Review: The Simpsons ‘The Kid Is All Right’

Spoilers Below

Thanks to the NFL postgame running a minute late, my DVR actually managed to record the full intro to this week’s episode of The Simpsons. Good thing too, because it was a doozy. Entitled, “A Silly Simpsony,” this animated short featured a musical journey through Springfield, where all the characters were also musical instruments. Lisa was a sax, Moe was a bow, the bullies were electric guitars… It was like Fantasia but in Simpsons style, and not scary to a younger me.

Keeping with the musical theme, the actual episode began with Lisa singing “One” by Harry Nilsson (who did not, by the way, die on Valentine’s Day.) At school, Lisa met a new student named Isabel Gutierrez (voiced by Eva Longoria), and they instantly hit it off. Later, Lisa discovered that Isabel is a conservative and a Republican, which caused her great anguish. The two girls decided to stay friends, but their friendship was further tested when they were pitted against each other in the school’s Class President Election.

The evil Republican Party secret leaders (note: I am not saying Republicans are evil, but this group consisted of Mr. Burns and Count Dracula, among others) funded Isabel’s campaign, seeing her as the future of the party, and she won the election quite handily. A flash-foward at the end showed the two friends in a presidential debate 40 years in the future.

To be honest, I thought this episode was a bit preachy (like Ziggy, amiright?) or at least a bit too political. Still, you can’t fault The Simpsons for making social commentary, as that is something they’ve successfully pulled off since the very first season. The jokes were funny, but there were less than I’d expect for a typical episode.

Some favorites included sight gags like Maggie’s jar of “Play (Annoyed Grunt)” and yet another appearance of Futurama’s Hypnotoad.

There were some great throwback jokes too, like the reappearance of Mr. Bergstrom (in a brief, non-speaking role, unfortunately) when Marge told Lisa that “someone who loves you” put butter on your vegetables. Also, Willie’s banner shed had numerous references to previous episodes and The Simpsons Movie as well.

I also really enjoyed the scenes with Maggie as a bartender, especially when she put the drawing of Lisa up under the “Do Not Serve” sign.

Although this episode had some good laughs, overall it seemed a bit too pointed, and was a bit of a gimmick episode, since it introduced a friend for Lisa that likely will not be featured in future episodes (Except maybe in the background. Perhaps Isabel and Allison Taylor can silently be background buddies!)

Still, there was enough humor to keep this episode afloat, and it ended as a decent installment. Nothing I’d go to looking for laughs, but when it eventually airs in syndication, I wouldn’t change the channel.