Rate/Review Girls Just Want To Have Sums (HABF12)

[Bella Drape 'er]

4.5/5 on release

probably a 3.5/5 now, but I'll round it to 4

Nicely directed episode, the writing had such a potential to make me cringe when Bart found out it was Lisa as the boy, but they handled it perfectly in my opinion.

[qwertyuio]

it's a good episode. i've heard plenty of words from negative peeps on its weakness but the good definitely outdoes the bads in the episode for me. first off, the humor was decent; the biggest laugh came with lisa suddenly yelling out in her own voice "what the hell are you talking about???" and milhouse not being surprised at all (one of the greatest jokes in jean era lol) and homer groaning in the doghouse... and overall, the sequences of homer-gets-kicked out jokes were pretty solid for me. i&s musical was nice but i felt that it took kind of longer than i'd have liked; hell, writers could've taken some time out from the scene to supply some more on the latter part of the story imo. i'm still scratching my head at the joke where bart eats a set of fries with floor stuff on them, that seems like a satire gone too far. speaking of satire, i thought the one shown in the episode had some good illustration on feminists and male chauvinists aka look at nebuchanezzar's description of it. btw homer worked nicely as a background character

the plot... well, like i said, i would have felt much better if the third act did not seem really rushed but i do see the writers' plan of how it was to be: the part of the plot meant to focus on lisa's adjustment to the boy part of school and the success of it would lead to success of lisa in the school, but lisa's thriving in the episode lasted like, what, 20 seconds? i mean, i do understand that her success was immediate as soon as she was able to get adjusted to it, but for the sake of storytelling, it wasn't really the most effective method. however, that doens't realy spoil my taste for the episode... it's like saying to your little brother who got B+ on math "good job. but if you had given more effort, this b+ would've been an A" B+

I'm too much tired now to write a review and Dewey has already said everything I wanted, despite I disagree a little with the best gags. 8.5/10, one of the season's best episodes.

[Rest your giant head]

One of the wackiest ideas of this season turned out into one of the best episodes in this season. Although the first act was average at best, the rest of the episode improved my overall impression.

I got incredibly bored during the Itchy & Scratchy musical, especially because of the predictable jokes, such as Homer crying during a song. The part of the episode revolving around Skinner was bland and tedious, but I’m glad it didn’t last longer.

It gets much funnier from the moment the school gets split in two. I didn’t like the Bart Junior bit, since that kind of humour rarely fits in this show. Some of my favorite jokes are Homer not recognizing Lisa, ‘’Twenty-seven!’’, Milhouse talking about having a fling with Lisa, Homer spending the night in a dog house, and pretty much every ‘’toilet’’ gag.

The ending was a bit weird, since we don’t know how the schools reunited and what happened to Skinner. Even Lisa didn’t bring out her thoughts about women being not so well in math.

B

[jscottstroup]

The ending was a bit weird, since we don’t know how the schools reunited and what happened to Skinner.

I would assume that Lisa proved that the experiment wasn't a good idea, and so they went back to normal as a result.

I think this is a great episode, dealing with socialization tactics, conformity, stereotypes, and assimilation. All the "Clockwork Orange" style references on the male side of the school were appropriate. The Skinner stuff perfectly illustrates the effect individually prescribed political correctness can have. "All I know is no one is better than anyone else, and everyone is the best at everything."

The male playground is a post-war zone wasteland that plays like "Clockwork Orange" set in the wild, so we get allusions to both past and future (since "Orange" is a dystopian setting) of male gang / tribe mentality. It also shows the way in which we establish a hierarchy of domination in a social environment.

I think the episode, all in all, shows that both genders are essential to balance out society.

As far as the Itchy and Scratchy Musical goes, I thought it was very imaginative and I hope the DVD has deleted scenes of an extended cut. But I'm a sucker for anything theatrical. (I wanted to see the entire "Producers" performance on season 4 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm", as well as more "Nightman Cometh" on "It's Always Sunny")

Love the jokes:

"Twenty-seven!"
Homer sleeping in the doghouse: "How did this happen?"
"We've been Yentl'd!"
All the "toilet" jokes.
"Milhouse doesn't do clingy."

5 / 5 = A

[Worst_Episode_Ever]

I loved it. Especially the Itchy & Scratchy musical. It was actually the funniest original songs I've seen in the Simpsons in yeeeeeeeeeears

4.5/5 (rounded up to 5/5 for the poll)

[Financial Panther]

This is an excellent episode; however, the one thing that bothers me is how boys are portrayed. It makes it seem like all boys are into rowdiness and fighting and guns. I don't like all that stereotyping. Otherwise, it's a great episode. 4/5

[cloneasaurus]

I found it pretty funny (I liked Otto telling the girls to have an "empowering" day, and I found "27!" hilarious in a silly way) but otherwise it was just average. Lisa's speech at the end was very poorly done. It's done in a very monologue-ish way and it sorta just ends up feeling like Lisa droning on, trying to answer the question poised in the episode in an overly direct manner. The whole social commentary kinda goes down the toilet (geddit) when Lisa starts pretending to be a boy, not that was especially bad, but I did feel it perhaps took away from the episode. Basically I found it an entertaining affair with some good jokes, a surprisingly nice simple plot and some okay social commentary (if done in a somewhat extreme manner) but it still felt sorta flat to me. Not sure what but something was missing. Still above average for 17 though. C+

[Blobulle]

I'm not sure this is my favorite episode of the season 17.
But anyway I like it, some good gags like Homer doesn't recognize Lisa as a boy, twenty-seven, the Itchy&Scratchy Musical...
Good plot, good end...in brief : very good 5/5

[Bleedin' Gums Murphy]

1/5

[bhartman36]

Not miserably bad, but typical of the "social commentary" episodes they like to make Lisa-centric. 2.5/5.

[Zombies Rise from the Sea]

Girls Just Want To Have Sums

Okay... I know it's been a long time since I've done one of these but I feel like it's time to pick up the pieces and continue on with my promise to review the entirety of Season 17.

So this is obtusely the episode which focuses on supposed racial differences that supposedly exists today; mainly between men and women. Personally, I don't see that much of a difference or even any racial things being said about Men and Woman being better; in fact I go so far to believe that the woman's reasons for why the men are putting them down are manufactured, I mean when have I seen any signs of men being shown as better as woman, I mean when???

As this is an episode involving racial differences; it obviously has to involve Lisa since she is the smartest one and the one most likely to provide the trademarked Simspons socially correct satire! To be honest, this doesn't make the episode bad; to the contrary she manages to step through the whole becoming a boy thing admirably and I actually somewhat enjoyed seeing her pretend to be a boy and be good at math; however, there is a main problem she suffers from that's persistent in the entire episode, that problem is that the socially conscious issue is up front and in a very obvious way.

Back then live-action sitcoms would do a very special episode involving something like race issues or guns or drugs; these episodes would be really hard to sit through, unless the episode in general was really good. Now the Simpsons has been doing a lot of these episodes, almost as if the length the show has been on the air has given the creators some excuse to make episodes like this to raise issues like this in the public, knowing damn well they're going to push the issue front of forward instead of letting it happen naturally. This is evident by the fact that almost all of the characters seem to deliver forced dialog pertaining to this subject, Skinner in particular. I understand what they're going for but trying to force the views at hand (that someone isn't unintentionally tolerated, that there are people who feel strongly about anything female, who think both sides should be split apart and ultimately that both races can do both things equally.) just doesn't work out in a story aspect, and having to wade through tons of things like Homer, Lisa, Marge, Skinner and the lady principal spouting out things relevant to the theme of the episode gets to be very, very tough. Springfield reacting to Skinner's comments with general hate and confusion does make the medicine go down easier.

It would of helped had it happened in a natural way but the episode has already aired so... Whatever.

Getting back to the matter at hand. This moors most of the first few acts, which is a shame as it contained a moderately good I&S musical and the Simpsons acting like Simpsons, though that led into Skinner appearing on stage and starting off the main plot; I actually thought that happened in school and not on a theater stage, guess I got my scenes mixed up. Anyways, what also happens in the first few parts is that we get some good scenes with the school; we get a glimpse of what the girls school is like and Lisa's desire for a challenge is revealed. Now what we're shown is moderately good but surprisingly it gets better as it goes along; with everything becoming more natural and reasonable, the moments at the school getting better, the moment with the kids becoming more enjoyable (though I don't have a best player at the moment, I'd like to think they all did good.) and more established and Lisa placing herself in the shoes of a boy as Bart guides her along... Again, her scenes as a boy are enjoyable mainly because her performance is consistent, even when she revealed herself at the end; I'd personally like to think of Yeardly Smith's voice as doing it, I mean who knew she could do something like that in this day and age.

There isn't much in terms of parodies or a subplot; well if you count the I&S musical as a parody of the "Lion King" and if you count Marge and Homer as a subplot... (I did enjoy Homer in some parts, more so; the one where he's in the doghouse.) The jokes here are in a numerous number and while it isn't as numerous as previous episodes; it's still there... I am going to note that there are more hits then miss but not by much... (Otto for example, also Milhouse...)

I don't know what else I can say; it's one of those episodes that's mediocre the first two acts then suddenly becomes good towards the end; it's also one of those episodes that tries to be "special" but ends up falling flat. I will say that I remember reading a slice of life story book as a kid (don't know which, it did have a silver automobile in it though...) that involved racial diversity in the 1800's and portrayed it in a better and much more natural way then this episode.

5.5/10

[zartok-35]

Seeing how some folks thinks this episode is good enough to be on top 50 lists, now seems like as good a time as any to mention why I think it sucks!
The episode isn`t too awful at first, but then they change the school, and everything goes to shit, because like everything else in season 17, they take things too goddamn far, and make everything so over the top it's stupid. Back in the old days The Simpsons could satirize things in a way that seemed plausible and down to earth, and resonated with the viewer. THIS is not, and it stains the series in being anything but.

[Brad Lascelle]

Since when does EVERYONE = 3 people? Because that's the number of people who included Girls Just Want to Have Sums on their Top 50 lists.
It won't even make the Top 100, zartok-35... so rest easy. The only episode since Scully took over that's virtually guaranteed to make that list is Trilogy of Error.
Moe Baby Blues and some of the late Season 9 stuff might squeeze in under the wire.

As for your criticism about the episode, it seems kind of baseless.
Segregating the school and Lisa disguising herself as a boy is hardly what I'd call "over the top".

Especially when you consider legit Top 50 classic era episode scenarios like super-intelligent robots running amok in Itchy & Scratchy Land, most of the nonsense from the last half of Marge vs. the Monorail, all of Hank Scorpio's evil machinations in You Only Move Twice and Rex Banner being catapulted out of the city in Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment.

[zartok-35]

The segregated school bothers me more than the story about Lisa pretending to be a boy. What the school ultimatley becomes isn't plausible, especially the colors down the center and the alkatraz security. I don't know if I can defend your classic era examples against this, but Scorpio and the Killer Robots don't feel as lazy and detatched as what we have here.

[Prune Tracy]

The only problem I have with this episode is that it wasn't that funny to me. I thought the plot was interesting enough, but it was definitely lacking in humour. I'll give it a 3/5.

[Boris Johnson]

Al Jean has a nerdy obsession with Lisa, it seems there are like 40% of his episodes dedicated to her and he's always trying to find a different side to her -
I haven't watched the episode in ages but I recall it being not too bad.

[kkkrusty]

Hi, new here. I've been catching up on s17 of late and out of the episodes I have seen so far, this one was unique in that it wasn't terrible and I actually laughed a number of times. It's got a couple of the usual problems. The plot was badly handled - it strayed too far in the middle and was rushed and incomplete by the end. Too many lines were clunkers especially at the beginning (everything Homer said or did then was unfunny). But after that the script became much more tolerable and there were many good gags and scenes throughout.

The Itchy and Scratchy Musical was better than I expected and I liked the naff organ dancers popping out. The Skinner scenes were silly but amusing ("just tell me what to say"). Marge was good throughout. The running gag with Homer and the couch was very good. I liked how campy Martin was ("just add the volumes of the spheres we know the radii"). I liked Jake/Lisa talking to Milhouse and her scenes with Nelson. I didn't like Bart taking Lisa under his wing, that bit was tedious. The quality took a dip soon after that.

So overall I liked the episode but I think it might have been to do with lowered expectations. The last episode I had watched was Springfield's Wettest Tales. This one deserves probably around about 3/5 at most.

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

Season 17 continues when Lisa goes undercover as a boy! After some sexist remarks made, inexplicably in my opinion, by Principal Skinner he is fired and the school is divided by gender. When Lisa discovers the girls aren't being challenged in math Marge transforms her into Jake Boyman so she can get the proper education in mathematics and not miss out as she did thanks to Homer. All goes well for Lisa until she is beaten up by Nelson and Bart must teach her to become a real boy. In the end she reveals her true self and the episode is resolved...kinda, not really.

I remember absolutely despising this episode when it first aired, or at least whenever I first saw it. I remember just thinking the idea was unappealing, set-up and resolved rather poorly, and worst of all just not funny and extremely forgettable. So I admit I'm somewhat surprised when I read comments from here praising much of the episode and hating on the few things I actively liked on this re-watch. Certain members here gave this episode an extremely high grade and it frankly leaves me bewildered and wondering if I just missed something here. I think it is more likely I just don't look for the same things from the show. Still though....

Anyway this was the first time I watched this in several years and it was...better than I remembered I guess. I still think the first act had no laughs. None. The Lion King parody felt like it went on forever and wasn't funny. Bart's mischievous laugh when Marge got dragged out by the actor was the only ok thing. As soon as Homer had that long and unfunny laugh I knew I was in trouble. Then we decide that Principal Skinner is suddenly gonna become sexist for no reason. I can appreciate the mob mentality and the commentary on politically correct behavior, really I can, but I didn't laugh during any of this. I felt genuinely moved by Skinner as the assistant Groundskeeper in act 2 when he meets Lisa on the boys side of the school. His comment about having no opinion seemed like some kind of strong commentary and it made me feel for the character, but aside from that he felt out of character here and was totally ignored in the story's resolution and I really didn't like that.

Act 2 had some fun stuff though. I mean I liked the Bart's penis mislead and seeing Lisa pretending to be a boy was fun. Milhouse raving about how he dumped her and the fight with Nelson were definite high points for the episode. Bart showing Lisa how to be a boy was fun too and Comic Book Guy's puke war comment gave me the biggest laugh of the episode. Nice line reading there. Once again Julie Kavner sounded like she needed a cough drop or something though throughout the episode as Marge just didn't sound like Marge which is the case for at least the second episode in a row. This time she sounded like she had a cold though much of the time. I liked some other things like Homer being banished to the couch and eventually dog house and the random numbers fantasy, but I dunno these really didn't make me laugh out loud much if at all.

I'll say again I felt the resolution was lazy and incomplete but then when the entire idea of the episode is inherently unappealing to me I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise. I'll give this a 3/5 for the middle portion after act 1 and before the reveal at the end and some social commentary, but I still honestly don't care much for this episode. I noticed this was written by Matt Selman. There's a line in the episode by Marge about how Homer never takes their kids to the movies. Well all I could think was him taking Bart to the movies at the end of "O Brother Where Bart Though?" I would've liked to have been watching that episode instead...

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

But what if O Brother Where Bart Though broke the continuity?!

[Oh, that's raspberry!]

It's okay if I like the episode naturally

[Dumb or Dumber?]

So bad it's laughable. 1/5

[cloneasaurus]

this episode is pretty decent for season 17, but the last scene is just incredibly incredibly bad. they spend two minutes trying to sum the story up and come to a conclusion, and not only is it done in an annoying way (lisa pretty much talking directly to the audience for two whole minutes), but they also don't even come to a conclusion. granted the episode dealt with a tricky social topic, but they should have just avoided that kind of conclusion entirely than just trying and failing.

[Dumb or Dumber?]

The real topper is Lisa throwing the trophy at Martin. God's sake. Way to ruin your message.