• Movie Preview •

Voices: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Pamela Hayden, and Tress MacNeille, Albert Brooks. Animation. Written by James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Graham, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder, and Jon Vitti. Directed by David Silverman.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Homer creates a catastrophe for Springfield, and only he can fix things. Matt Groening, help us!

PREVIEW REVIEW. The TV series has lasted eighteen years, with a remarkable 400 episodes. So the question is: will moviegoers want to pay for something they’ve been seeing for free for eighteen years? Knowing that question would arise, the writers address it during the opening sequence. It's an amusing moment as Homer makes fun of the audience for paying to see the film. Amusing is the word for this movie. Not fresh or hip. Not even edgy. Just amusing. Somewhat.

As with the TV series, any and every subject, from politics to church-going is ripe for skewering. But, like the series, most of it is lighthearted and I never felt the quips were mean-spirited or sacrilegious (though Granpa speaking in tongues at church comes very close). The movie merely allows Homer the PG-13 ability to give us the finger in one scene, and for Marge to profane God’s name in another. Marge, of all the characters, is the one who yells God’s name in frustration, followed by a curse. Oh, and we see Bart’s penis as he skateboards nude about town. This is what we waited eighteen years to see?

Distributor: 20th Century Fox