Okay, We Saw ‘The Simpsons Movie’

… and Kois was right. In yesterday’s IM chat with Ben Wasserstein, he said “I suspect the movie will be as good as the best episode in season twelve. Which still makes it better than some other movies, but it makes it fall far short of what a Simpsons movie should be.� (Full disclosure: Kois is also writing this item!)

Meanwhile, since there will be no issue of New York magazine next week, film critic David Edelstein has reviewed the movie over at NPR’s Fresh Air. He was also disappointed:

te>It’s too bad that, unlike other cartoon protagonists, Homer has always bored me silly. The voracious Cartman on South Park is like a character out of a Voltaire play — outsized, with sleazeball stature. Hank Hill of King of the Hill is a befuddled Everyman who is somehow both smaller and larger than life. SpongeBob Squarepants is an eternal optimist whose obliviousness is transcendent. But Homer remains a boob, a thickie, a foil for the appalled Bart; the socially conscious Lisa; and the chiding but devoted Marge. The dumber Homer is, the more the series — and now the movie — comes down to gags and pop-culture parodies: jabs at TV, suburban cluelessness, political chicanery, and the heartlessness of big business and show business.

The gags in the movie are hit and miss…

Read Edelstein’s full review here.
Earlier: Will ‘The Simpsons Movie’ Be Aw-Diddly-Awful or Awe-Diddly-Awesome?