DVD REVIEW: "The Simpsons Movie"

If you ranked all "The Simpsons" television episodes from best to worst and then tried to find a place for "The Simpsons Movie," I think it would fall right about into the middle of the pack. Now Time magazine, no less, calls "The Simpsons" the best television series of the 20th century and if you buy into that assessment, than middle of the pack is pretty darn good.

I must admit: I am not a regular viewer of the television show. Don't let that trouble you, however, because I am not a regular viewer of any television show. That's not snobbery speaking, it's just that in my free time I prefer watching movies, a few select sporting events or reading.

My son, however, loves "The Simpsons" and if the late Sunday NFL game we are watching is on the Fox network, chances are "The Simpsons" will come on as I am preparing Sunday dinner. And often times I have to sneak a peak at what the son's guffawing about.

The movie has fun playing with some of the most often questions asked about the TV show (as in what state is Springfield in) and gets in its usual sarcastic digs at do-gooders, the federal government, religion, fast foods, the oil industry, the rich and pet fads. True, the digs are more like pin pricks than sharp, deep jabs with a hypodermic, but there you have it. "The Simpsons Movie" also wants to make sure you know this is all make-believe, that you can't take any of this seriously, by having us living in a United States in which Arnold Schwarzenegger is president.

Because of another in a long line of stupid Homer Simpson acts, the EPA declares the town of Springfield "the most polluted city on the planet" or somesuch and, to prevent the toxicity spreading, the agency places a giant dome over the entire town, sealing all its residents inside. Homer and family escape, however, and try to make a new life in Alaska (an expansion of the television show's field of vision I guess the 11 screenwriters involved in this--that's right, 11 of 'em--felt was necessary to justify expanding a television show into a movie). But the Simpsons are visited by the specter of Tom Hanks, more or less, who tells them that now the EPA is going to nuke Springfield right off planet Earth. The family sets off to save their hometown (Homer is nudged along by an Inuit medicine woman) and Homer, with the aide of Bart and some daredevil motorcycling, eventually saves the day.

What's funny about "The Simpsons Movie" is not what happens, but what is said, especially in little side remarks. However, I'm not going to spoil them for you by repeating them here. There is also a clever spoof of Austin Powers in a scene where a naked Bart skateboards through Springfield and a marvelous bit that involves Marge and Homer after they discover they are alone in their Alaskan cabin and can share a romantic interlude. And the moment the family first crosses the Alaskan state line is a howl.

If you are a fan of the TV show, I don't need to tell you to rent this film, because you have probably already purchased it as a Christmas present for someone in your family. If you are not a Simpsons watcher but want to know what all the fuss is about, this is a very fine introduction to what I'll call the most anarchistic family comedy of the 20th century. It may not make you a faithful follower, but, then, who knows.

Grade: A-