[8.6/10] This episode has a different energy than a lot of Simpsons episode, but even if it’s a bit of a departure, it’s so damn funny. What really tickles my funny bone about this one is all the little drop-in pairings the episode has.
Smithers being annoyed with Bart and Lisa is great pestering comedy, and brings out Smithers’s best “Bert from Bert and Ernie” qualities. Lenny and Carl’s unexpectedly testy relationship is good for some laughs as well. (“Did you hear something” “No” “Did I?” “I don’t know” is such a brilliantly written and delivered exchange.) Even Marge and Ranger McFadden tooling around the lodge (Smoky the Bear, John Murer, the chair lift) is great for some individual gags.
And the main pairing of the episode, Homer and Mr. Burns, is superb as well. There’s a lot of great humor to be wrung from Homer sucking up to his boss, and then the two very different men finding common ground. The way that they play out the theme of teamwork – initially succeeding as an unexpectedly effective team, and then falling apart completely when they suffer some (admittedly significant) setbacks is a great little story.
Granted, both of them go crazy pretty quickly, and the whole propane-powered rocket house solution makes no sense (Hank Hill must be rolling in his grave), but again, there’s enough comedy and absurd tangents in the final frame to make it work. Burns and Homer have a lot of chuckle-worthy moments, and sticking the two of them in a room together is good for the funny and weird places the episode takes them.
Overall, not the most tightly-written or heartfelt episode the show ever did, but still filled to the brim with good laughs and entertaining moments that make it great.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-06-19T19:50:41Z
[8.6/10] This episode has a different energy than a lot of Simpsons episode, but even if it’s a bit of a departure, it’s so damn funny. What really tickles my funny bone about this one is all the little drop-in pairings the episode has.
Smithers being annoyed with Bart and Lisa is great pestering comedy, and brings out Smithers’s best “Bert from Bert and Ernie” qualities. Lenny and Carl’s unexpectedly testy relationship is good for some laughs as well. (“Did you hear something” “No” “Did I?” “I don’t know” is such a brilliantly written and delivered exchange.) Even Marge and Ranger McFadden tooling around the lodge (Smoky the Bear, John Murer, the chair lift) is great for some individual gags.
And the main pairing of the episode, Homer and Mr. Burns, is superb as well. There’s a lot of great humor to be wrung from Homer sucking up to his boss, and then the two very different men finding common ground. The way that they play out the theme of teamwork – initially succeeding as an unexpectedly effective team, and then falling apart completely when they suffer some (admittedly significant) setbacks is a great little story.
Granted, both of them go crazy pretty quickly, and the whole propane-powered rocket house solution makes no sense (Hank Hill must be rolling in his grave), but again, there’s enough comedy and absurd tangents in the final frame to make it work. Burns and Homer have a lot of chuckle-worthy moments, and sticking the two of them in a room together is good for the funny and weird places the episode takes them.
Overall, not the most tightly-written or heartfelt episode the show ever did, but still filled to the brim with good laughs and entertaining moments that make it great.