Rate & Review: "Lisa's Belly" (QABF20)

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Brad Lascelle

Brad Lascelle

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Season 33, Episode 5
Original Airdate: October 24, 2021
Writer: Juliet Kaufman
Director: Timothy Bailey
Showrunner: Matt Selman
Synopsis: Marge puts a hurtful word in Lisa's brain and Bart gets swole.

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R&R Poll Average Score: 3.48 / 5 (as of September 24, 2022 / 48 votes)
IMDb User Rating: 6.7 / 10
 
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This was pretty solid. As a person who struggles with his weight, I thought this might be tough to watch, but it was actually quite a sweet story about Marge and Lisa understanding each other. Homer was also in good form here, serving as a well-meaning father who really tried to help Lisa and ultimately did by getting Patty and Selma. The scenes with them were…interesting, and I thought Patty’s suicide note line was a bit harsh. Still, I liked how Patty and Selma served a role in helping Lisa feel better, at least the first time around. The therapist herself wasn’t too interesting, and the hypnosis leading to Marge and Lisa understanding each other seemed like kind of an easy and hand-wavy way to get them back in each other‘s good graces, but it didn’t bother me much.

The plot with Bart and the bullies was fine. I liked how the bullies misled Bart into thinking they were just devoted to working out but actually used it a place to make out. It was pretty relatable in Bart’s shoes seeing all these people who seemed way more mature than you and feeling like you don’t belong.

I’d give this a solid 4/5.
 
After watching this episode and thinking about last week's I think that there's things that pop up in the better Simpsons episodes (typically Selman, though a few writers also pull through with higher quality stuff) that is starting to make the cast feel inconsistent as the better writers/showrunners get in charge of more and more episodes each season, and makes it harder to get very excited for the ones that arent like that. Things that stood out to me:

-time set aside to give Homer, Bart and Lisa a fun moment together, he loves his kids and having fun with them.
-on that note, Homer trying his best to be a good dad to Lisa
-Lisa and Bart act like children. Heck, the culmination of Bart's plot was him still being out of his depth as a kid surrounded by people who are at a different stage in their life. Lisa gets self concious and throws a tantrum, and it feels appropriate.
-and on THAT note, both plots naturally come from the episode premise, and the lighter plot has an appropriate amount of time to allow space for the main one to breathe
-emotional beats that arent necessarily undermined by jokes right after. Also, now with the scams episode, I should add that they also dont end the episode with an easy clean answer to the plot. Yeah, they understood each other more, but the words still hurt and the pain wont completely go away. It's realistic.

Like someone said last week, you really do just feel sad when you see an episode with a big plot and you dont see one of 3-5 people are involved in it. Right now Im struggling to come up with a reason to not just give it a 5/5 tbh.

Other more general things: I liked a lot of the jokes, lots of great Millhouse moments this week. The scene in the mall was good, especially seeing everyone just look awkwardly at the Simpsons. I like how none of the plots really ended with the characters losing. Homer Bart and Lisa really did ride on the slide and had fun. Bart didnt get bullied out of the room, he just left on his own. Have I mentioned I enjoyed this?
 
That whole spiel by Marge at the end about how harmful words/comments one might receive from their own mother take a very long time to heal (if at all) was the only part of the episode that was actually relatable (specifically the "If at all" part) as someone who a few months back received a very hurtful comment from their own regarding me being Autistic which I took as "Thanks for shaming me for something I have no fucking control over!".
 
Talk about low expectations.. This is one of the best episodes of the HD era, everything hit for me.

I was expecting a bummerific and whiny lisa centric episode that somehow missed the mark with its message but what I got was a perfectly balanced simpsons episode. This episode moved fast but I don't feel like they were lacking time to deal with the plot, there were a number of gags and I enjoyed all of them, they didn't feel random or tacked on like so many of them do.

I liked seeing Jessica Lovejoy included, same with Milhouse. I absolutely loved the Age of Aquarius number, Hair is a musical masterpiece, both the original broadway recording as well as the movie, both composed by Galt Macdermot. It's been ages since I've enjoyed a musical number in the simpsons, this one was full of character and probably worked better because of my appreciation for the source material.. but I still think there's more to it than that, a lot of musical numbers seem lazy and lack any sort of character.

I also really liked the Robert Frost poem reference from "The Outsiders" Bart made after finding out the bullies were using the space to make out.

It seems like this is Juliet's first writing credit, she's worked as an assistant to the producers on a few episodes, I hope they ask her to write more episodes.

I can't give it a perfect score because Dr Hibert still bothers me.. so a very strong 4/5
 
Solid episode. The message was very sweet, and it was nice to see Marge and Lisa reconnect at the end after learning they've dealt with similar struggles. I didn't like the whole Water Park First Act, and I think there could've been a better way to connect it to the rest of the episode. Not a lot of jokes I found amusing, but a couple of hitters, my favorite being Luann talking to Marge about how she only gives the hypnotherapy name to her closest girlfriends, but it was immadetialy ruined by Milhouse talking about how they're finally getting back in the tub together (WTF?). The B-plot was just kind of there with no real message or story to share. Just Bart going to the bully's gym and then leaving because they all got girlfriends. 3.5/5 rounded to 4/5.
 
This episode's greatest triumph is that it explored oft-overlooked territory like body positivity from a feminine perspective while still wrapping it in a message that was relatable to just about everyone... a child's ingrained trauma over a parent's unintentional commentary. And did so in a way that it didn't feel like either message was cheapened in the process.

Couple that with some winning humour, everyone acting true to their established characterizations, clearly explained motivations and even an amusing subplot that naturally spun off from the main, and this episode was an easy winner. I didn't see the chunky vs. plain peanut butter allegory coming so it hit the right mark as soon as it was delivered.

And with all of the early speculation on how past episodes would relate to this one, who knew that the best comparison was going to wind up being Teenage Mutant Milk-caused Hurdles... another episode where Bart and Lisa would share a side effect reaction that would drive uniquely disparate storylines. And this episode was easily superior to that effort.

Really solid debut for Juliet Kaufman. Hope to see more scripts from her in the future.
 
I was okay with this for the first two thirds. The opening at the water park had energy, Lisa’s reactions to her weight and her mothers comments made sense, I liked the visual metaphor of the word “Chunky” invading her headspace. The ending was awful, Marge and Lisa going into each others minds, hammering in the episodes moral with bad dialogue, even ruining the visual metaphor they were using.

Bart’s plot goes nowhere, but was inoffensive I guess. P/S song was nothing but served its purpose. Worst part of the episode was oddly both of Milhouse’s jokes, him wearing a diaper and talking about still bathing with his mother.

Pfft…..2/5? It had a coherent plot and I was kind of liking the first half. Definitely not the meme episode I was hoping for...
 
Like I've already said on twitter, this will be the Emmy submission for this season. A fresh story that's emotionally resonant and laugh out loud funny throughout. "Dawning of Who Gives a Crap" performed by Julie Kavner was hilarious.
 
Well not seen enough for a full review or a point score but skimmed and, compared to Sleeping With The Enemy, I appreciated that at least the problem wasn't resolved by a strong male character stepping in. Also it really was a good use for Patty and Selma as well, even if I wish they could have been the main resolution.

Also, not noticed before that it was written by a freelancer who was also a woman but, it shows. She might be a good candidate to have on more often just like Julia Prescott. Even their first names are kinda similar...

That said, too much Shauna. I double checked Beware My Cheating Bart earlier on the same day (it was even worse than I thought) and maybe for pretty deeply personal reasons, she's skin crawlingly uncomfortable to watch in any context (unless she actually got some comeuppance for once)... So, can't be super happy about this either.
 
The contradictions the show faces is - Patty & Selma's 'Who Gives a Crap' song works well and is in character for them but it's not the message the show believes or reality believes. I feel this is a problem with the whole body positivity movement as essentially it's message is to tell people to put their fingers in their ears and go "blah, blah, blah i can't hear you"... which is the most temporary of solutions to whatever body issues you have. Leaving you feeling not so wonderful very quickly after because you can't really escape what's deemed culturally and evolutionary desirable by the gender you're interested in. And on a whole, that's not going to change. And before you demand that it should... well, are you so flexible in what you find attractive? Or if you're honest, you too have aspects about the gender you're into that you find super attractive or unattractive.

So my point is... that mentality works for Patty & Selma. They're tough as nails and the show's told hundreds of jokes about their body inadequacies before. However, I would have liked Lisa to maybe adopt this mentality and realise the flaws in it. I suppose they did it in a subtle way by instantly being triggered by Marge's 'Normal' and 'Perfect' comments. But it felt a little weird to have a song which tells the character how to feel, for the character to say out loud this is a great way to deal with the problem and then act like the scene never happened.

There's a good story in there somewhere. It's a complicated issue. Probably not helped by what I'm presuming is the progressively woker writers room the show's adopting these days. You felt this a little when they confusingly suggested that weight gain for boys is not only totally fine but actually has benefits... and you don't need to be somebody who was a fat boy to go 'huh??' (As I wasn't one). There's truth in there are different expectations and impacts on boys/men and girls/women but I dunno, seemed pretty modern day feminist to imply overweight boys have no problems at all.

There was some good stuff. I really liked the Bart praying mantis joke. For a few reasons. It's a prank that Bart could realistically do whilst at the same time being unique. You might think, 'wow, you're impressed because a prank is fairly doable?'. Well, yeah. It has to be for me to fully enjoy it. If Bart's prank is too unbelievable, I'm unable to get on that ride and I just have to wait until the scene's over because in my head I'm just not believing Bart could do this. So, they ticked the first box. Then the visual consequence of the prank. Then how Skinner had somewhat tried to reason with them. And then their noise in unison. It tickled me.

Not sure about Homer being that into injuries. Homer's into fun and adventure without thinking of the consequences and injuries. They got his character jumbled up here and made him an injury fanboy. It then felt even stranger that he would big up all the injuries and then take his Son & Daughter on a ride almost guaranteed to leave them in hospital. You fix this by have him focusing on the thrill rather than the outcomes - that's for someone smarter to point out to him.

I liked the Marge Jaws parody. There was a couple of other okay-y bits but I can't recall. For me the episode feels like a decent first draft in need of some more work. It's true that words can haunt us but also true that we can't let them define us. It's true that you should work to improve your body if you feel you'd like to appear more attractive but also true that you shouldn't fall into body dysmorphia and overworry about these things. I'm not quite sure what perspective or point the show landed on and I'm not sure hypnotherapy works like that...
 
This was just, great, it was a much more simple episode, but thats why it works so well for me, had a great message, good jokes throughout and the visual representation of Lisa's mind and how the word "Chunky" started to take it over was interesting.
9/10, and i'll put a 5 for the poll ngl
 
This episode was weird but in a good way. The part with Homer, Bart and Lisa having fun was wholesome AF and Lisa's tantrum was weirdly adorable. The only thing I didn't care for was Marge making it a point to say that this kinda problem isn't really fixable. I'm not even depressed of anything but it just seemed unnecessarily pessimistic like the ending to Bart's in Jail.

4/5
 
Can understand that some can feel concerned about their weights, but this one was awful. Kind of Mix between 16.03,2.18 and 25.14. I did not like it at all.
 
I like this episode a lot primarily because it teaches us a good lesson about how you shouldn't really be distraught about your weight and it's always kinda funny to see Marge and Lisa engage in another mother-daughter relationship. Every character here is likable and is just being himself/herself. Homer trying to be a good dad to Lisa, Bart trying to fit in with the bullies but realizing he isn't mature enough in the end, it's all normal things. And here, Patty & Selma both proved to be better aunts than Marge being a mother, so that's also rare. Both the A & B-Plots were solid and had something funny but thoughtful in them. The use of "I Wanna Rock" was awesome. Think Teenage Mutant-Milk Caused Hurdles but done right. However, my issues are: 1) Julie Kavner's voice. Seriously, the woman is now 70 and her voice is really starting to become more an imitation rather than she used to sound like. She's going way out of range. 2) Dr. Hibbert. Why on Earth did they think the re-casting was a good idea? If Harry Shearer wanted to continue voicing him, just let him. Kevin Michael Richardson is a good voice actor, but he cannot do Hibbert's laugh properly and his voice sounds as if he sucked helium balloons.

Otherwise, a great episode. Besides the premiere and the just alright Treehouse episode, Season 33 might be the best Simpsons season since 23 should it continue this pace. - 4/5 (from 3.5).
 
Marioburgercream said:
Can understand that some can feel concerned about their weights, but this one was awful. Kind of Mix between 16.03,2.18 and 25.14. I did not like it at all.
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It is interesting that an episode concerned with weight begins at a water park. But also interesting that it hadn't occurred to me since this is a vastly different episode from Brush With Greatness.
 
The only common thing could be the waterpark and also the fact Homer is too fat and wants to begin a diet.
 
It's a shame that the water park stuff was only for the sake of the initial setup into the main plot as that was more interesting than anything else in it. I'll give them credit that they definitely did their research regarding Action Park, the real life infamous water park that this one was based on even down to how that one slide is based on one they actually did have, covered loop-de-loop and all (and was so dangerous that during initial trial and erroring dummies would come out of it without their heads!)!

After that though, the episode just drops off completely for what felt like an ABC Afterschool Special about body positivity that felt even more ham-fisted with it's message than Bart's in Jail! (which considering who was showrunning this all by himself, isn't surprising) to the point where once we got to the clothes scene I just checked out completely and was repeatedly checking the duration bar to see how much time was left before it finally ended.

As mentioned earlier, Marge's end spiel about mother's saying words/comments that could end up being hurtful was the only aspect of the episode that felt even remotely relatable, even though it felt like it came completely out of nowhere. I'll admit that Age of Who Gives a Crap? was a little funny at first, but they ruined it by making it go on for a further 30 seconds too long.

Bart's subplot felt like it was there only because the episode ran short (and they decided to spare us from dragging the song parody out even further), but it was the "Better" of the two plots but not by much. Also as mentioned earlier, there was something about the "Jokes" with Milhouse in this episode that felt extremely off as they made him look more like a mini-Kirk, especially the diaper thing.

Overall, it's episodes like this as to why I'm not as optimistic about the idea of a season run mostly by Selman (either co or solo) as at the end of the day this was another episode that I'll be adding to the collection of ones where it wouldn't have been any different if it was a Jean episode, other than having a couch gag and not being as overrated as it's already become.
Venomrabbit said:
That said, too much Shauna. I double checked Beware My Cheating Bart earlier on the same day (it was even worse than I thought) and maybe for pretty deeply personal reasons, she's skin crawlingly uncomfortable to watch in any context (unless she actually got some comeuppance for once)... So, can't be super happy about this either.
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She's only in that one scene from the promo pics. Granted, it's the scene in the episode where I completely stop giving a shit but not because of her.

.5/5

Lastly, if you're gonna keep forcing Richardson's Hibbert down our throat, at the very least don't make him laugh anymore. It's just embarrassing to listen to.
 
I can't even put into words how awful this episode is. I really like the first few minutes in water park, but the rest... just no. It reminds me one of the worst episodes of all time ''Lisa the drama queen'' and it's enough to make me hate this episode.
 
Solid episode. It feels like ages where we had an episode centered around Bart and Lisa with more grounded stories. Both of their stories felt more real and relatable which is something that the earlier seasons focussed more on. Having someone say a word that sticks in your head that describes you as a person is something everyone must have felt at some point, and having Bart try to fit in with the bullies but ended up leaving where apparently he isn't actually interested in being with a girl (something that the plot must demand from time to time as he had interest in girls and has had relationships in the past). I prefer having him just be actual 10 years old and not being ready for a girl.

No couch gag which I don't mind if the episode ended up better for it. The Riot Rivers (or rather Quiet Rivers) opening is very solid as it reminds me of the Mount Splashmore opening from Brush with Greatness with some good water park related jokes to it. Homer calling out the lifeguard and Millhouse trying to impress himself to Maggie were pretty fun. I liked the bit of mystery and reveal with the closed water slide and the actual ride. The plot starts up with the kids getting sick of the foul water they landed in and end up using medicine that makes them look more fat.

Apparently they start a new year at school yet everyone ends up in the same class. Lisa feels insecure and hears the word ''chunky'' everywhere while it felt obvious that Marge had no harmful intentions to her. I like the scenes at the shopping mall with Lisa bursting out at the end. Homer tries talking with Lisa instead and one of my favorite gags is that he starts to talk about car leasing as his fatherly advice. Really like how they used Patty and Selma to cheer up Lisa who we don't often see interact with either.... yet then she ends up going back after Marge hurts her with another word. Not surprising that Millhouse experienced the same thing and Luann helped Marge out with a hypnotist. This is the only part (and I guess the water slide bit) that felt to zany with the way Lisa and Marge can just interact with each other unconsciously. I do really like their trip and having Marge visit her past experience aswell. Also really liked the ending credits.

Bart's story was shorter but also enjoyable. The bullies acted about what you'd expect, but I always find it fun when they interact with Bart with a more casual tone. Similar like Lisa's plot its also a bit of a cliché that someone starting a new school year would like to hang out with the cooler kids. Bart came over a bit whiny at the end though, but at least he behaved like an actual 10 year old kid.

This episode has done a lot of things right. It had a proper focus on the family with grounded stories and proper pacing. Even the intro at the water park is short but good, maybe even the best part of the episode. I like how it was Homer getting all excited rather than the kids this time. The humor could have been better as I don't remember a lot of good jokes, my favorite is probably Homer's fatherly advice to Lisa. I like the use of Patty and Selma and also some other secondary characters who got a bit of screen time. Maybe Bart's plot could have been a bit better if it had more time to grow, but I didn't want Lisa's plot to suffer from it either. Also really liked the Marge and Lisa chemistry troughout the episode. Its a good watch and might be one of the better episode of the season so far.

4/5
 
John95 said:
as at the end of the day this was another episode that I'll be adding to the collection of ones where it wouldn't have been any different if it was a Jean episode, other than having a couch gag and not being as overrated as it's already become.
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This is a mind-boggling thing to say. I mean, sure, go ahead, shit all over Selman as a showrunner and point out all the problems you have with his episodes. That's completely fair enough. But to say that he's no different to Jean and that their episodes are indistinguishable is just completely, patently false. I mean, just the specificity of Selman's episodes differentiates him from Jean and I could go on (I probably will one of these days). It's difficult to take anyone seriously when they say asinine nonsense like this.
 
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Yeah there is a difference. Granted I don't think that is always a good thing (except maybe more attention to detail with bg characters, said before that it kinda makes things feel more alive) And they still do have a lot of similar issues (a lot of pandering, still overusing the same characters and ignoring or shitting on usually the same targets as Jean) but then they rarely feel completely the same. One of those things I can't always put my finger on. Some of the cast also feel more carefully used, it's nice to see Milhouse be weird and off-putting again for starters when he usually seems to be thrown in for the sake of it and adding nothing.
 
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@Venomrabbit, Ironically I didn't think Milhouse's appearance here worked the way you seem to think it did because not only I feel like he added nothing, but there was something very off about his weirdness here that made him feel more like his dad as he came across as more pathetic and sad that he's wearing a diaper and still baths with his mother.
 
It works because he's the true momma's boy.. I'd rather they characterise him that way than do it to Seymour.

and what's so weird about a son being similar to his father?
 
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