Summary
Thanks toThe Simpsons, there’s a whole host of classic movies that I can’t watch with a straight face. Everyone misses out on a few major pop culture moments thanks to cultural osmosis. I saw Emperor Zurg tell Buzz Lightyear that he was his father long before Darth Vader told Luke Skywalker the same thing, and this undeniably saps the original revelation of some dramatic impact. However, no cultural force has done more to make classic movies inadvertently hilarious thanThe Simpsons. AsThe Simpsonsseason 36approaches, it’d be easier to list the classic movies the show hasn’t parodied.
The Simpsonshas been spoofing, referencing, and spoiling movies since the show’s inception thanks to its irreverent sense of humor. Since the animated family comedy doesn’t take politics, society, religion, or family seriously, it’s not too surprising thatThe Simpsonsdoesn’t hold classic movies sacred either. What is surprising is the sheer number of great moviesThe Simpsonshas parodied over the years. Sincethe Simpsons never age, the show’s characters live in a perpetual present where they are apt to spoil everything fromCasablancatoOppenheimer, depending on the episode. This irrevocably altered a few classic movies for me.
The Simpsons Season 36 Teases An Answer To Its Oldest Mystery (That Changes The Show Forever)
Although The Simpsons doesn’t radically alter the show’s formula every year, there is reason to think that season 36’s premiere could see the series enter a new era.
The Shining
The Simpsons Spoof Of Kubrick’s Classic Is Iconic In Its Own Right
When I was attending a lecture on Stanley Kubrick’sThe Shining, the professor ended by screeningThe Simpsons’ parody of the movie “The Shinning.” This segment from season 6, episode 6, “Treehouse of Horror V,” was so iconic that it merited inclusion in a university course on Post-War American Film, and I can see why.“The Shinning” is a masterclass in parodythat highlights specific shots, minor details, and tiny motifs from Kubrick’s movie to faithfully recapture its tone. Re-watchThe Shining, and you’ll be blown away by just how muchThe Simpsonsnailed its recreation of the movie.
The Fugitive
The Simpsons Picked The Perfect Harrison Ford Stand-in
Even though “The Shinning” only accounts for seven minutes of oneTreehouse of Horror episode ofThe Simpsons, it still ended up reshaping my re-watches ofThe Shining. During its Golden Age,The Simpsonsdidn’t need much screen time to pull off this feat. One throwaway joke from season 6, episode 2, “Lisa’s Rival,” underlines this with a hilarious nod to 1993’s blockbuster thrillerThe Fugitive.It is impossible to take Harrison Ford’sThe Fugitiveprotagonist hero seriously after seeing Milhouse evade the FBI, and the movie’s iconic dam jump now feels incomplete without a cry of “… My glasses!”.
Citizen Kane
One Line From The Simpsons Cast A Shadow Over This Classic
One cutaway gag featuring Milhouse on the run from the FBI was enough to makeThe Fugitiveunintentionally funny, but this thriller isn’t one of the best movies in cinema history. In contrast,Citizen Kaneis frequently called the greatest movieever, and with good reason. Orson Welles’ masterpiece pioneered a variety of innovative narrative, cinematography, and editing techniques and remains a sharp satirical indictment and a compelling, poignant story to boot. However, none of that changes the fact thatI can’t think of the movie without remembering Lisa’s infamous realization that “There was no cane in Citizen Kane!”
Westworld
The Simpsons Parodied Michael Crichton’s Underrated Blockbuster (Twice)
Lisa’s line from season 11, episode 3, “Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner?” is a classic, but sometimes, The Simpsonsdevotes more time and focus to its parodies. Take season 6, episode 4, “Itchy & Scratchy Land,” an incredibly ambitious action adventure story where the family attends a theme park whose robot attractions go dangerously haywire. As a child, I thought this episode had enough tension and action to propel an entire movie. As an adult, I learned this was becauseThe Simpsonsparodied 1973’sWestworldin a hilarious shot-for-shot spoof that doubles as a loving homage to the original movie.
Naked Lunch
The Simpsons Ruined David Cronenberg’s William S Burroughs Adaptation
Speaking of episodes that could have been full-blown movies, season 7, episode 20, “Bart on the Road” has enough plot to fill an entire feature-length runtime. The uneasy camaraderie between Martin Prince, Milhouse, Bart, and Nelson, the road trip that takes them far from Springfield, and their many adventures along the way all combine to make this Golden Age episode. However, it is the kids complaining about the title of director David Cronenberg’s hallucinogenic William S Burroughs adaptationNaked Lunchthat still sticks with me. As wild as the trippy movie is,Nelson is right to noteNaked Lunch’s title is misleading.
Planet of the Apes
Dr. Zaius Reminds Me Of The Simpsons’ Inspired Musical Spoof
Most of season 7, episode 19, “A Fish Called Selma,” focuses on washed-up actor Troy McClure romancing Selma in an attempt to get his career back on track. However, the episode’s most memorable moment is much, much sillier. McClure plays an all-singing, all-dancing George Taylor in the outing’s musical adaptation ofPlanet of the Apes. Thanks to the late, great Phil Hartman’s hilarious performance, I’ve never been able to watch the original movie with a straight face. It’s hard not to be disappointed when the apes who support Dr. Zaius don’t begin to spontaneously breakdance.
Glengarry Glen Ross
The Simpsons Ruined This Classic David Mamet Adaptation
The Simpsonsdoesn’t always need to use only one line, segment, or even episode to ruin a classic movie. Sometimes, the show will base an entire character on a famous figure and leave a mark on their screen persona as a result. Whileone Christmas episode ofThe Simpsonssees Gil the inept salesman move in with the family, it is fair to say he is hardly a major character. However, he is such a frequently seen supporting star thatthe perpetually put-upon salesman Gil managed to demolish my chances of takingGlengarry Glen Ross’s story seriously.
Dan Castellaneta’s Lemmon impersonation has just the right combination of misplaced idealism and barely concealed bitterness.
When Jack Lemmon’s Shelley can’t stop failing haplessly in his search for successful leads, the viewer’s heartstrings should be pulled. The audience is meant to find his desperation hard to watch, but I couldn’t help but think of Gil Gunderson and his floundering attempts to scam his way into some fast money. Dan Castellaneta’s Lemmon impersonation has just the right combination of misplaced idealism and barely concealed bitterness to make Gil a perfect parody ofGlengarry Glen Ross’s antihero, but this comes with the fringe benefit of making the otherwise tense, nihilistic play adaptation unintentionally hilarious upon a re-watch.
Thelma and Louise
The Simpsons Made Ridley Scott’s Feminist Classic Hilarious
In season 5, episode 6, “Marge on the Lam,”The Simpsonstook on Ridley Scott’s feminist road movieThelma and Louise. Much like the show’s parodies ofThe ShiningandWestworld, this episode’sThelma and Louisespoof made many of the movie’s most memorable moments hilarious. From the threatening bar patron who turns out to be perfectly polite, to Wiggum and Homer ending up buoyed by garbage after their car crash,The Simpsonstook the basic structure ofThelma and Louiseand turned it into a punchline delivery system. Now if only this didn’t make it impossible to take the original seriously.
Nightmare On Elm Street
Groundskeeper Willie’s Treehouse of Horror Segment Declawed This Horror Classic
There areplenty of majorSimpsonsretconsthat have changed the show’s history after the fact, but the show’s annual Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials are an opportunity for the creators to simply ignore its canon completely. This results in classic segments with stories that would typically be far too dark for the series, such as “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace” from season 7, episode 6, “Treehouse of Horror VI.”This spoof ofNightmare On Elm Streetis surprisingly dark, from Groundskeeper Willie’s fiery fate to his creepy nightmare monster form. Of course, it’s darker if you haven’t seenNightmare On Elm Street.
It was impossible to be truly scared of Freddy Krueger when Groundskeeper Willie’s homage to the character was so memorable.
By the time I actually saw Wes Craven’s seminal slasher classic, the damage had been done. It was impossible to be truly scared of Freddy Krueger when Groundskeeper Willie’s homage to the character was so memorable. To this day, I can’t see the scene of Freddy burning up in 2010’s risibleNightmare On Elm Streetremake without picturing Willie’s ashes politely scooping themselves up with a possessed dustpan and brush in “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace.” Like all the best parodies, this goofy cartoon spoof managed to supplant the original in my mind, with this comical cartoon dream overwriting a nightmare.
Cape Fear
Martin Scorsese’s Psychological Thriller Received A Perfect Parody
“Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace” and “The Shinning” are impressively light-hearted, but both horror parodies feature a few creepy moments despite their goofiness. To find the silliness ofThe Simpsonsat its most inspired, viewers need to look no further than season 5, episode 2, “Cape Feare.” This spoof manages to takean underrated Martin Scorsese moviethat pulses with dread, discomfort, and tension and turns it into a hysterically funny, sublimely irreverent parody.Cape Fearcontains one of Robert De Niro’s most authentically unsettling performances as the violent psychopath Max Cady, but I challenge anyone to take it seriously now.
Every memorable moment from Scorsese’s Cape Fear is masterfully parodied in The Simpsons.
Cady laughing uproariously at the theater becomes Sideshow Bob prudishly disapproving of Homer doing the same. The revelation of De Niro strapped to the bottom of the hero’s car becomes Bob being driven through a field of cacti before he infamously steps on a string of rakes. Every memorable moment from Scorsese’sCape Fearis masterfully parodied inThe Simpsonsuntil, eventually, the original movie ends up feeling like a reference to the episode. This is the most forgivable instance ofThe Simpsonsruining a movie since it resulted in one of the funniest episodes of television I’ve ever seen.
