"If he fights back, I'll say that he's gay!"
It bugs me to no end, that the bum only provided a bit of money for The Simpsons.
Also I would love a follow up episode with Lester and his sister. Maybe it comes somewhere in the 30+ seasons I'm exploring but I doubt it.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-07-26T23:26:44Z
[7.9/10] This is such a fun episode for animation fans. It has references to Robert Crumb, Schoolhouse Rock, and originator/creator disputes over characters like Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat. Using Itchy & Scratchy as a springboard to parodies and homages like that is a SImpsons specialty, and legendary scribe John Swartzwelder is the perfect guy to do it.
That’s the thing, the story here is kind of weird. It’s a “more than you bargained for” story when Bart helps a bum gain rightful credit for creating Bart’s favorite cartoon character, only to inadvertently bankrupt the studio who makes those cartoons in the process. There’s an interesting throughline of Bart stumbling onto the proof of Chester J. Lampwick’s claim, fighting to get him the recognition (and remuneration) he deserves, and then scrambling to find a way to get Itchy & Scratchy up and running again. The whole third act is a little odd, feeling like it’s a step beyond the natural endpoint of the story, but that may be the point here.
Because there’s a particularly weird ending, that feels like meta commentary from the show on how often Bart and Lisa solve these sorts of problems. The presence of “Lester and Eliza” is both a riff on how weird it is that a kid brother and sister are always the one saving the day in this town, but how eerie it would be for Bart and Lisa to have that role quietly usurped out from under them. Like much of the Oakley & Weinstein years, it’s experimental, and I admire that, but it ends things on a very strange note.
Despite that, most importantly, this is a hilarious episode. Kirk Douglas does great work as Lampwick, infusing a grumpy grumbliness into the “genius bum.” There’s also bits of Swartzwelder’s trademark off-the-wall humor, from recurring brawls involving Lampwick, to Homer giving his kids large sums of money without a second thought, to Lionel Hutz recalling “all of his surprise witnesses.” There’s the almost surreal humor at play here that just tickles the funny bone, and that’s before you get to the pitch-perfect, wonderfully cynical Schoolhouse Rock parody.
Overall, this one is a boon for animation fans, anyone who enjoys out there goofy humor, and folks who appreciate a good, if strange, fourth-wall cracking ending.