[7.6/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] There’s been a worthwhile effort from The Simpsons in recent years to develop some of its tertiary characters. Sometimes it works well (Sarah Wiggum). Sometimes it works poorly (Brandine Spuckler). But I like the show choosing to deepen its bench this late in the show’s run.
Enter Shauna Chalmers, who’s never been one of my favorite recurring characters on the show. She’s a one-joke player, and I suppose it’s good to have a teenage girl on the show, filling out one of the few demographics not otherwise represented by the series’ milieu, but her generic “whatevers” and “I’m Shauna” lines have never really done much for me.
Somehow, though, pairing her up with Lisa brings out the best in the character. We see little bits of further shading here, like her being generically rebellious against her dad despite his general supportiveness, the fact that she cares about things even as she pretends not to, and that she’s genuinely capable of bonding with a bright young girl like Lisa. The big sister/kid sister relationship the two forge is exceedingly wholesome.
The two of them connecting through a shared love of music makes it easy to warm to them both, especially in a clever split-screen montage showing their bond developing. Lisa bringing out the confidence and effort in Shauna, and Shauna helping Lisa to take things a little less seriously and feel a little cooler makes for a nice give-and-take between them.
Likewise, as neat as the sisterly bond it is, I like what cracks it. Going to a teenage party where Lisa feels abandoned by Shauna, and Shauna feels narc’d on by a scared Lisa feels like a real sort of issue that might come up in this teenager/younger kid friendship. The two patching things up as a babysitter, when Lisa’s hurt by Shauna acknowledges Lisa’s good influence on her, doesn’t exactly fix it, but is warm and messy enough to pass muster.
Not for nothing, this one’s also pretty darn funny! There’s some solid wordplay. (“Thirst Trappist” comes to mind.) Chief Wiggum’s on-the-nose speech about teens supporting one another while a knock-off Dawson’s Creek tune plays is a good laugh. And the general back-and-forth between Shauna and Lisa has some clever lines and wry writing behind it. Probably more smiles than guffaws here, but still good comedy.
That extends to the B-story. Full disclosure, I’m a craft beer fan who likes Belgian brews in particular, so this was right up my alley. The little gags about Trappist “traditions” was a good chuckle. More to the point, Chalmers and Homer bonding over home-brewing is a good plot for the two of them. I like that it ties into something emotional, with Chalmers reveling in the simplicity of knowing a beer will turn out the way he hoped even if he’s not sure if his daughter did. And I like how it dovetails with the main plot, with the teens taking their home-brewed beer, the two dads worrying that they’ll go to jail for accidentally supplying minors with booze, and the whole thing turning out alright since Homer the dunce accidentally failed to add the yeast necessary for fermentation.
Overall, I might try to leave more time in the back half of this one for Lisa and Shauna to reconcile. It comes off a tad rushed. But otherwise, this is an unexpectedly superb outing that makes Shauna into an actual character and finds a nice way to connect her with Lisa, while also giving the two girls’ dads some quality material as well.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-05-02T22:59:06Z
[7.6/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] There’s been a worthwhile effort from The Simpsons in recent years to develop some of its tertiary characters. Sometimes it works well (Sarah Wiggum). Sometimes it works poorly (Brandine Spuckler). But I like the show choosing to deepen its bench this late in the show’s run.
Enter Shauna Chalmers, who’s never been one of my favorite recurring characters on the show. She’s a one-joke player, and I suppose it’s good to have a teenage girl on the show, filling out one of the few demographics not otherwise represented by the series’ milieu, but her generic “whatevers” and “I’m Shauna” lines have never really done much for me.
Somehow, though, pairing her up with Lisa brings out the best in the character. We see little bits of further shading here, like her being generically rebellious against her dad despite his general supportiveness, the fact that she cares about things even as she pretends not to, and that she’s genuinely capable of bonding with a bright young girl like Lisa. The big sister/kid sister relationship the two forge is exceedingly wholesome.
The two of them connecting through a shared love of music makes it easy to warm to them both, especially in a clever split-screen montage showing their bond developing. Lisa bringing out the confidence and effort in Shauna, and Shauna helping Lisa to take things a little less seriously and feel a little cooler makes for a nice give-and-take between them.
Likewise, as neat as the sisterly bond it is, I like what cracks it. Going to a teenage party where Lisa feels abandoned by Shauna, and Shauna feels narc’d on by a scared Lisa feels like a real sort of issue that might come up in this teenager/younger kid friendship. The two patching things up as a babysitter, when Lisa’s hurt by Shauna acknowledges Lisa’s good influence on her, doesn’t exactly fix it, but is warm and messy enough to pass muster.
Not for nothing, this one’s also pretty darn funny! There’s some solid wordplay. (“Thirst Trappist” comes to mind.) Chief Wiggum’s on-the-nose speech about teens supporting one another while a knock-off Dawson’s Creek tune plays is a good laugh. And the general back-and-forth between Shauna and Lisa has some clever lines and wry writing behind it. Probably more smiles than guffaws here, but still good comedy.
That extends to the B-story. Full disclosure, I’m a craft beer fan who likes Belgian brews in particular, so this was right up my alley. The little gags about Trappist “traditions” was a good chuckle. More to the point, Chalmers and Homer bonding over home-brewing is a good plot for the two of them. I like that it ties into something emotional, with Chalmers reveling in the simplicity of knowing a beer will turn out the way he hoped even if he’s not sure if his daughter did. And I like how it dovetails with the main plot, with the teens taking their home-brewed beer, the two dads worrying that they’ll go to jail for accidentally supplying minors with booze, and the whole thing turning out alright since Homer the dunce accidentally failed to add the yeast necessary for fermentation.
Overall, I might try to leave more time in the back half of this one for Lisa and Shauna to reconcile. It comes off a tad rushed. But otherwise, this is an unexpectedly superb outing that makes Shauna into an actual character and finds a nice way to connect her with Lisa, while also giving the two girls’ dads some quality material as well.