This The Simpsons review contains spoilers.
The Simpsons: Season 30 Episode 13
Further reading: The Simpsons Season 30 Episode 2 Review: Heartbreak Hotel
Further reading: The Simpsons Season 30 Episode 5 Review: Baby You Can’t Drive My Car
Dual storylines are mixed bag on The Simpsons. Sometimes one of the subplots gets too little service. Sometimes it eats at the main one. Nobody’s watching Krusty the Clown anymore, he anguishes. What with the downloading, streaming and everything else that’s better, he needs a good gimmick to grub more cash from kids. Krusty lives by the physics of comedy, and that includes how he manages his finances. He decides on “Krusty’s Holiday Trample,” a competition where three kids get to grab as much merchandise they can throw in a shopping cart the quickest, only because it works within comedy’s rule of three.
Further reading: The Simpsons Season 30 Episode 7 Review: Werking Mom
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The most subversive comedy comes in this segment, as the clown sells his ideas to kids saying they should love Krusty more than “god and America.” He also uses the word “diddly” on TV, something Ned Flanders takes exception to. It’s nice to see Ned relegated to punch line status. He’s taken up a lot of time lately and is funnier in smaller doses. Side characters are that way for a reason.
The competitors at the game come down to Bart, Millhouse and Ralph Wiggum. Bart cheats to an early lead, but it would be too easy. The episode gives a nod to Apocalypse Now!, as Ralph rises from the slime to pedal past destiny. All three kids know to hit hyperspace when confronted with Solo: A Star Wars Story merchandise. Bart gets back in time to see the romantic conclusion, but misses it as he gets caught up in paddle game.
“I’m Dancing as Fat as I Can” was directed by Matthew Nastuk, and written by Jane Becker.
The Simpsons‘ “I’m Dancing as Fat as I Can” aired Sunday, February 10 at 8:00 p.m. on Fox.
Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York City’s Vampyr Theatre and the rock opera AssassiNation: We Killed JFK. Read more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol.
