[5.7/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Maybe I just need to have seen more spy films to make it work, but man this was an unfunny half hour of television. There a handful of solid gags here and there (mostly during the boardwalk scene, for whatever reason), but otherwise this was just an absolute desert of comedy. The series has thankfully mostly veered away from jokes that make me actively roll my eyes or scrunch my face up from the lameness of them, but it happened multiple times here. Even if the story’s alright, that really weakens the proceedings.
The story’s no great shakes either. The gist is that Terrance, an old British spy, is tracking down a mysterious Russian asset codenamed “Gray Fox”, and he assumes it’s Grampa. Terrance warms up to Homer to try to convince our favorite oaf to help spring the net on his own dad. I guess there’s something there, but the episode feels pretty lacksiadiscal in the effort, more interested in sprinkling a bunch of unavailing spy gags in than actually giving this a real throughline either in terms of plot or emotion.
The closest we get is a few scenes about Homer’s relationship with Grampa. It’s nice that in the end, Homer cares enough about Abe to try to protect the old coot, even when he thinks Abe’s a turncoat. Their scene in the trunk is actually kind of sweet. But it’s the unearned kind of sweet, meant to paper over the show garden hosing a bunch of tepid espionage jokes at the audience in lieu of real story and pouring some sap on at the very end. And the swerve that, of course, Abe isn’t really a russian spy doesn’t feel particularly clever or fun.
Also, this isn’t really an indictment of the episode since it’s such a small part, but I hate when The Simpsons includes live action footage and photos. The Third Man is great, but just animated the scenes from it rather than playing the real live footage from it! Seeing animated characters watch real people is jarring and, frankly, a little lazy.
Otherwise, this one may be a treat if you’re a diehard devotee of classic spy films, but aside from the recognition gags, there’s very little that does more than scrape the surface here, either in terms of obvious spy gags or an undercooked take on the Homer/Abe relationship.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-05-28T18:41:37Z
[5.7/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Maybe I just need to have seen more spy films to make it work, but man this was an unfunny half hour of television. There a handful of solid gags here and there (mostly during the boardwalk scene, for whatever reason), but otherwise this was just an absolute desert of comedy. The series has thankfully mostly veered away from jokes that make me actively roll my eyes or scrunch my face up from the lameness of them, but it happened multiple times here. Even if the story’s alright, that really weakens the proceedings.
The story’s no great shakes either. The gist is that Terrance, an old British spy, is tracking down a mysterious Russian asset codenamed “Gray Fox”, and he assumes it’s Grampa. Terrance warms up to Homer to try to convince our favorite oaf to help spring the net on his own dad. I guess there’s something there, but the episode feels pretty lacksiadiscal in the effort, more interested in sprinkling a bunch of unavailing spy gags in than actually giving this a real throughline either in terms of plot or emotion.
The closest we get is a few scenes about Homer’s relationship with Grampa. It’s nice that in the end, Homer cares enough about Abe to try to protect the old coot, even when he thinks Abe’s a turncoat. Their scene in the trunk is actually kind of sweet. But it’s the unearned kind of sweet, meant to paper over the show garden hosing a bunch of tepid espionage jokes at the audience in lieu of real story and pouring some sap on at the very end. And the swerve that, of course, Abe isn’t really a russian spy doesn’t feel particularly clever or fun.
Also, this isn’t really an indictment of the episode since it’s such a small part, but I hate when The Simpsons includes live action footage and photos. The Third Man is great, but just animated the scenes from it rather than playing the real live footage from it! Seeing animated characters watch real people is jarring and, frankly, a little lazy.
Otherwise, this one may be a treat if you’re a diehard devotee of classic spy films, but aside from the recognition gags, there’s very little that does more than scrape the surface here, either in terms of obvious spy gags or an undercooked take on the Homer/Abe relationship.