It has become SO cool to hate The Simpsons. Is the show as good as it was in its prime? Of course not. The fact is that very little in the history of television, maybe nothing, is as good as The Simpsons was in those prime seasons. If you wanted to teach a class in television writing, you could fill a syllabus with Simpsons seasons three through six (and it was still pretty great for a few years after that). Over a decade after that great period, people have taken to complaining about The Simpsons as if its completely worthless now on small screen or big. They sharpened their knives and waited for the movie to come out like Comic Book Guy waiting for the inevitable failure of a Radioactive Man flick. "It's ten years too late." "The writers aren't funny any more." "It's just a few episodes strung together." "Worst. Movie. Ever." Half the people who have complained about The Simpsons Movie haven't even seen it. Because if they had, they would have to admit that it's just damn funny.

If you approach The Simpsons Movie expecting it to be as good as the prime of the show, you'll be disappointed. If you approach it as you should, as a 2007 movie, then you'll likely agree that it was one of the funniest of the year. If we must compare it to the show, the weakest episodes of the series in recent years have devolved into nothing but physical comedy and a series of pointless cameos. The movie could have easily been the same. If they had asked a dozen famous people to get Simpson-ized, they would have and the writers could have easily just crammed 90 minutes of film with references to the fans of the show, but they didn't do either. They wrote a new adventure that focused on what was always the strength of the show - the Simpson family dynamic. They are television's perfectly dysfunctional family and The Simpsons Movie works because it keeps the focus on them. And, all of that aside, it's just a more laugh-out-loud screenplay than most of the comedies released this year.

Having defended the movie against the haters, the DVD from Fox is a little disappointing in the world of the show. Each season of The Simpsons has been released with some of the best special features around, including copious behind-the-scenes material, deleted scenes, and commentaries. Why wouldn't you expect the same from The Simpsons Movie? There are two commentary tracks, but the serious behind-the-scenes goodies like storyboards or featurettes are clearly being held back for a future release. The deleted scenes were all wisely cut and the 'special stuff' isn't so special and should add fuel to the fire of the people who claim The Simpsons have gotten a little too commercial (just play them Homer introducing American Idol). The special features on The Simpsons Movie aren't bad, but fans who were disappointed with the movie that might have been swayed by a kick-ass collection of extras probably won't be.

If you're one of those bitter Simpsons fans who thinks the show jumped the shark a decade ago and you worried that seeing the movie in theaters might hurt your reputation as a hater, now you can check it out in the privacy of your own home. Now you can take a chance on The Simpsons Movie. Considering all that Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie have given you over the last two decades, isn't that the least you can do?