Casino Connection Nevada

The Simpsons Movie

Directed by David Silverman, Produced by James Brooks

by Roger Gros

As a parent, I suppose I was expected to keep my kids from watching the animated cartoon The Simpsons when it came out 18 years ago. (Even founder Matt Groening now says he wouldn’t let his kids watch it!) But I found it so funny that I was addicted from day one, and so were my kids. Now, with a second group of kids who are also Simpsons fans, we waited anxiously for the first Simpsons film and now the DVD to be released.

Without going through the mindless plot—which is about equal to a typical Simpsons TV show—the movie was very entertaining. While the TV show often misfires these days, the time spent on the movie (5-plus years) shows, and keeps you interested for the full 80 minutes (even though Homer calls you a dope for paying to see what you can get for free on television).

Even a pseudo-environmental disaster tale can’t ruin the sight gags and star cameos in the movie. Homer adopts a pig (later christened Harry Plopper) who turns out to be the catalyst for the environment-gone-wild theme of the movie. The arrival of Tom Hanks and Green Day (which transforms into a string quartet as the barge on which they are playing sinks) are the high points of the cameos (and Albert Brooks is great as the head of the EPA).

For those paying attention, there are high-brow references to some of the calamitous issues of our time—the human condition, the sad state of the earth and big-brother government—but who’s paying attention anyway? The funniest parts of any Simpsons episodes are the anatomical humor—and this time we get full-frontal nudity from Bart and a huge-breasted Eskimo woman who Homer falls for.

So yes, I bundled up my young children and headed to the first video store I could find the day after Christmas to get this soon-to-be classic and we sat down as a loving family unit to enjoy the adventures of America’s first family, the Simpsons.