TV Recap / Review: Homer and Bart Are Sent to Man Camp In "The Simpsons" - "Men Behaving Manly"
This evening saw the debut of the fourth episode in The Simpsons’ 36th season, entitled “Men Behaving Manly,” and below are my brief recap and thoughts on this installment of the long-running animated sitcom.
“Men Behaving Manly” begins on the last day of school at Springfield Elementary, making this episode an odd choice to air in the fall. But regardless, all the kids are so excited for summer vacation that they abandon their classes at 9:30 AM, much to Principal Skinner’s (voiced, as always, by Harry Shearer) chagrin. And as you might expect, the only student who’s not happy about school ending is Lisa Simpson (Yeardley Smith), who begins her vacation by writing welcome notes to be delivered to the new teacher when the school reopens at the end of the summer. Conversely, Bart Simpson (Nancy Cartwright) is having the time of his life doing all the most summer-vacationy things possible… in virtual reality. Soon his father Homer (Dan Castellaneta) joins him and they both call for Marge (Julie Kavner) to bring them more chips while they veg out.
Eventually Marge and (especially) Grampa Simpson (also Castellaneta) become fed up with Bart and Homer’s lollygagging, which reaches a breaking point when Abe spots Ned Flanders (also Shearer) doing maintenance work on the Simpsons’ car. Grampa gives his son and grandson a piece of his mind, while Marge consults with Alexa (Tress MacNeille) in the kitchen. Alexa– who speaks rather threateningly to Marge in a way that never quite pays off– suggests sending the Simpson men to Man Camp, and we see a montage of the artificial intelligence doing the same for all the families around Springfield.
At said Man Camp, Bart and Homer are joined by many of the other regular male characters from the show, and together they meet the head counselor Greg, who is voiced by one of The Simpsons’ most enduringly popular guest stars: Albert Brooks from Lost In America, Finding Nemo, and Defending Your Life. Greg splits the Springfieldian men into two groups– adults and children– and gets to work on transforming them into better representations of masculinity. His first task is to cure the kids of their addiction to their smartphones, which results in Ralph Wiggum (also Cartwright) “streaming” down a river, but then all the children learn how to work together to save him.
As for the adults, Greg has them all stand in two rows and face each other, peering into each other’s eyes and discovering parts of their pasts that scarred them, such as when a young Comic Book Guy (Hank Azaria) saved up all his money to see the George Lucas-produced Howard the Duck and it turned him into a cynic for life. Meanwhile back in Springfield, the women hold a town meeting free from the influence of men, and wind up passing a bunch of laws that improve the town so dramatically– like replacing the ever-burning tire fire with scented candles– that they begin to dread the moment their counterparts return.
The episode culminates with a meeting between the sexes at the border between the wilderness and Springfield, with the women prepared to demand that all of their changes remain on the books. But Homer’s newfound ability to look Marge directly in the eye soothes her ire and of course everything goes back to normal. While this episode had its share of laughs, I didn’t think the story was strong enough to make it rank among my favorite recent outings for The Simpsons. The presence of Albert Brooks is definitely a highlight, as usual, but I doubt anyone will remember Greg as fondly as they do Hank Scorpio, Jacques the bowling coach, or even Russ Cargill from The Simpsons Movie. Overall it’s a middling installment, which feels appropriate as we enter into the middle of season 37. Maybe that’s why they chose not to make this the season finale back in May, leading into the summer, though that definitely would have come across as more seasonally apt.
New episodes of The Simpsons air Sunday evenings on FOX.