The Simpsons Gone Wild (2004)

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 4)

24 Animated Party People

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The Simpsons Gone Wild on DVD.

This "Simpsons" disc is the third in a kind of "greatest hits" series that Fox has put together in-between the more significant season-length box sets. The first two featured Christmas and Halloween episodes, but this one is simply made up of "party" episodes in which Homer gets loose and funky.

Three of the episodes are from recent (1999-2001) seasons, but the first episode is already available on The Simpsons: The Complete First Season DVD box set.

In "Homer's Night Out" (from season one), Homer is photographed dancing with a stripper and becomes a local legend. But Marge convinces him to take Bart to meet the woman to convince him that she's a real person and not just a sex object. Big laughs ensue when Homer takes Bart on a tour of local sleazy strip clubs trying to find the stripper. ("Keep looking at the floor, boy!")

"Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" (from season 10) guest stars Fred Ward as a hard luck case who organizes a bus trip to the Super Bowl, on which every male denizen from Springfield gets drunk and unruly. Unfortunately, it turns out that their tickets are no good.

In "The Mansion Family" (from season 11) Mr. Burns goes to the Mayo Clinic for a much-needed checkup and improbably leaves Homer in charge of his estate. Homer arranges a yacht party but finds trouble when he drifts out into international waters. The best joke: Mr. Burns never has to make his bed; he simply presses a button and the entire thing goes up in flames, replaced by an exact duplicate. Best line: "Honeydew is the money melon."

Finally, in "Homer the Moe," (from season 13) Moe goes back to Bartending School for a refresher and leaves Homer in charge of the bar. When Moe returns, he turns the bar into a hot spot, totally alienating his regular beer-guzzlers. The episode opens with a weird, completely unrelated prologue in which Bart digs a hole for no reason. Best line: Homer gets thrown out of the new bar and indignantly says to the bouncer: "I believe I had a hat." The bouncer produces one, which Homer grabs, yelling "Sucker!" and running off.

It's hard not to recommend such a high quality show on DVD. Any "Simpsons" fan will get a huge kick out of these four very funny episodes. But the packaging itself is so callous that even the Simpsons themselves would recognize the greedy marketing of it all. So if you can't wait until the Season 10, 11 and 13 box sets come out, "The Simpsons Gone Wild" is worth it. But someday you're going to look at it and wonder why you spent the money.

Starring: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Britney Spears, R.E.M. (Michael Stipe, Mike Mills, Peter Buck), Fred Willard, Troy Aikman, Rosie Grier, John Madden, Dan Marino, Pat Summerall, Dolly Parton
Written by: Jon Vitti, Tom Martin, George Meyer, Brian Scully, Mike Scully, John Swartzwelder, Dana Gould
Directed by: Rich Moore, Steven Dean Moore, Michael Polcino, Jen Kamerman
MPAA Rating: NR
Running Time: 92 mins.
Date: October 1, 2004

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