidence found by Cole at the scene of the crime leads him to a seedy hotel in Toluca Lake, an L.A. suburb. Going there allows him to establish the identity of the victim which turns out to be an alias. An autopsy reveals medical pelvic implants with manufacturing ID numbers on them which allows Cole to trace the devices back to a hospital finally revealing the true identity of the victim, a George Reinnike.

Reinnike had been receiving insurance payments, a result of a botched operation involving his legs. Nine years ago, he mysteriously disappeared from his Temecula address forfeiting the money. Further probing appears to tie Reinnike to a brutal bludgeoning of a family in Temecula, killing three and leaving a four year old female survivor.

Crais creates a conceivable and rapidly moving plot with a climax that took me by surprise. His peripheral characters especially Cole's partner the lethal Joe Pike and L.A. bomb squad detective the emotional and wisecracking Carol Starkey are developed with fascinating detail.

Highly recommended and you won't be disappointed!

The Family Guy: Stewie Loves Lois

Question: Was Seth MacFarlane's first priority to offend viewers? Because if it was, he succeeded. The episode for Family Guy pulls as many homosexual and rape jokes out as possible. And the biggest problem with these jokes is that some of them go too far and crosses the line of good taste and revels in the awkward situations.

The plot of the episode follows Peter as he goes into the doctor for a flu shot only to stick around for a prostate exam. In true Family Guy fashion Peter believes that his doctor was trying to rape him. Eventually Peter takes his doctor to court, and gets his medical license revoked. By the end Peter does understand that the exam was just that, and that he was in need of the exam all along.

The other story told in the episode starts with Stewie having his stuffed animal destroyed by a dog, only to be sewn back together by Lois. The combined action of the restoration of his doll and a nice meal show Stewie that his mother is not his enemy but his best friend. After some nice bonding time, Lois finds that Stewie is just too clingy, leading her to homicidal thoughts. In the end things go back to the way they started as Lois ignores Stewie's cries and he hurts himself.

The Stewie/Lois story was really kind of funny. This bit was a nice window in on parenting. Although parents want to be closer to their children, they can find that it isn't as good of an idea as they initially thought. Plus, this new relationship led to a couple great confrontations between Stewie and Brian. As always Brian is working his best to impress Lois, while Stewie's new found love for his mother springs jealousy - what follows are a couple hilarious scenes with the two competing for her (one argument ends with Stewie screaming in Spanish which is very funny).

The other storyline is where my big problem is with the episode. I know that the story comes full circle and Peter realizes that he needs the prostate exam, but that does not excuse the rather frank and explicit rape jokes leading to this revelation. One of the scenes in particular - Peter giving his trumped up testimony of being violated in court - went from creepy and awkward to just plain disturbing. A black and white dream depicts Peter's interpretation of the "incident" which is just graphic depictions of him being uncomfortably groped, probed and kissed. I know that a couple of the flashbacks were direct movie parodies, but it was just wrong. Whereas a prostate joke can be offensive and funny, a rape joke can almost never be both.

I'm a fan of the Family Guy, and I admit that some of the better episodes and jokes are those that are offensive. But it is tough to tell people to watch a television program that treats these real issues with such nonchalance. I'm hoping that the new season is funnier than this episode - please, MacFarlane, think before you write.

Bones: Boy In The Shroud

Boy, there was a lot going on this episode, besides the crime that Booth and the specialists at the Jeffersonian Institution were trying to solve. There was tension, a touch of romance between two of the specialists, and a continuing theme of children and family that has permeated the second season. So, without preamble, I go forth.

One of the things about Bones is they don't mess around getting to the point of the story. This week was no different as the show opened with Agent Booth and members of the Jeffersonian at the scene of an accident where they find a decomposed body wrapped in a shroud. Back at the Institution, computer specialist Angela Montenegro is able to pull tissue imprints from the shroud to produce a facial image of the young man who died. This week Angela played a more pivotal role, which didn't include a visit to her magical holographic box.

It turns out that the victim was dating a street girl who was part of the foster system. She and her brother (save that information for later) were able to stay together in the same foster home for over a year now, but were about to be separated. The girl had disappeared after her boyfriend's death and hadn't been seen since. So, it was now up to Booth and Bones to find out how the victim died and where the girlfriend was.

In the meantime, tensions were heating up between Bones and her new boss Doctor Cam Saroyan. This became very apparent when Bones wanted her associate Jack Hodgins, to research a rose that was found in the dead boy's hands while Cam wanted him to analyze hundreds of rust samples on the hunch that the boy was killed with a rusty metal pipe. Bones won the skirmish, but not without Cam's ominous warnings about replacing her. Of course, if she left the Institution the show would probably be over and I'd be watching a dark screen for 60 minutes.

While this was stewing, Agent Booth and Bones continued their search for the dead boy's girlfriend. They, well really Bones, thought some of the other street kids would be willing to give up information on her whereabouts. They weren't, but a married couple passing out aspirin and sandwiches to the little urchins did know of her last whereabouts, which was in an abandoned warehouse. One thing was clear at this point in the investigation: the boy plunged out of one of the warehouse windows to his death. The only suspect so far: his girlfriend.

Then again, maybe not. It seems like the 'Sandwich and Aspirin' guy was trading his wares for sex with underage girls. He denied it, but that pretty much flew out the window when he was discovered dead with a bullet to his chest. At first, Bones thought the boy's death and this new one were connected. Nope. Actually, it was the man's wife who shot him. One crime solved, but still no answer to who killed the boy. This, even after the boy's girlfriend confessed to the murder.

Angela to the rescue once again. Through a bit of role-playing Booth and the other members of the investigation team re-enacted events as they thought happened at the warehouse. After some keen deduction they realized that the girlfriend wasn't trying to her boyfriend but to save him after someone else hit him with a rusty metal pipe. That second person . . . the girl's brother, who was pissed at both her and the boyfriend for splitting his family up. With that solved the only other item to clear up was the relationship between Cam and Bones. In the end a mutual agreement was made that allowed Doctor Brennan to defy Cam three times per week.

Okay, frankly I knew it was the brother as soon as I saw him; credit it to watching hours of Law & Order. Yet, it was the way they came to that conclusion that was entertaining. Where last week's episode was extremely heavy in the scientific portion of the investigation, this episode relied more heavily on characterization. There were some very nice touches, especially the interaction between Angela and Hodgins. Remember, I don't watch this show much, so I don't know if this little romantic thing Hodgins has is a carryover. If it is, it's a cute one that's a nice inclusion to the show. Now, I'd like to see a bit more of grad student Zach Addy.

Studio 60: K&R Part II

Now that I know Studio 60 is finished after this season, it's hard not to view the remaining episodes with a detached and somewhat passive bemusement. Everything that works makes me think "Oh, maybe the show could have had a great second season." While the moments that fall flat remind me why the show lost so many viewers and got cancelled in the first place.

Since it returned from its long hiatus to burn off the remaining episodes, the series has shown a higher standard than the early episodes while still offering a mixed bag of intelligent drama and self-satisfied aggrandizing. The flashback involving Matt and Danny's decision to run a political sketch during the first show following 9-11 is not as interesting as one would hope. It's unclear why we're seeing this story now, when we've already been told about it a few times in the past.

There isn't even a Judd Hirsch cameo to make it all worthwhile. Aaron Sorkin seems to have some unresolved issues about the political climate following 9-11. While this is perfectly understandable, this thread in the episode seems to clash with the more current and character-based stories - even if the transitions are seamless thanks to the shows typical high caliber direction and editing.

Nate Corddry as Tom JeterNate Corddry continues to impress as Tom, though it never quite makes sense why Lucy is being kept away from her boyfriend when he probably needs her the most. Corddry gets some help from James Lesure's great turn as Captain David Boyle - one of the more fully realized supporting characters to appear on the show in a while. The scenes between the two are very reminiscent of The West Wing, filled with military jargon and specific details tossed off as casual dialogue. It all works, even if it sounds a bit like the cover version of another, better show.

Bradley Whitford is terrific as Danny, who continues some of his sparring with Jordan's young doctor and realizes that not being the biological father to Jordan's baby is a bigger deal than he may have thought. As Jordan's condition seems to worsen, or at least not get much better, Danny finds out he still has his friends Harriet and Matt to lean on. A great line early in the episode is the doctor recommending that Danny go and get a drink. "I can't, I'm an alcoholic," Danny replies. "Bummer for you," the doctor says.

Meanwhile, Simon's big blow up at the press feels forced and doesn't come across quite like the cathartic rage it's supposed to be. He also doesn't say anything particularly interesting, though he does insult pretty much the entire country - so it'll be amusing to see how they sort that out.

The episode is about waiting around for something to happen, and it begins to feel like I'm doing just that. While the dialogue and the characters come off better in this episode, it does recall earlier two-parters such as Nevada Day - that simply didn't warrant multiple episodes. "K & R" is a three-parter, and when it's all over will we really have need all three? Probably not, but it's nice to see that the show has some life in it and it may be able to wrap things up in way that has the class and relevance displayed in the show's terrific pilot that began this whole endeavor in the first place.

The Office: Diwali

You know, this show does it to me every time. All the shows are classics.

The episode focused on "Diwali", a major Hindu festival which is celebrated, in the Fall. In this instance, Kelly has invited the entire staff to a Diwali celebration, and most of the folks are enthusiastic about going, but some, including Angela, are a bit skeptical, if not downright hostile to the idea.

To drum up enthusiasm, Michael convenes a meeting where he attempts to explain "Hindu Halloween" and celebrate the diversity of the Indian/Hindu culture. His presentation includes pictures of famous Indians, and one of them was Apu from The Simpsons, which elicited guffaws from me. Absolute brilliance from the writers.

At the same time, we see Jim discuss his bike riding to work in order to save on gas money and stay in shape. Back in Scranton, the meeting reaches a fever pitch when copies of the "Kama Sutra" are distributed to the staff. Angela thinks it's inappropriate, and Toby seconds the thought, which annoys Michael.

The staff arrive at the festival location, and that's where the fun begins. As we well know, Ryan dates Kelly, who happens to be Indian. Dressed in a traditional outfit, he ends up meeting Kelly's sisters as well as her parents, but the family doesn't seem that taken with him. Her parents grill him about his financial situation, but it doesn't seem that he has made a good impression. It's funny that although I've seen Ryan downplay his relationship with Kelly, he is attending a major celebration with her and meeting her family. What's that all about?

During the festival I saw a number of funny scenes, including Michael dancing with some festival goers. The look of joy on his face was priceless! Everybody else on the staff, save for Angela, seems to be having a great time. Pam even shows up later after saying she wouldn't come, and it looked like she was going to make some sort of connection with a young guy, but nothing seem to come of it.

Back in Stamford, Karen, Jim, and Andy have to work late on a project, and Andy immediately breaks out a bottle. Jim and Andy end up doing shots until they pass out while Karen pours her drinks out. Jim eventually wakes up and attempts to bike home, but he keels over and Karen ends up giving him a ride home.

For me, the Stamford scenes don't seem to add much to the story other than the burgeoning flirtation between Jim and Karen. Will it amount to anything? I guess I'll find out over the next few weeks.

Anyway, Michael brought his girlfriend Carol to the festival, who is dressed in a cheerleader outfit. During all the hoopla, Michael is suddenly overcome with passion/emotion and then grabs a microphone and proposes to her. She is taken aback and says they need to discuss this further.
They part ways with Carol driving home alone and Michael looking for a ride. It doesn't seem that Michael and Carol will be together, but stranger things have happened.

Pam was attempting to text message someone (Jim?), and then encounters Michael outside. He then tries to engage her into a discussion about them both losing out on love, but Pam kind of sets him straight. She then gives him a ride home, but he is made to sit in the back seat.

Just a terrific episode. The scenes inside the hall were hysterical, especially the dancing. Will Michael get back into Carol's good graces? Will Pam continue to exhibit her independence? Will Jim and Karen hook up?