The Simpsons ***

Spider-pig, spider-pig ....



Director: David Silverman

Writers: Matt Groening

Voices: Nancy Cartwright, Hank Azaria



Anyone who has been in my immediate vicinity in the last couple of months has been driven batty by me singing "Spider-pig, spider-pig, does whatever a spider-pig does ..." so it will come as a relief to some of you that I've finally seen the movie. You'd think that the time for a Simpsons movie had been and gone with the 1990s, but there are obviously enough cynical geeks out there to warrant this film (the cinema was packed with shave-headed trenchcoat-wearing minions when I went).



The story centres around the aforementioned spider-pig, who Homer saves from the knife, for about the first half-hour, when it suddenly goes off on an entirely different tangent. We then follow the world's most dysfunctional family (apart from The Brady Bunch) to Alaska and back, and hilarity ensues. You know the drill.



Obviously it is typical of the Simpsons to include a plot device which is dispensed with as soon as it's fulfilled its purpose but in a movie, plots need to be a little more cohesive. The usual cast is all present and accounted for, although by now they could probably sleepwalk through their lines. It really is just an extra-long episode, but that's OK, because that's all the punters are there for, and the writers take a stab at them before the opening credits (Bart: "Why would we pay to see something at the movies we already get free at home?". But honestly, who will see this movie? People who love the series, and they want to see Homer say "doh!" and drink lots of Duff; they want Lisa to mournfully play her sax; they want Bart to skateboard to Krusty's in the nude, and the film delivers. It IS hilarious: cynical, political in parts, but not scared to make willy jokes* or take a cheap stab at Disney.



The running time is slender but it doesn't feel too short (probably because we're used to taking these characters in bite-size pieces) and it gives you plenty of time to head down to Grape for a couple of drinks afterwards.



Conclusion: You'll get your money's worth in belly laughs. Just don't expect anything new.



* NOTE: Bring back the word willy! It is underutilised in our society.