Pretty unfocused episode. You can see the quality dropping as of this season.
Homer putting weed (or whatever it is) into the drinks at the end is kind of funny, but the rest of this episode is just about as cringe as hippies are.
Homer in this episode reminded me of myself right after I first read electric kool aid acid test lmao. Yo La Tengo on the end credits!
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2019-05-21T16:09:48Z
[8.4/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] So many good laughs in this one. The foundation of this episode is on Homer being an all-around “half-witted oaf” and understanding only the most surface-level parts of being a hippie, and the show wrings so many good chuckles out of that. Everything from the running gag about him mistaking “Uptown Girl” for a hippie anthem, to his mangled use of hippie slang, to his failed attempts to turn his generic middle class life into a counter culture haven are good for a guffaw.
But the show also finds an emotional throughline for all of that, with Homer not only wanting to honor the spirit of his mother, but also to try to rediscover the more carefree life he might have had if she’d still been in his life. It’s subtle, but it helps provide some real character motivation for the lunacy, which gives it direction.
Granted, it’s really just fun to see Homer moonlight as a hippie (or at least his idea of a hippie), while screwing things up with the hacky sack, his frisbee, and his generally boobery. Seth and Munchie are a fun pair as the now strait-laced former hippies (“for cryin’ out loud!”) and the show got to be really imaginative and fun once with the hallucination sequences.
The only thing that really keeps this episode from greatness is its ending. There’s actually a really nice trajectory to this one until its last minute or so. Homer’s quest for his middle name is a good plot starter. His misguided attempts to be a hippie once he discovers it and tries to vindicate his mom’s legacy are tons of fun. Him inadvertently screwing up Seth and Munchie’s juice business is a solid plot obstacle, and his efforts to fix his mistakes is a nice, boneheaded way to get to the peyote-fueled nonsense that was the original goal of the episode.
The problem is that the show clearly didn’t know where to go from there, and settling on “Homer gets shot with a flower” just feels lazy. Still, the rest of the half-hour is chock full of laughs and great Homer antics, with less commentary on hippies than on people misunderstanding and coopting hippiedom down the life, which ends up being funnier.
Overall, one of the standouts of season 10.