Review: The Simpsons “Fatzcarraldo”

After a month-long hiatus, The Simpsons return! Find out if this episode was delicious or gross.

Delicious Spoilers Below

Homer’s personal nightmare has come to pass, as “the crap you love to eat has been replaced by food!” It starts at Krusty Burger, whose menu has been completely replaced by its new Asian management (all the way down to the ketchup dispenser taken over by beet aioli), and it goes so deep that Taco Bell is now “Tofu Bell,” and Arby’s is now … Arby’s. While desperately fleeing the 38^th Annual DMV Awards, Homer exceeds the county limits and finally finds a belly-busting sanctuary: Deuce’s Caboose Chili Dogs, run by an aging wiener-slinger.

It turns out that this encounter may be more than just random chance. Abe reveals that the Caboose is the same joint that he and Mona (Glenn Close returning for a couple lines) dropped Homer off at while they “tuned up” their marriage. Recognizing that chili dogs – and eventually all unhealthy foods – have been filling an emotional hole, the big oaf has one of his occasional breakthroughs: “Eating is to me what drinking is to me.”

Naturally then, Homer grasps onto the Caboose like it is the steadiest anchor in his whole world. But Deuce’s memory is slipping (or so he claims), so he does not really remember Homer, and also he is getting pretty close to 100, which means he is even more vulnerable than the average Simpsons character to being bought out.

But guess what, folks? This is one of those times when Homer is supremely motivated to take action. At first, it is about a refuge for clogging his arteries, but now it is something somehow even more important: protecting a touchstone of his childhood. So he takes off on a typically ill-advised scheme that leads to a highway chase, and defying death by hanging off a giant hot dog while dangling from a bridge. In other words, this is the perfect time for the Deuce to save the day and reveal that he has remembered Homer all along.

This is one of those episodes that is more heartwarming than gut-busting, despite the subject material. There could maybe be sharper satire, but that is ultimately not what this story is about. I think that is for the best, as the specialty of 2010s Simpsons is a human connection borne out through decades of experience.

“Fatzcarraldo” also features a Lisa-centric subplot about Springfield Elementary’s radio news team, but the A-plot is fatter than most A-plots, so there is really no resolution, nor hardly any development either. The gist is that funds are running low, and … that’s about it. But I’m going to cut some slack this time. It is rare that the main story has so much room to get everything out. I suspect that the radio odyssey may have originally been longer. As it was cut down, it may have grown nonsensical, but if that made the reunion between Homer and Deuce more heartwarming, I am fine with that tradeoff.

Memorable Lines and Random Jazz:

-“The boys” is what Homer calls Marge’s boobs, and “Chewie” is what he calls his mouth.

-A URL gag? (www.goofingoff.org) What is this, Y2K?

-“Don’t wait up for me, my sweet, wonderful bartender, Moe.”

-“Stop forcing banter!” (The Simpsons is still crafting dialogue that is ready-made for everyday use. See also: “Heckle! Heckle!” and “I have no end game!”)

-This Week in Sign Gags: “Ball Pit Now Free of Malaria,” “RUSTY PIPE” becomes “KRUSTY PIPE”

-“But it’s in your name! It’s as if Macy’s didn’t sell mace!”

-“Well, you were young then, and you’re stupid now.”

-We finally know the origin of “haw-haw”! It all boils down to Nelson wanting “to make the dope feel like a dingus.”

-Who would be “a cheap Garrett Morris?” Sound off in the comments to let me know!

-The wisdom of Chief Wiggum: “‘Defuse’? Well, there’s a first time for everything.”