The Simpsons Movie Debuts Today

I was a latecomer to Simpsons viewing. For years I had heard that the show was sacrilegious, anti-conservative et al, and purposely avoided it. It was frequently cited by conservative political and religious leaders as a sign of a declining moral society. Then one day while talking to a very dedicated Christian friend, he told me that his one vice was watching The Simpsons with his 7 year old son. I figured if he loved the show so much it couldn't be all that bad. You know what, he was right.

Is it sacrilegious and anti-conservative? You bet. It's also anti-every other sacred cow on both sides of the political and religious aisles and for a number of years now it has been required viewing in our household. I'm actually kind of glad I missed those early Simpsons years since the animation has come a long way from the early, more crudely drawn work. The show has gotten more liberal in the past couple of years. I wrote a piece awhile back critical of the sudden influx of anti-war messages, but they still take enough shots at liberal icons to be funny.

The long-awaited Simpsons movie debuts today, and the Moviephone reviews are very strong - an average of 81 our of 100. The Washington Post gave it 100 while the Boston Globe only came in with a 63. As evidenced by the 2004 presidential election, people from Boston don't have much of a sense of humor. You can see an assortment of reviews here.

We'll probably try and see it this weekend and I'll let you know what I think.

UPDATE: My review.