"Why pay for something you can see on TV for free?" Homer Simpson himself asks the obvious. As one of the dolts who shelled out the "do'h!" for his film, my only defense to that question is, "Because the Simpsons make me laugh."

The long running "cartoon" series has been entertaining a large and loyal fan base for nearly two decades with its smart biting humor. Irreverent and cocky, this satirical comedy isn't for everyone. I remember turning my nose up at it the first time I heard that bratty kid disrespect his elders. But, once I caught onto the satire, well, I couldn't stop laughing.

The same is true in the movie version -- though everything is bigger. The laughs are just as deep and just as often. In fact, to my surprise, the film actually wields some emotional weight. As in the series, but even more so here, the film satires the interactions of a dysfunctional family. Here we see the consequences of Homer's selfish narrow mind on those he loves. There's some very serious subject matter playing out with both emotion and comedy at the same time. That's what makes this film nearly great. I say nearly great because despite the ridiculousness of the plot and events, we invest in these characters' emotional dramas -- but the climax and resolution toss away that investment for the purely ridiculous. As far as I can see this is the only fault of the film. Otherwise, I laughed strongly and often and, silly as it may seem, was even moved emotionally.

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