The Simpsons: Mona Leaves-a
Mona Simpson, a.k.a. Homer’s Mom, Returns, Only to Quickly Depart
Photo courtesy of Fox
May 14th, 2008 - Grandma Simpson has made two previous appearances on The Simpsons, and her first episode was an instant classic in Simpsons lore, combining great comedic bits with a beautifully poignant ending. (Remember Homer sitting on his car after his mother drove off, just sitting and watching as day turned to night? Powerful stuff.) Her second episode, while not as heartfelt, was also a quality outing. This third and final appearance of Mona Simpson ends up as a real letdown.
Glenn Close does a superb job playing Grandma Simpson, but considering the episode is supposed to be about her, she’s barely on screen. The episode’s beginning adventures at the mall are funny, and they lead to a great bit about Homer’s “Defender,” and him sending Marge out for ice cream upon discovering his mother had baked a pie. Mona says she is through with her life on the run, and that she wants to be back with her family for good. Homer is reluctant to let her get close, fearing she will abandon him again, and so he shuts her out. After feeling guilty for lashing out at her, he decides to apologize to his mother, only to discover she has passed away.
At this point, the episode starts to get a little more touchy-feely, with Homer mourning his mother, although there are still gags-a-plenty, from Grandpa wearing tap shoes for dancing on his estranged wife’s grave, the bit at Moe’s with Lenny’s mom, and Bart cheering up Homer by saying that Mona once said Homer didn’t suck that bad. The video will served to set up Mona’s final wish, for Homer to scatter her ashes from the highest point in Springfield Monument Park. Homer’s refusal to give up his climb, in spite of the difficulty, was a sweet moment, as it showed that he really felt guilty for brushing his mom off earlier, and that he wanted to honor her spirit.
Then things got simply ridiculous, and not in a good way. Mona had set up the ashes to sabotage a missile full of nuclear waste from being sent by Mr. Burns to the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Excuse me, but what? Where did all that come from? All of a sudden, Homer is playing 007 as he and his family use the things Mona left them to help Homer escape and blow up the base. This entire act felt incredibly hollow and irrelevant to Homer saying goodbye to his mother. The tacked on montage at the very end of the episode was a more fitting tribute, but because it came right after Homer was playing a super spy, it didn’t carry anywhere near as emotional weight as it should have.
Yeah sure, The Simpsons is a comedy, and it’s supposed to be funny above all else. But the show was also designed to be a comedy with a heart, and while it doesn’t need to be overly sentimental and mushy every week, a little bit of emotion goes a long way, especially in an episode where a main character’s mother dies. This was the first Simpson family member to actually die on-screen, for crying out loud! This episode could have focused more on Mona’s interactions with the family, but instead substituted those scenes for a completely random James Bond parody. Also, the fact that Mona had everything timed so well in her video will implies that she took her own life in order to stop this missile, and this turn is never addressed. Accuse me of taking a cartoon too seriously if you must, but this episode could have been both funny and touching, but ended up being neither.
Alan’s Score: 2.2 out of 10
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