[9.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] I was worried about this one. The Simpsons taking on pot in 2020 feels like the potential for some real “Old Man Yells at Cloud” levels of out of touch. But this was really good! It was funny! It told a good story! And while the third act goes off the rails a little bit, it resolves everything on a sweet note. Post-classic Simpsons, I didn’t know you had it in you! Kudos to writer Carolyn Ormine and substitute showrunner Matt Selman.
I like the emotional conflict and the story here. Marge doesn't know what to do with herself while Maggie’s at daycare, and stumbles into a job at a slick, modern CBD shop backed by Drederick Tatum. Meanwhile Homer ends up starting a business with Moe to offer old devotees the weed-buying experience of their youth. The conflict between the new look of buying marajuana and the old look is both a good source of comedy and a good source of drama between the couple.
I like Marge having qualms about participating in pot sales, only to be convinced by Tatum that she’s actually participating in wellness. There’s commentary and even some cynicism in the idea that a button down woman like Marge selling them pot puts squeamish folks at ease about engaging in something that is legal but still a touch taboo in certain corners. It makes sense that Tatum and company, who are wanting to put a new, more sophisticated and respectable face on pot, would want to use Marge’s to do it.
Along the way there’s tons of great gags. The episode is rife with great THC-based wordplay. (It’s not the most clever, but I think my favorite is “chicken pot pot pie”, though Marge’s “I’m a healer and you’re a dealer” is a good one too). Billy Porter and Chelsea Peretti are quite funny as Marge’s suave counter-culture coworkers. The running bits about Homer replicating the old pot-buying experience are amusing, as is the fact that the cops run a sting not based on him selling drugs, but on him selling food without a license.
Marge betraying Homer like that is a solid character beat, and I like the resolution that he tries to expose Marge as a fraud to her clientele as a teetotaler for retribution, only to help comfort her through her disorienting high. It’s a bit of a quick fix, but it’s sweet, and the show gets a lot of humorous mileage out of Marge the square being under the influence. Homer accidentally burning down Tatum’s center seems unnecessary, but I guess the show needed to do something to restore the status quo.
Overall, this was a surprisingly timely and funny take on modern pot sales, and a really good Homer and Marge story to boot. It’s in competition with “Thanksgiving of Horror” for best of the season in my book!
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-03-26T01:54:11Z
[9.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] I was worried about this one. The Simpsons taking on pot in 2020 feels like the potential for some real “Old Man Yells at Cloud” levels of out of touch. But this was really good! It was funny! It told a good story! And while the third act goes off the rails a little bit, it resolves everything on a sweet note. Post-classic Simpsons, I didn’t know you had it in you! Kudos to writer Carolyn Ormine and substitute showrunner Matt Selman.
I like the emotional conflict and the story here. Marge doesn't know what to do with herself while Maggie’s at daycare, and stumbles into a job at a slick, modern CBD shop backed by Drederick Tatum. Meanwhile Homer ends up starting a business with Moe to offer old devotees the weed-buying experience of their youth. The conflict between the new look of buying marajuana and the old look is both a good source of comedy and a good source of drama between the couple.
I like Marge having qualms about participating in pot sales, only to be convinced by Tatum that she’s actually participating in wellness. There’s commentary and even some cynicism in the idea that a button down woman like Marge selling them pot puts squeamish folks at ease about engaging in something that is legal but still a touch taboo in certain corners. It makes sense that Tatum and company, who are wanting to put a new, more sophisticated and respectable face on pot, would want to use Marge’s to do it.
Along the way there’s tons of great gags. The episode is rife with great THC-based wordplay. (It’s not the most clever, but I think my favorite is “chicken pot pot pie”, though Marge’s “I’m a healer and you’re a dealer” is a good one too). Billy Porter and Chelsea Peretti are quite funny as Marge’s suave counter-culture coworkers. The running bits about Homer replicating the old pot-buying experience are amusing, as is the fact that the cops run a sting not based on him selling drugs, but on him selling food without a license.
Marge betraying Homer like that is a solid character beat, and I like the resolution that he tries to expose Marge as a fraud to her clientele as a teetotaler for retribution, only to help comfort her through her disorienting high. It’s a bit of a quick fix, but it’s sweet, and the show gets a lot of humorous mileage out of Marge the square being under the influence. Homer accidentally burning down Tatum’s center seems unnecessary, but I guess the show needed to do something to restore the status quo.
Overall, this was a surprisingly timely and funny take on modern pot sales, and a really good Homer and Marge story to boot. It’s in competition with “Thanksgiving of Horror” for best of the season in my book!