Dumbbell Indemnity
Recently, I finally got a bite in the online dating world. The person seemed to like me and we seemed to have a fair bit in common. We talked for a while and we even went on a virtual date. Eventually she just deleted her account out of the blue. It leaves me wondering what I did or didn't do. Granted, there was stuff. I kind of messed on contacting her following the virtual date and then the next weekend I forgot to talk to her. But I also know I shouldn't beat myself up about it. Its just that the dating pool is always kind of small and its rare to find someone who I might be interested in, so when she took 24 hours to respond to me at one point, I felt tension that she might not contact me again, like I insulted her. I am used to being alone but I also know the dread that I might miss my chance to change that scenario.
In this episode, Moe feels lonely and Homer takes him out to the singles club. Things go badly, but when he's venting about it, he meets Rene, a young woman who starts to connect with Moe. They end up having a series of dates that go quite well and Moe feels compelled to splurge on romantic gestures. When Moe realizes his budget won't allow his current trend, he comes up with the idea of insurance fraud, using his beat up old car. Homer agrees to steal the car for him with the help of Moe's perfect crime. However, Homer screws things up and ends up getting arrested. Moe sticks to his story and Homer finds himself betrayed. Moe eventually feels bad and confesses to Rene, who eventually tires of Moe trying to solve his problems with another crime and ends the relationship. Meanwhile, Homer escapes and fights Moe, who accidentally set his bar on fire moments before. Homer and Moe survive and reconcile, with the Simpson residence used as the new location of Moe's.
I kind of relate a lot to Moe in this episode and not in a good way. Moe spends a lot of the first act beating himself up, which I feel like I do as well when I think about how I relate to romance and the idea of my own attractiveness. I know I am not "ugly" but I rarely feel "attractive" and certainly get his social awkwardness. It makes me uncomfortable, because I feel like Moe constantly beating himself up ends up resulting in a weird sort of "reverse negging" on Rene that feels kind of weird, where he beats himself in front of her and is saying stuff like "you could NEVER love someone like me." Moe doesn't read as intentionally or thoughtfully manipulative but I think its sort of in there. Its clearly that the relationship is something unhealthy, not because they are even "bad" for each other entirely, but more that Moe's self-esteem issues and cowardice make him unable to see that Rene seems to like him for his finer points while he's convinced that he needs to have a "hold" on her with money. Eventually, Rene finds that Moe's good points don't fix his complete lack of maturity and personal responsibility.
Its a pretty funny episode and one with a sort of sweet romance, even if its better that it ends in the end. Rene is played by Helen Hunt who at the time was actually dating Azaria. They eventually married but were divorced less than two years later. Sometimes, real life romance can spark serious chemistry (watch the Douglas Adams-scripted Doctor Who episode "City of Death" and boy does it show with the two leads even though there relationship in the series itself is non-romantic). Other times its strangely the opposite, where the real couple looks just awkward on screen (Gigli). This one feels a little closer to the former but while there are definite moments of cuteness between the two and Helen Hunt kills it, I feel like we are just looking at two competent performers doing good work. Of course, the nature of animation probably plays a role.
By this point in the series, its easy to see non-Simpsons characters carrying their own episodes with the Simpsons acting as ancillary figures. Moe is definitely in the top tier, as is Apu (obvious issues aside), Skinner, Krabappel and Mr. Burns. I feel like there were times the Simpsons would do this a little too often. I am of the opinion that Comic Book Guy has had FAR too many episodes about him, though this might be for the fact that the last recent episode I saw used him a lot and also was bad. I think to be in the top tier, you need to have not only charm and humour but some sort of depth. There were Moe episodes before and would be after but I think this is a very strong Moe showcase (a Moe-case, if you will), because he gets to be funny and kind of sweet but also ugly in word and deed. He's not a good person but he definitely has a hidden sweetness that makes you want to love him and maybe get some happiness. I think later on, they would go a little too far with this, making Moe VERY prone to suicide in some very dark humour, though it does lead to a genuinely sweet moment in a just so-so episode down the line. But here, I think they hit the sweet spot with Moe. So to speak.
Jokes I missed before:
I wouldn't say I missed it, but I always forget the lobster had a sombrero.
Other great jokes:
I didn't get into it, but this is one with some VERY good jokes.
"Do you mind if I have this dance?"
"Its all yours?"
I feel like someone on the writing staff wanted to write Mad Magazine style comebacks.
"Quit kissing that cat and get in the car!"
"And bring us your finest crap stuffed with your second finest."
"Excellent, sir. Lobster stuffed with tacos."
I would eat this. Don't think I wouldn't.
"Yeah, I want to send her two dozen roses and I want to put something nice on the card. Something like 'Rene my treasure.'"
"Hahahaha."
"Shut up or I'll ram a stool down your throat! No, don't put that on the card. Well, let me hear how it sounds. No, take it out, take it out."
"I don't know. I can just imagine what Marge would say."
"Homer, I insist you steal that car."
"I'll do it."
"That car thief can't hold his breath forever."
"And if he can, Chief?"
"Then may God help us all."
"You know fingerprints are just like snowflakes. They're both very pretty."
"Hawaii? What about Hawaii? Moe, who's going to Hawaii? Am I going to Hawaii?"
"Stop staying Hawaii in there."
"Where ya goin' baby? Ya goin' to get the corpses?"
"Yes. I'm going to get the corpses."
"Ya want me to come with?"
Other notes:
So... I guess no one bothered to recatch Homer who escaped from prison. That actually sounds about right.