[6.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Eh, there’s good material here, but none of it comes together. The episode is founded on two good stories -- Bart having Marge be a catalyst to actually feel empathy and remorse for his pranks, and Krusty having to remake himself as a serious actor and feeling his insecurity creep in -- but they don’t really go together, and neither of them has a great ending, or a beginning for that matter.
For the Bart story, the idea of Skinner pulling an elaborate prank on his spiky-haired tormentor is a decent enough one, but the fake retirement bit falters from the fact that essentially none of the jokes in the first act are funny. I do like the idea that Marge is pushing back against the “Boys Will Be Boys” philosophy that’s let Bart skate by for years and wants some tough love to help him find his best self. The bits with him apologizing to various people for his past misdeeds is good, but there’s not really a good endpoint to it all. Bart sets up a giant prank, feels bad about it at the last minute, but the prank happens anyway. There’s no real resolution or even a return to the status quo. It’s just kind of done.
On Krusty’s side, there’s some mild cleverness to the idea that the whole scary clown meme has hurt Krusty’s brand and forced him into a different mode of performer. Him trying to be a serious actor on stage is a good bit, and bringing back Jon Lovitz to reprise his role as Llewellyn Sinclair is a total treat (particularly with his Death of a Salesman knockoff gags). And I especially like the image of Krusty actually succeeding as a dramatic actor but having his “anything for a laugh” insecurities haunting him. It’s a slice of the same thing BoJack Horseman did in its “Stupid Piece of” episode. But it too ends in a pretty unsatisfying fashion with Krusty’s demons (which showed up out of nowhere to begin with) succeeding without much of a push or shift.
Overall, an episode with two good story ideas that doesn't know what to do with either of them.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-04-06T00:50:29Z
[6.0/10 on a post-classic Simpsons scale] Eh, there’s good material here, but none of it comes together. The episode is founded on two good stories -- Bart having Marge be a catalyst to actually feel empathy and remorse for his pranks, and Krusty having to remake himself as a serious actor and feeling his insecurity creep in -- but they don’t really go together, and neither of them has a great ending, or a beginning for that matter.
For the Bart story, the idea of Skinner pulling an elaborate prank on his spiky-haired tormentor is a decent enough one, but the fake retirement bit falters from the fact that essentially none of the jokes in the first act are funny. I do like the idea that Marge is pushing back against the “Boys Will Be Boys” philosophy that’s let Bart skate by for years and wants some tough love to help him find his best self. The bits with him apologizing to various people for his past misdeeds is good, but there’s not really a good endpoint to it all. Bart sets up a giant prank, feels bad about it at the last minute, but the prank happens anyway. There’s no real resolution or even a return to the status quo. It’s just kind of done.
On Krusty’s side, there’s some mild cleverness to the idea that the whole scary clown meme has hurt Krusty’s brand and forced him into a different mode of performer. Him trying to be a serious actor on stage is a good bit, and bringing back Jon Lovitz to reprise his role as Llewellyn Sinclair is a total treat (particularly with his Death of a Salesman knockoff gags). And I especially like the image of Krusty actually succeeding as a dramatic actor but having his “anything for a laugh” insecurities haunting him. It’s a slice of the same thing BoJack Horseman did in its “Stupid Piece of” episode. But it too ends in a pretty unsatisfying fashion with Krusty’s demons (which showed up out of nowhere to begin with) succeeding without much of a push or shift.
Overall, an episode with two good story ideas that doesn't know what to do with either of them.