Rate & Review: "Catch 'Em if You Can" (FABF14)

[Cole]

From SNPP
Bart, Lisa, and Grampa (and maybe Maggie too; it's not clear) are going to Miami when they discover that Homer and Marge went there on their own...and when Homer and Marge give them the slip, "The Simpsons are going...all over the place!"

You can check out the preview/speculate thread for more details.

A repeat of "Today I am a Clown" will be shown at 8:30/7:30 c.

As usual, the thread and poll will open once the episode airs.

[Kefka]

It was pretty good (omgwtf!) I liked that one animation bit where it showed Lisa and Bart chasing Marge and Homer.


One thing I didn't like is how they just kinda dropped the Grandpa Subplot midway

[Datoupee]

4.5 out of 5. An alright episode with many great jokes dead on. The only reason for the .5 drop off this week is due to the exaggerated plot. Wow ! That was far fetched !

Datoupee comment of the week: This episode should have been titled "Catch this plot if you can".

[mayo]

average ep... good plot, and there a few funny jokes. subplot with grandpa and the gay guy was all right, but i wish they would of tied it up at the end. (montage of old people in miami was hilarious)

3/5

[blueguy]

I couldn't stop laughing through that whole Catch Me If You Can sequence. Surrounded by Marge's line in the elevator and Homer's thong, those couple minutes bumped up my rating that would have been a 3 to a 4.

[Andy]

I think it was actually very inventive for a Simpsons episode. It wasn't excruciatingly wacky, but it had a very rapid pace. The plot went along just fine, too.

But where the hell was Maggie?

[Mason]

Great ep!Alot better then I expected! Great sequence with the whole chasing bit, and everything else was excellent. The Grampa sub-plot shoul've been tied up, but everything else was fantastic! A

[Dennis]

It was bad until Bart and Lisa started tracking down Homer and Marge, then it got terrible. 1/5. Third worst of the season.

Treehouse of Horror XIV 2/5
My Mother the Carjacker 3.5/5
The President Wore Pearls 3/5
The Regina Monologues 1/5
The Fat and the Furriest 1/5
Today, I am a Klown 2.5/5
'Tis the Fifteenth Season 4/5
Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays 1/5
I, (Annoyed Grunt)-bot 3/5
Diatribe of a Mad Housewife 2/5
Margical History Tour 3/5
Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore 2/5
Smart and Smarter 3/5
The Ziff Who Came to Dinner 1/5
Co-Dependent's Day 3.5/5
The Wandering Juvie 3.5/5
My Big Fat Geek Wedding 2/5
Catch 'em If You Can 1/5

[bartimus prime]

couldn't help but wonder where was maggie as well.

good episode, far fetch plot but it worked, great jokes as well.

[kevin]

This episode was pretty good, no real problems, although things moved so fast, I could barely keep up. Plenty of laughs as usual, and no major errors. B

Treehouse of Horror XIV B
My Mother the Carjacker A-
The President Wore Pearls A-
The Regina Monologues D+
The Fat and the Furriest C-
Today, I am a Klown B+
'Tis the Fifteenth Season A
Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays B-
I, (Annoyed Grunt)-bot C-
Diatribe of a Mad Housewife B
Margical History Tour C+
Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore A-
Smart and Smarter B-
The Ziff Who Came to Dinner C
Co-Dependent's Day B-
The Wandering Juvie A-
My Big Fat Geek Wedding B
Catch 'em If You Can B

[Doctor Nick]

Overall an enjoyable episode, especially if you've seen "Catch Me If You Can." The plot was very exaggerated and the Grampa subplot was pretty useless (is grampa still in Florida?), but the CMIYC parody makes up for it. 4/5.

[Mira]

4/5 Pretty Good overall.

[Pie Pants]

4/5. Started off pretty slow but it got good when bart and lisa got on their tracks.

[Wavy Gravy]

Well, this ALMOST garnered a perfect 5/5, but I drop a point due to a few things - namely, the Scullyesque ending, the complete abandonment of Grampa's subplot, and the total disappearance of Maggie. Otherwise, a very funny episode! Some great jokes and references in Act I (Bart's water balloon lecture, the Simpson men and women at the party, and the Futurama poster at Lackluster Video). Some pretty good jokes during the "Love Story" scene, especially Bart and Lisa arguing. Homer choking Bart through the wall was a bit farfetched, but funny enough. The plot really got interesting when Homer and Marge went to Miami, with more good lines ("There's a FIRST Class?", "Everything happens to Eemore", etc.). The tornado seemed a bit overblown and Scullyish, as did Marge laughing as hard as Homer, but Bart and Lisa brought the episode back up. Marge's line in the elevator was hilarious, as was the "Catch Me If You Can" scene, though had it been excised, it probably would have left more room for Grampa's plot. I'd say Bart and Lisa's characterizaation in this episode was spot-on, especially during the dawn scene. As I said before, the ending was a bit lame, but the USA/Canada argument made it funnier. All around, a bit of an empty conclusion, and Homer and Marge seemed unnecessarily nasty in some points, but still pretty funny.

4/5

[Tomacco]

This episode was exactly what it tried to be: FUN! I definitely didn't find any time was wasted either. It started out right away with Bart and Lisa fighting non-stop, which was the spawn of Homer and Marge's adventure. Now, before I get into my more full review, let me point why Homer and Marge weren't quite AS cruel as it seemed (because I know this will be everyone's biggest problem with the episode): First of all, Bart and Lisa are characterized for being pains in the asses in this episode, which they often are, but appropriately exaggerated in this one to give Homer and Marge a reason to break free. Aside from their brawling, they refuse to attend their uncle's party, they refuse to go along with Marge's family suggestions, and cause a ruckus during their movie night. Marge's intentions were good, but the kids were misbehaving monsters.
Now, obviously Marge and Homer's actions aren't really RIGHT by going off to Miami, but what they do makes sense still. They have this opportunity to have a romantic honeymoon (making up for their bad first one), the kids are being taken care of by Grampa, so...what's left? It really doesn't seem that unfair. The only unfair part is they don't let Bart and Lisa in on the fun.

Now, Bart and Lisa find out and refuse to let them have their weekend together and track them down. It gets tricky here, because most parents would probably be furious that the kids came all that way and would worry about their safety. But that doesn't make for good TV really.

My only problem with the episode is actually what happens at the amusement park. I can accept the wackiness of the bouncy castle, but just how abruptly it ends is a bit of a letdown. Ultimately it comes across as once they have sex then it's all good. I guess somewhere along the lines of "Natural Born Kissers", they get their thrill by the whole castle incident. Anyways, this is a bit overanalytical, but the abruptness was the main issue. I would have really liked to see what happened with Grampa, which kinda petered out. At least they didn't meta-ref it (they also cut Bart's comment about "we ruined your vacation and Grampa's with a gay guy in Miami!" from the commercial).

As far as humor goes, I thought this episode was FUNNY and balanced. Chuckles, and belly-laughs, with the standout being the Catch Me if You Can parody, which was masterfully done. The Canada references are always appreciated, there were some decent old-folks jokes, and good one-liners. All in all, this was wacky, but it was fun.

All in all, solid. 4/5 - Definitely one of the more memorable ones of the season. A spice up from the so-called blandness of FABF08 and 10. And truthfully, I didn't find this rehashed in any way really. It didn't feel like any other vacation episode, and it showed a new side of the entire family. I can think of no other episode that was reeaaally like this one. And for the record, I didn't notice Maggie's disappearance. And it doesn't bother me either. They chose to ignore it obviously, and I was fine with that.

I'm more concerned about next week's episode.

[eddie]

Funny enough, I suppose. That Catch Me if You Can parody didn't really work for me, however. 7/10, B

[jesse]

3.49/5 (3 on the poll)

PEF said it right, it was inventive. The Catch Me If You Can-esque bit had me intrigued.. The first act seemed disconjointed and the plot was rehashing a lot of old ideas. Overrall pretty great though.

[no_msg]

I know that this episode will get a plethora of bad reviews because it was so wacky. But really, I didn't mind it. The Simpsons shouldn't be a show that strives to epitomize realism. One of satire's main qualities is caricature...

[Magnum]

Marge was at her worst characterization ever (since when is she verbally abusive to the kids?)

had too many sex jokes

it was still was pretty funny

parody was brilliant despite having to see Homer's crotch at the end

and I still want my fuckin GTA references. Where are they!?

tis all

[Cole]

Yeah, the unexplained absence of Maggie bothered me, as well. The fact that Marge didn't seem to care that Bart and Lisa were flying around the country unsupervised was also a little unsettling. I guess it showed exactly how desperate Marge was for some alone time with Homer, though. Also, Grandpa's subplot felt very unnecessary at times. Perhaps some of the time set aside for it could have been used to further develop the main plot.

This episode wasn't short on laughs. There were plenty of humorous exchanges between Bart and Lisa. Bart’s “I’m grown up! I’m grown up!” was very funny .. possibly his funniest line of the season. Homer had plenty of hilarious comments regarding "chick flicks," marriage, and parenthood. The "Catch Me If You Can" opening credit parody was very thorough, elaborate, and hilarious. I was surprised at how long it was, but I enjoyed every second.

I'll watch this again before giving it a final grade, but for now I'll rate it somewhere in the B-/C+ area.

[Spooner]

Man, I thought you guys were better at taking small details and blowing them out of proportion. You'd think totally leaving out and ignoring an entire family member would elicit jeers of "kill Graham!" Whatever, season 15 seems to be the heroin to your seasons 9-14. It's numbing you into a sense of security and peace, convincing you that it is all alright for now, and that the episode is on it's way up.

But if I were to compare this to a baseball team, season 15 is struggling around .500, and this episode was a 4 game series sweep. I hope the prospects can develop and pay off in the future for this once great franchise.

[Larson Something]

Two very weak acts to start with. The lingering shot of the phone was a painfully obvious dub-in cover. Even the business names were uninspired (Lackluster Video? The Swelldorado Hotel? Ugh.) The only really good bit was Bart and Lisa's Wicca/Kabbalah exchange.

But Act III was enjoyable. As you can see by my new location, I enjoyed the US-Canada Coast Guard exchange (Shatner-stealing Mexico touchers!) And the Catch Me If You Can segment makes me believe they could pull off a VA-free ep should the need arise.

2.5/5 (3 for poll purposes, but that was generous).

As for Maggie, I assume a wizard did it.

[The Governor]

Originally posted by Spooner
Man, I thought you guys were better at taking small details and blowing them out of proportion. You'd think totally leaving out and ignoring an entire family member would elicit jeers of "kill Graham!"

There might not be a show in the near future, so let's all be extra nice!

Pretty good show, but the way the Homer and Marge were trying to get away from the kids was a tad disturbing. And I agree with the people who were questioning the absense of Maggie. But those minor problems aside, it was a fun episode as Tommaco sez.

Grade: B (4/5)

[That Jerk]

Ingenously original and a brilliant take on the "the simpsons are going to.." episode. And i was laughing through the whole thing. Homer gave two lines that were by far the most witty and hilarious quotes of the season. It's a shame i forgot them, but i remember hearing them and going "wow this episode is a classic."
But there were a few things i had problems with dropping my grade down to a 4. I love this episode, but unfortounetly all i can recall are the cons for this review, and they are:

-Confusing first act. They were speaking about going to see an uncle, then suddenly at Lackluster video. The exposition moved so quickly i didn't catch why they said they were gonna do something then did something completley different.

-The uncle's flashback was disspointing, and took up too much time to deliver such a flat "kill me now" joke. In the old days they would have skipped the dreamy flashback fade and went right for the jump cut.

-The CMIYC montoge was brilliant, but the advertisments ruined it for me. I think a lot of that joke relies in the suprise.

-Grandpa's subplot died the second his feet rolled up (at least we go that "potato farm" joke out of it). I didn't even realise maggie was gone until i read this board actually.

-Finally. I found the marriage and sex jokes to be a little too over cynical. It's the kind of hateful humor i'd expect from Married... With Children. I think Homer just hit Bart one too many times, i can't put my finger on it.

yet i was very impressed by the episode. A look into Homer and Marge's outlook on married life, the vast range of settings, and the montoge parody made this a very ambitious and respectable episode. Even with all those flaws, this one goes stright to my top five of the season.

[Magnum]

Also, Simpson relatives from Lisa the Simpson in the uncle flashback were great.

EDIT:Sorry, I didn't notice Wavy already pointed that out.

[Spooner]

I gues I'm just a little confused as all, wheras before you guys were raving over meticulously defined plots that left nothing unanswered and were always sewn up nicely, sometimes at the expense of humor, now you guys are allowing major plotholes and mis-characterizations and giving humor the right of way.

Which don't get me wrong, I've always said I'll take a few minor plotholes or out of character lines for teh sake of humor, but these were major (Maggie missing, Marge way out of character) and the jokes weren't even that funny. Grandpa seduced by a gay guy in Miami... where are the calls of blasphemy? Why hasn't a fire been set? I went fires set, and I want cars overturned, and I want to see a candlight vigil for the Simpsons of Yore by 9 AM tomorrow. The only thing that can show how serious we are about wanting decent shows is with destruction and candles.

[Bort328]

Catch 'em if You Can certainly wasn't the most intelligent, satirical, or unique episode ever, but it was just a whole lot of fun.

There are obviously a bunch of strange things going on in the plot (why were Bart and Lisa so dead-set on their parents not having fun) and some serious holes (who's this mysterious uncle?) and contrivancies (the tornado in Dayton). However, the entire episode was just fast-paced and fun, with just enough wackiness to keep it that way. Also, there were a ton of great one-liners and sight gags scattered throughout the episode.

I do have a couple of complaints: the "Catch Me if You Can"-esque animation sequence, while really well done, was much too long, and a little too derived from the source material. Also, I can't see that sequence aging very well. In 10 years, I doubt many people will remember that movie too much, making that sequence kind of confusing and ineffectual (although Moe's cameo was great). Also, it seems like Grandpa's plot was abandoned about halfway through, which is a shame, because it had some decent potential.

Did anybody notice that the lines we saw in the commercial ("we're crashing your vacation, we ate your dinner, and Grandpa's with a gay guy in Miami" or something along those lines) weren't actually in the episode? Oh well.

So... not the most interesting or well-plotted episode ever, but just really humorous and fun, and in the end, isn't that what really counts?

My score: B+

[Gorky]

Let me start off by saying this: I didn't have high-expectations for this episode. Now here's what I thought of it:

Well, what can I say? I didn't like this one. Sure, it had some great jokes, but the plot itself bothered me.

First of all, the bad aspects. Marge and Homer's actions were at least justified, but still out-of-character in a number of ways. As it has been stated, Marge was completely oblivious to her kids' feelings. She was also an unconcerned parent. Why would Marge not be bothered by her 8 and 10 year olds roaming the country looking for her and her husband? It seemed as if all Homer and she cared about was sex. Sure, this offered a number of jokes, but I kind of got mad at the writers for it. The idea of taking a second honeymoon on the spur of the moment is wonderfully romantic, in a way. But, the writers could have handled it with more care.

Another thing that I got mad about was, as I have said in other threads, Grandpa and Raoul. For one thing, the whole idea has been used a bit too much. There were two great episodes that dealt with the same idea that Abe and Raoul's sub-plot was trying to express (those two episodes are "Homer's Phobia" and "Three Gays of the Condo"). Even though I didn't like the idea to begin with, the fact that the writers kind of just abandoned Grandpa in Miami without a second thought made me even angrier and made that bit of the episode incomplete.

Enough griping, here's what I liked.

The first act tied in with the episode's main theme. Bart and Lisa were being monsters and were inconsiderate and oblivious to Homer and Marge from the beginning. As Tomacco said, this gives Homer and Marge's later actions some type of justification.

The brilliant and masterful parody of "Catch Me if You Can"'s main title is the biggest highlight of the episode. That montage was amazing, and I loved the music.

So, the bad far out-weighs the good. I give it a C. For me and my purposes, a C is a 2/5.

Did you guys notice the Futurama poster in the background of the video store? Look for it if you want. It's hard to see, but it's blue with art similar to that of the cover of the R1 Futurama Volume 1 DVD.

[pocketfox]

You guys are pretty rough on this one. Granted, a bad review is very hard to get from me (I'll admit freely), but come on. The parody of Catch Me If You Can was awesome. one of the top 5 parodies in the history of thge show. Very good show all-around. 5/5

[That Jerk]

How is Marge's characterization off? She's been known to escape for "Marge time" and negect the family many times starting with the Rancho Relaxo episode... And i just assumed Maggie was with Patty And Selma until it was brought up she was gone. As for Grandpa and the gay guy, eh, rather it be clichied and unfunny, than idiotic and offensive.