I finally got around to seeing The Simpsons Movie and I must say - it was really terrific. It captured a lot of what used to be great about The Simpsons without falling into the smarmy, self-referential, "pat yourselves on the back for getting that reference, you superior people" vibe that made me switch the channel around season 13 or so.

Without spoiling anything, the movie is very Homer-focused, as it should be. Essentially, it works as a really long, really good Simpsons episode with some "bigger" (i.e. more expensive) visual effect moments. But the movie looks really good and manages to keep up that Simpsons pace for the entire 90 minutes without losing steam.

Emotionally, it doesn't cover any new ground, but revisits the central relationships of the show - the different members of the family dealing in their own ways with Homer's inability to be a decent husband/father. The relationship conflicts have been done before many times in the nineteen seasons of the show, but the movie thankfully doesn't commit the cardinal sin of later seasons: betraying well-established characters for the sake of a cheap joke (cough Family Guy cough cough).

Most of all, it's just really funny. It's an unequivocal Brendommendation. (That's "Brendo" and "recommendation" combined to make up a new, awesome word).