Friday, April 2, 2010

The Simpsons Visit Israel

So the Simpson family visited the Holy Land this past Sunday, and the verdict is in: Not really all that funny.
You have your obvious pushy Israeli jokes, Bart Simpson scaling the Kotel, Homer sleeping in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - but there's not all that much to laugh about. I actually found the silly soda names and mock Israeli locales kind of lame.
Krusty the Clown shows up for a brief stint, explaining that he's in the Holy Land because every Jew feels the need to visit Israel at least once before they die. I hear that that really is true. Israel does rank high on the Jewish "bucket list."
Surprising detail: Sasha Baron Cohen does actually speak in Hebrew for a bit, cursing out his tour group. That was clever.
The show is at its best when it's making pointed observations about nuance and hypocrisy in American society. The Middle East and Israelis don't really fit that bill. The Simpsons should stick to what they do best: make fun of Americans from Springfield. Unless they've run out of things to write about. Then they should just stop writing.

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