Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Weekend at Burnsie's
I remember as a kid being told repeatedly not to do drugs and with marijuana being treated pretty much the same as cocaine or heroin. When I got older, I started to realize how ridiculous that fear was but despite being a proponent of legalization, I never had an interest in it, much in the same way I never got interested in alcohol. I've definitely tried a small handful of times simply because I wanted to see what it felt like but the fact is each experience was a bust. I tried some THC capsules but barely even got a buzz (and what I got was just mildly unpleasant). Last month I even tried a few doobs but nothing, save for that feeling of looking cool as smoke wafts from my mouth (which is definitely worth the price of admission). I do want that feeling of just being mellowed or giggly but frankly, with each situation being a disappointment, I think it's safe to say its not going to become a habit.
In this episode, Homer goes to the doctor's after a crow attack and needs something for his eye pain. Hibbert suggests marijuana and Homer goes for it, despite some hesitancy, and immediately loves it. It begins to take over his life and identity and Homer laughing like a fool at Mr. Burns' jokes gets him a promotion. However, after medical marijuana is recriminalized, Homer makes a promise to no longer partake. When Homer attends a private meeting to hear Mr. Burns' speech to his investors and unable to laugh at his dated references, Homer is tempted to smoke again or risk being fired. Smithers takes Homer's last doob instead and while he is getting high, Burns' seemingly dies. To save the plant, the duo resorts to Weekend at Bernie's shenanigans which pleases the investors and revives Burns.
Weekend at Burnsie's is perfectly watchable from a jokes perspective but outside of that its a pretty superficial and uninspired approach to pot, even at the time, and the last act makes little sense in terms of how it relates to the main ideas, what little there are. I mean, I know what this episode is about in the most surface level but beyond that, it feels like weed decorations on a generic Simpsons plot. Homer making his promise to Marge never to smoke pot again feels like its been slotted in and the fact that it is pot and that it is probably on of Homer's LEAST harmful habits (how about "no strangling your son"). And when we get to Homer's moment of temptation, it's... over in a second with no issues whatsoever, forcing me to ask, why even introduce that? The Mr. Burns finally doesn't tie well into what little ideas the episode has.
Look, I've never gotten properly high but I know enough to know how off-base everything is hear. I'm pretty sure that while you can get super spaced out and such, I'm pretty sure that you aren't seeing flying cars and smiling razorblades. The episode itself is also very middle of the road in a "what's the point?" way. I feel pretty confident the Simpsons writers are likely pro pot but the show also seems to be on the side of Marge of wanting Homer to return to his status quo. And Homer is just ridiculously different and I can't imagine his prescription providing him with enough pot to keep him high 24/7 the way he is in the episode. It even hints at marijuana being mildly addictive in the sense that Homer has to quit "cold turkey".
I think the episode touches on potentially interesting ideas, barely, on the idea that Homer is such id that he would go whole hog into a new identity but generally its a whole load of pot clichés with the Simpsons rather than actually having the show created by a guy from a hippie background maybe using the platform to de-mystify while remaining funny. Educating people doesn't sound funny but it feels like you could easily have Marge realizing that what the media has told her is wrong and have fun with that. While I think the problem is mostly in the script and that apparently in the writers room they decided to "both sides" this, the episode had the Fox executives nervous and the show had to makes some compromises. Suddenly 2002 feels so long ago. Overall, the episode feels like a throwback in a weak way, saved a bit by some good bits.
Other great jokes:
Despite my complaints, there are a good amount here.
"I'm kind of nervous here. We haven't seen Barney since they enveloped him."
"It's a MURDER, honey. A group of crows is called a MURDER."
"I told you, I pissed it away. Oh, don't make that face."
"Yes! That's the one!"
"Shemp is hemp spelled backwards."
"And Otto is Otto spelled backwards."
"Now I'm scared."
"Wow, this guy is seriously ill."
"My doctor never told me that. I had to hear it from Phish."
"They call em fingers but I never see them fing. Oh, there they go."
"I could have smoked that pot and worn that hair."
"I want my old dad back, the one who was yelling all the time and... you know, I don't know what I want."
Other notes:
High Homer just loving Flanders is adorable.
Phish feels like a band everyone likes to rag on but while I'm not into them, I don't feel like they feel particularly deserving of spite. Of course, I would have said the same thing about CAKE if I heard only one CAKE song and not that whole album where the producer keeps looping in "OH YEAH" and "OH NO".
I like high Smithers. Low key but happy.
I remember as a kid being told repeatedly not to do drugs and with marijuana being treated pretty much the same as cocaine or heroin. When I got older, I started to realize how ridiculous that fear was but despite being a proponent of legalization, I never had an interest in it, much in the same way I never got interested in alcohol. I've definitely tried a small handful of times simply because I wanted to see what it felt like but the fact is each experience was a bust. I tried some THC capsules but barely even got a buzz (and what I got was just mildly unpleasant). Last month I even tried a few doobs but nothing, save for that feeling of looking cool as smoke wafts from my mouth (which is definitely worth the price of admission). I do want that feeling of just being mellowed or giggly but frankly, with each situation being a disappointment, I think it's safe to say its not going to become a habit.
In this episode, Homer goes to the doctor's after a crow attack and needs something for his eye pain. Hibbert suggests marijuana and Homer goes for it, despite some hesitancy, and immediately loves it. It begins to take over his life and identity and Homer laughing like a fool at Mr. Burns' jokes gets him a promotion. However, after medical marijuana is recriminalized, Homer makes a promise to no longer partake. When Homer attends a private meeting to hear Mr. Burns' speech to his investors and unable to laugh at his dated references, Homer is tempted to smoke again or risk being fired. Smithers takes Homer's last doob instead and while he is getting high, Burns' seemingly dies. To save the plant, the duo resorts to Weekend at Bernie's shenanigans which pleases the investors and revives Burns.
Weekend at Burnsie's is perfectly watchable from a jokes perspective but outside of that its a pretty superficial and uninspired approach to pot, even at the time, and the last act makes little sense in terms of how it relates to the main ideas, what little there are. I mean, I know what this episode is about in the most surface level but beyond that, it feels like weed decorations on a generic Simpsons plot. Homer making his promise to Marge never to smoke pot again feels like its been slotted in and the fact that it is pot and that it is probably on of Homer's LEAST harmful habits (how about "no strangling your son"). And when we get to Homer's moment of temptation, it's... over in a second with no issues whatsoever, forcing me to ask, why even introduce that? The Mr. Burns finally doesn't tie well into what little ideas the episode has.
Look, I've never gotten properly high but I know enough to know how off-base everything is hear. I'm pretty sure that while you can get super spaced out and such, I'm pretty sure that you aren't seeing flying cars and smiling razorblades. The episode itself is also very middle of the road in a "what's the point?" way. I feel pretty confident the Simpsons writers are likely pro pot but the show also seems to be on the side of Marge of wanting Homer to return to his status quo. And Homer is just ridiculously different and I can't imagine his prescription providing him with enough pot to keep him high 24/7 the way he is in the episode. It even hints at marijuana being mildly addictive in the sense that Homer has to quit "cold turkey".
I think the episode touches on potentially interesting ideas, barely, on the idea that Homer is such id that he would go whole hog into a new identity but generally its a whole load of pot clichés with the Simpsons rather than actually having the show created by a guy from a hippie background maybe using the platform to de-mystify while remaining funny. Educating people doesn't sound funny but it feels like you could easily have Marge realizing that what the media has told her is wrong and have fun with that. While I think the problem is mostly in the script and that apparently in the writers room they decided to "both sides" this, the episode had the Fox executives nervous and the show had to makes some compromises. Suddenly 2002 feels so long ago. Overall, the episode feels like a throwback in a weak way, saved a bit by some good bits.
Other great jokes:
Despite my complaints, there are a good amount here.
"I'm kind of nervous here. We haven't seen Barney since they enveloped him."
"It's a MURDER, honey. A group of crows is called a MURDER."
"I told you, I pissed it away. Oh, don't make that face."
"Yes! That's the one!"
"Shemp is hemp spelled backwards."
"And Otto is Otto spelled backwards."
"Now I'm scared."
"Wow, this guy is seriously ill."
"My doctor never told me that. I had to hear it from Phish."
"They call em fingers but I never see them fing. Oh, there they go."
"I could have smoked that pot and worn that hair."
"I want my old dad back, the one who was yelling all the time and... you know, I don't know what I want."
Other notes:
High Homer just loving Flanders is adorable.
Phish feels like a band everyone likes to rag on but while I'm not into them, I don't feel like they feel particularly deserving of spite. Of course, I would have said the same thing about CAKE if I heard only one CAKE song and not that whole album where the producer keeps looping in "OH YEAH" and "OH NO".
I like high Smithers. Low key but happy.