I took Ryan and his girlfriend to see The Simpsons movie earlier this week.
Mini review: It did not disappoint. If you've watched The Simpsons as long as I have, this may make sense: it was like an above average episode from season seven.
Slightly longer review: While not as subversive and non-linear as the early seasons that I love so much, it was significantly better than any of the absolute garbage they've thrown at us in the last couple of seasons. The story is a bit convoluted, but they committed to the convolution so willingly and unabashedly, they actually made it work. They totally take advantage of being a movie to pull off some stuff they'd never get away with on television, which was incredibly amusing to me. I won't say anything more specific about the plot or point out any of the gags, because a big part of the fun was sitting back and enjoying the story while it unfolded. You probably don't need to see this in a theater, unless you really want to, because . . .
Drawback to seeing it in the theater: People watch The Simpsons on TV so much, they must think they're still in their living room when they are, in fact, in a theater we all paid money to get into. Memo to audiences: Shut. The. Fuck. Up. You don't need to repeat every funny line or point out every single sight gag. We saw it, too, because we are sitting in the same theater with you.
Final Rating: I give it 3 out of 5 squishees.