I liked this episode. I’m just going to come out and say it. Sure, the plot was something viewers are familiar with, but in a way it was different. The story was meaningful and I enjoyed it.
The episode follows Moe as he and Smithers reinvent Moe’s Tavern into a gay bar that accepts all patrons, fat, ugly or bald. This saves the bar from the brink and turns it into a local hotspot. Moe quickly becomes famous in Springfield’s gay community and feels pressure to pretend he is gay in order to continue the resurgence of his bar.
Sure, there have been episodes that Moe renovates his bar. The episode even references the times Moe’s was a trendy bar, a British pub and a family restaurant. What really makes this episode interesting is Moe dealing with his newfound popularity and whether or not to pretend he’s gay for profit. Eventually Smithers “outs” Moe as a straight person, making Moe lose the confidence of the gay population. This causes Moe to revert to his old bar and everything seemingly does back to normal. I usually view this as a bad thing, but I feel like I learned something about Moe this episode, which makes this episode a good one in my opinion.
At the same time, Principal Skinner falls in love with the substitute music teacher and enlists Bart to help him get a date. This was a cute segment that featured one of the best original songs I’ve heard from a Simpsons episode in a while. Of course the substitute teacher leaves town and Seymour stays behind, but it was fun while it lasted.
Not only does this episode deliver a strong story, it also packs in plenty of laughs. From the Nuclear Power Plant brawl between the day and night shifts, where Homer says, “It’s time to punch in” to Bart smashing a Buzz Lightyear toy, trying to make it come to life, this episode was pretty hillarious. I was laughing all the time and it was a huge improvement of the past couple of episodes.
Overall, this is one of my favorite episodes of the season. A meaningful story with lots of laughs is the perfect combination, and this episode pulls it off. To watch clips of this episode and others, or to learn about upcoming episodes, go to thesimpsons.com.
