(long) A late review of "My Mother the Carjacker (EABF18)"
Benjamin Robinson
I missed the first airing of this show because dinner at a cousin's
house ran late. Perhaps that was just as well; between then and
tonight's repeat, my local "Simpsons" syndicator showed "Homer's
Mother (3F06)," which set me up nicely for "My Mother the Carjacker."
At first, I was going to say that the producers were taking a risk in
making a follow-up to one of the best-regarded episodes of the seventh
season. Eight years after it aired, many people consider the closing
shot of Homer sitting on the hood of his car, staring sadly at the
stars, to be one of the show's best endings. Watching it again, I
realized something that I had forgotten the first time around.
"Homer's Mother," despite its reputation as a touching episode,
actually focuses on wild jokes and parodies about 60s radicalism. The
famous closing scene is the only one where the emotional lives of the
characters come to the foreground. I liked the episode, but I thought
that a story about a reunion between Homer and his mom should have
more substance than this one did. So, some people might criticize "My
Mother the Carjacker" as a shallow echo of the earlier episode, but I
say, hey, the original version wasn't as deep as you might think.
The two shows have other points in common. "Carjacker" still gets
most of its tension from Mona's flight from Burns's wrath. There's a
funny scene early on where Homer vows that the police will never lay a
finger on his mother -- and then drives right into the police station.
Mona's trial isn't bad, either, with Bart cross-examining his sister,
and Sideshow Bob extolling the Quality Inn where the jurors are
sequestered. There are also plenty of 60s gags, as you'd might
expect, with my favorite being channel 6's "stock montage" of cliched
60s news footage. But I'd bet most viewers didn't notice the best
gag. Mona Simpson tries to communicate with her son by planting
acrostics, where the first letter of each line of a news article is a
letter in a secret message. Someone on the staff went to the trouble
to write two funny dummy articles to go with the coded missives, even
though the only people who will see them are those who tape the show
and then go over it again in slow-motion. It takes some effort, but
it's worth it.
Glenn Close once again does excellent work providing the voice of Mona
Simpson. Her character sounds warm and wise, balancing her husband's
angry, self-absorbed personality and her son's impulsiveness. Getting
her back is another thing that must have taken some effort, but again
it was worth it.
The ending for "Carjacker" falls short in comparison to the original.
That may have been inevitable, but I was hoping for a little closer
contest. I could easily see where the writers were setting up a
touching ending, but the effect wasn't there. Part of the problem
might be that this episode ended on a joke, whereas "Homer's Mother"
was brave enough to forgo the closing punchline in favor of a downbeat
finish. (On the other hand, "Carjacker" gets some brownie points for
working John Lennon's "Mother," one of his best solo songs, into the
story.)
Eight years from now, will fans hold "My Mother the Carjacker" in the
same regard as "Homer's Mother"? I suspect not, because the earlier
episode has that striking ending, and because the series's critics
tend to automatically disregard newer episodes. The more interesting
question might be, with similar plots, jokes, acting, and writing
quality, *should* fans prefer "Homer's Mother"? When you make up your
mind, just encode your answer in your local paper. I'll be watching.
[The short of it]
The first impulse most people will have is to compare this look at
Homer and his mother with its classic precursor, which aired
eight years ago. I suspect most people will find it wanting, but
should they? I think both episodes have similar joke quality.
I liked the riffs on Sixties radicalism, in particular the stock 60's
montage aired by Channel 6. It's too bad that most people will
probably miss the funny news articles that Homer searches through,
seeking coded messages from his mom. Glenn Close does great voice-
over work as Homer's mom, just as in the original. The ending might
not have the impact of the "Homer's Mom," but neither version was as
stirring emotionally as most people seem to think. (B)
[DYNs]
... the mouse night-light in Maggie's room, as she's playing with
the rat?
... the "El Barto" graffiti on the overpass?
... Lisa rubs her arm in the background after Bart's Indian twist?
... Mona makes "rabbit ears" behind Homer on the log flume?
... Homer bares his "breasts" on the flume?
[rather like Fry does in an episode of "Futurama," although this
isn't a reference]
... Mona's prison number is 2067?
... Homer is still unwittingly dissing Frank Grimes?
[References]
"The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (TV series)
- Homer flips through funny newspaper typos, the way Jay Leno does
- the typos are mounted on black cardboard, again as on Leno's
show
"A Beautiful Mind" (movie)
- Homer tapes random newspaper articles to his walls, looking for
patterns in the articles
- possible patterns are "highlighted" in Homer's mind
"The Honeymooners" (TV series)
- "And away we go" was one of the character's catchphrases, wasn't
it?
Pep Boys (auto parts chain)
- "Zip Boys" has a similar name and logo
[Previous Episode References]
[3F04] Zip Boys appear
[3F06] Well, duh -- Glenn Close as Homer's mom
[7F01] Tyrone Power mentioned
[FFF]
Comical newspaper headline:
MAYOR UNVEILS ERECTION
TO CHEERING CROWD
Marge's T-shirt:
OOPS
PATROL
CHANNEL
6
Not-so-comical newspaper headlines:
CRANFORD MAN DROUGHT THREATENS TO
MISSING TURN WEST INTO DESERT
Peace talk news:
DAILY NEWS
----------------------------------------------------------------
P E A C E T A L K S
B R E A K D O W N
Peace Talks in the Middle East | The Secretary of State has
broke down today when Syrian | offered to intervene, but
negotiators left the table and | his efforts have been rebuffed.
"For Sale" ad:
FOR SALE
FORD FESTIVA
'02 FF 1150 RT
SILVER, MINT
COND. $14.5 K
(142567) 567-
2345PP
Headline that gets Homer's attention
IOWA HOME
TO WORLD'S
BIGGEST PIZZA
Accompanying article:
[First column]
Home Sweet Home, Tha
One pizza that's making
Most sizeable pizza in th
Every State wants to ol
Rhode Island is our sma
Montana boasts the biggest sky in the land;
Even Idaho brags about itspotatoes. Iowa
Eventually wanted to make its mark, too.
To many in Ames, Iowa, where the college
Men and women who dreamed up this stunt
Eat pizza like LA students eat pills, this
4th attempt at doing something magnificent
Saved the State. "There was precious little
To brag about," said Do
Recently moved to Neb
Entertainment, if you co
Eating a slice of big p
To draw him back "for
["itspotatoes" on line seven was run together like that]
[Second column]
Others in the state seemed
Very enormous pizza was
Eaten, and when informed
Responded, "Who Cares? I
Pizza, or any un-American
Asparagus, or something
Sure, I'll give it a whirl. It co
Smallish food, I don't care
Mean it won't taste good.
It won't make the evening
Don't quite a lot of things
Neglected by you liberal r
Intensely anti-US focus on
The uneaten portion of the
Eventually be turned into
Zip Boys billboard:
The
Zip Boys
MANNY JOE MACK
Bart's sweater:
WORLD'S
BEST
GRANDSON
Diner sign:
-----------
\
V
OVERPASS
DINNER
A BURGER AND SQUALOR
FOR UNDER A DOLLER
Homer's letter to "Die Hard":
Especially when that guy
was on the roof.
-HOMER SIMPSON-
P. S. Do you know
Mad Max?
Concert banner:
CONCERT FOR THE DEAF
Subtitle in newscast:
MONTGOMERY BURNS
6-------------------
Local Tyrant
Lab sign before:
GERM WARFARE LABORATORY
"When the H-Bomb Isn't Enough"
Lab sign after:
THE GRANDMA SIMPSON PEACE MUSEUM
AND
KID-TERACTIVE LEARNATORIUM
Cover of park sign-in log:
YELLOWSTOWN
NATIONAL PARK
Traffic signs:
LEFT LANE DRIVE SEATBELTS
CLOSED FRIENDLY SAVE LIVES
STACEY WHAT DO YOU I HOPE YOUR
WILL YOU MEAN 'NO'? CAR BLOWS UP
MARRY ME?
SNOWSTORM AHEAD
USE TIRE CHAINS
Wiggum's dictionary:
HIPPIE-ENGLISH
DICTIONARY
Mona's headstone:
MONA J. SIMPSON
---------------
LOVING MOM
RADICAL CHICK
FAR-OUT
GRANDMA
Grimes's headstone:
FRANK
"GRIMEY"
GRIMES
"Message" Homer points out after funeral:
[First page]
We don't know who
demanded an apology.
It turn
Man had moved
Oklahoma, and
[Second page]
Know
quite a case
on account
Second newspaper headline:
GIANT TACO
BUILT IN
MEXICO
Mona's second message:
[First column]
How about those amazing, marvelous Mexicans?
One day they're attacking our best Alamos, or
Manufacturing nice leather belts to sell to
Eager U.S. tourists with uneventful trousers.
Recently, though, some students in nothern
Yucatan tried to make something to wear under
One's belt. They ended up making ... history.
Until yesterday, the largest taco ever built
Resided in the LA, home of Dom Deluise, who
Moved it from room to room to view it as he
Oversaw the operation of his bustling career.
That taco is now among the world's smallest.
He was unavailable for comment at press time.
Earlier this month, in attention-starved Iowa,
Residents made what they believed would be the
Largest food ever prepared: a 378-ton pizza.
Once the Yucatan Taco tipped the scales at a
Very impressive 413,845 tons, Iowa's feat was
Eclipsed, and the state was, again, forgotten.
Some in Iowa vowed revenge on the citizens of
Yucatan, saying, "If they want war, bring it
On. The people of Iowa are prepared. We've
Used this week bulking up on American pizza."
[The typo on line 5 ("nothern") also appears in the original.
So does the comma after "LA" on line 9. Any other typos are
My doing.]
[Second column]
I [remainder of column]
E [is gibberish, like]
S [dkdlfjdkjdkf, so I]
C [didn't bother to]
A [transcribe it]
P
E
D
[Oops!]
The want ad in the paper offers a 2002 Ford Festiva for $14,500.
Whoever posted it must have been hallucinating, or sending another
coded message. The Festiva was only sold (in the United States)
between 1988 and 1993. According to the Kelly Blue book, a '93
Festiva in good condition costs $2,210.
[Personal Comments & Observations]
>> Musical References
The cliched musical symbol of the 60s, Jimi Hendrix's version of "All
Along the Watchtower," plays during the cliched 60s montage.
As Homer reviews the photos of his mother, we hear John Lennon's
"Mother."
>> People in the news
Well, if the news is really old.
Tokyo Rose -- A female broadcaster hired by the Japanese to broadcast
demoralizing messages, in English, to invading Allied troops.
"Your girlfriends are cheating on you while you're over here"
was a popular theme. The troops must have been listening to
some other channel, as Imperial Japan was defeated anyway. I
heard that Tokyo Rose (who never identified herself; the
nickname was minted by the Allies) was actually several women
toiling in anonymity, rather than a specific individual.
Tyrone Powers -- Handsome movie actor of the era.
>> "What a shrill and pointless decade"
Brockman seemed tired of it, but the montage had a few offbeat
moments. The first three images -- rioters, soldiers in Vietnam, and
hippies at Woodstock -- are pretty much de rigeur for any montage
evoking a 60s theme. Then we have a picture of Nixon apparently
victorious in an election. Nixon's more of a 70s icon to most people,
but he was elected President in November 1968, so it fits. The moon
landing, shown next, happened in 1969. The next clip was from the
campy Adam West version of "Batman." It looked like the Caped
Crusader was doing his novelty dance, the Batusi. The two Olympic
medal winners raising their fist is the most famous image from the
1968 Olympics. The raised fist was the symbol of the "Black Power"
civil-rights movement, which was more radical and far more
controversial that Martin Luther King's crusade for equal rights. The
final shot was from "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," which was a big hit
in the late 60s. One recurrent gimmick was a giant colorful joke
wall. Show regulars and guest stars would pop out of doors in the
wall and tell quick one-liners. The actor in the montage looked like
John Wayne, which would be funny because he was a staunch conservative
who likely wouldn't have appeared on the show in real life. (Yeah,
okay, Nixon was on "Laugh-In" once. Perhaps he was Commie pinko in
disguise.)
--
Benjamin Robinson bj...@freenet.tlh.fl.us
This message may or may not contain sarcastic content; your burden to decide
"Save the SUVs" -- bumper sticker
Park Luck
>- "And away we go" was one of the character's catchphrases, wasn't
> it?
Actually, it was Jackie Gleason's catchphrase from "The Jackie Gleason Show."
He'd say it onstage at the end of his monologue. It was never carried over
into "The Honeymooners."
evan
Scott Munro
Robinson) wrote:
>The
>final shot was from "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," which was a big hit
>in the late 60s. One recurrent gimmick was a giant colorful joke
>wall. Show regulars and guest stars would pop out of doors in the
>wall and tell quick one-liners. The actor in the montage looked like
>John Wayne, which would be funny because he was a staunch conservative
>who likely wouldn't have appeared on the show in real life. (Yeah,
>okay, Nixon was on "Laugh-In" once. Perhaps he was Commie pinko in
>disguise.)
John Wayne was a frequent Laugh-In guest from 1968 to 1972, frequently
spoofing his right-wing or tough-guy image (once he wore a pink bunny
suit).
http://members.aol.com/fortscott/tv-doc.htm
http://www.jwayne.com/multimedia.shtml
--
Conservatism is the ideology of reality.
Ryan W. Mead
earth-shattering, but clever still.
Gus
<in my best Nixon voice> "Sock it to me?"
Jerry P.
> Home Sweet Home, Tha
> One pizza that's making
> Most sizeable pizza in th
> Every State wants to ol
> Rhode Island is our sma
> Montana boasts the biggest sky in the land;
> Even Idaho brags about itspotatoes. Iowa
> Eventually wanted to make its mark, too.
> To many in Ames, Iowa, where the college
> Men and women who dreamed up this stunt
> Eat pizza like LA students eat pills, this
> 4th attempt at doing something magnificent
> Saved the State. "There was precious little
> To brag about," said Do
> Recently moved to Neb
> Entertainment, if you co
> Eating a slice of big p
> To draw him back "for
I was able to see a little farther to the right...
Home sweet home, that's [...] is to
One pizza that's making its claim as the
Most sizable pizza in the
Every state wants to hold it
Rhode Island is our smallest state so far,
Montana boasts the biggest sky in the land;
Even Idaho brags about itspotatoes. Iowa
Eventually wanted to make is [sic] mark, too.
To many in Ames, Iowa, where the college
Men and women who dreamed up this stunt
Eat pizza like LA students eat pills, this
4th attempt at doing something magnificent
Saved the state. "There was a precious little
To brag about," said Dale Faulken,
Recently moved to Nebraska "to find
Entertainment, if you can believe it."
Eating a slice of a big pizza pie was
To draw him back "for good
Jerry P.
http://members.aol.com/jibberuski
S1.3 BAR+++ LIS+++ HOM+++ MRG+ MIL+
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(s12:) CABF01, CABF08, CABF09, CABF14
(s13:) DABF01, DABF04, DABF13, DABF15
(s14:) EABF03, EABF05, EABF07, EABF17
Benjamin Robinson
Carjacker (EABF18)"" thread, Ryan W. Mead wrote:
>Very clever what you did with the short review. Nothing
>earth-shattering, but clever still.
Thanks. I was wondering how many people would catch that.
Benjamin Robinson
>John Wayne was a frequent Laugh-In guest from 1968 to 1972, frequently
>spoofing his right-wing or tough-guy image (once he wore a pink bunny
>suit).
Huh. I'd never have guessed that. Truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
sarcastress
>Homer and his mother with its classic precursor, which aired
>eight years ago. I suspect most people will find it wanting, but
>should they? I think both episodes have similar joke quality.
>I liked the riffs on Sixties radicalism, in particular the stock 60's
>montage aired by Channel 6. It's too bad that most people will
>probably miss the funny news articles that Homer searches through,
>seeking coded messages from his mom. Glenn Close does great voice-
>over work as Homer's mom, just as in the original. The ending might
>not have the impact of the "Homer's Mom," but neither version was as
>stirring emotionally as most people seem to think. (B)
i get jokes!
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
thank you for not discussing the outside world
Matt Garvey
> >The first impulse most people will have is to compare this look at
> >Homer and his mother with its classic precursor, which aired
> >eight years ago. I suspect most people will find it wanting, but
> >should they? I think both episodes have similar joke quality.
> >I liked the riffs on Sixties radicalism, in particular the stock 60's
> >montage aired by Channel 6. It's too bad that most people will
> >probably miss the funny news articles that Homer searches through,
> >seeking coded messages from his mom. Glenn Close does great voice-
> >over work as Homer's mom, just as in the original. The ending might
> >not have the impact of the "Homer's Mom," but neither version was as
> >stirring emotionally as most people seem to think. (B)
>
> i get jokes!
>
Haha...now I get it...I was afraid I might have to knock my IQ down a few
points if I had to ask for help.