Since the regular Simpsons reviewer had technical difficulties this week, I get the chance to pinch-hit and hopefully hit a homer. Ouch, that was a really bad pun. I'd better get to the meat of this review if I want to get his gig as the "guest host" for The Simpsons recaps.
The Simpsons - April 13, 2003 - "Three Gays of the Condo"
What Happened: After stumbling across an aging "Dear John" letter written by Marge before she learned she was pregnant with Bart, Homer learns she was considering ending their relationship. Believing their marriage to be a sham, he picks a fight with her and moves out of the house. After shacking up with Kirk Van Houten (AKA Milhouse's dad), he eventually moves into a condo with two gay men (one of whom is voiced by The Kids in the Hall's Scott Thompson). While one might think that Homer would freak out at the prospect of rooming with two fabulously gay men, he hits it off with the pair, donning trendy clothing and living it up at a gay nightclub. After giving no indication of returning home, Marge gets special guest star "Weird" Al Yankovic to serenade Homer and wins his heart back.
My thoughts: With any show that has lasted as long as The Simpsons, there are bound to be plot retreads. In this case, it's Homer's interaction with the gay community. While the jokes were funny to some degree, the previous episode that tackled this subject, season seven's "Homer's Phobia" guest-starring John Waters, was far more hilarious. This week's episode used many of the same jokes, such as lampooning gay men's affinity for nightclubs, Mr. Smithers' "closeted" lifestyle. Other than that, the jokes, one-liners and visual puns were all top-notch. One such example is Mr. Van Houten's place of residence, "The Lonely Bachelor" apartments, where the sign boasts "3 days since our last suicide" (*gunshot*) "0 days since our last suicide."
Okay, now that I've covered the usual content of a standard Simpsons recap, it's time I added some of my own categories:
Best One-Liner: (tie) 1) Bart's reaction to Homer's soft, smooth hands after being choked by his father. "I haven't been strangled by hands this smooth since I was four," and 2) Homer's description of Jared from Subway: "You know the guy, he used to be fat, now he's just ugly."
Best Pop-Cultural Reference: "Prove me wrong Silent Bob!" - Homer refers to Maggie as "Silent Bob" in a nod to another famous "mute" character. Given director Kevin Smith's admitted devotion to The Simpsons, you would think the writers would have come up with a reference to his movies much sooner.
Benjamin Leatherman is the front-page designer for The State Press. Reach him at benjamin.leatherman@asu.edu.
