Review: The Simpsons “Singin’ in the Lane”

Viewer beware: bowling-based puns abound.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Homer ends up going to a basketball game with his chums after Mister Burns gives him some courtside tickets. However, because Homer only has four tickets, and because Moe has been something of a terrible friend to them, they leave Moe behind while they go out and have a great time. This inspires a change of heart in Moe, and with Homer’s recommendation, Homer, Barney, Carl, and Lenny decide to reform the Pin Pals, the bowling team Homer was in waaaaaay back in season seven, but this time with Moe as their coach.

Following a musical montage of the Pin Pals beating the other comedically themed bowling teams in Springfield, they make it to the state finals. There, they run into a snobby bowling team of rich hedge fund managers, the Fund Bunch, who quickly become Bart’s role models in life. The Pin Pals beat them in the first match, but goaded by the rich jerks, Moe bets his bar and his good name that they’ll beat the Fund Bunch in the finals.

The Fund Bunch proceed to run the Pin Pals over, taking them to a 1-1 deciding match for Moe’s fate. The Fund Bunch try to sabotage the Pin Pals in the final match by getting Barney too drunk to play, but Lisa counterattacks with a sabotage of her own. With the aid of some hapless bowling nerds, Lisa proceeds to destroy the Fund Bunch’s self-esteem by digging up dirt on their insecurities. With the aid of Homer’s pro bowling skills, the Pin Pals manage to win the game in the final frame. But Moe is still distraught, realizing that he’ll have to go back to his old life if they win, and he’ll be his miserable old self. But Homer and pals make Moe feel better by saying they’ll throw him a party to show that they care.

Our Take:

This is certainly an eclectic and underwhelming episode. This marks a point in the endless run of The Simpsons where their comedy has changed from the kind of character comedy found in the early seasons to a more absurdist, gags-first approach. Mostly, this change is lukewarm. It feels weird for characters in this episode to do things just completely out character, and the many cutaway and pop culture gags they do in this episode are too rapid and distracting to really leave a comedic impact. This makes the episode feel totally pointless, where it doesn’t feel like an episode of a story as much as “things that happened that were mildly amusing.” Its too over-the-top, and seeing Homer in the classic Pin Pals outfit really just makes me wish for the days when this show was clever and interesting.