howdy, folks. it's me, the one, the only jp paxton back from my greatly enjoyed vacation. i've actually been anticipating today. as much as i liked not having to worry about producing a review each and every week that same feeling of emptiness came over me i experienced earlier this year during the gap between my reviews for 'grindhouse' and 'spider-man 3'. a lot has happened since my last review. shia labeouf "transformed" himself from annoying twit to respectful actor in the rock 'em, sock 'em cgi delight 'transformers', the fifth installment of the 'harry potter' franchise failed to work its magic on me as it turned out to be quite disappointing, & just last week the musical remake of john water's cult classic of the late 80's 'hairspray' burst into theaters bringing to the summer a much needed dose of fun and lightheartedness. wait though, who cares about those films? not you my readers apparently seeing as how all of them were outvoted by that movie about the oh so familiar family of yellow last month to be the one and only review i write during the month of july. yes, that's right, the much anticipated, the much talked about, the much spider-pig filled... 'the simpsons movie'. now since this review was after all chosen by you (well, most of you) i thought it would be a change of pace to further involve you in the review process. instead of just writing out my own analysis or that dreaded good, bad, bottom line format, earlier in the week i asked you all to send me questions via a bulletin on myspace asking what you'd like to know about the movie. i chose five questions out of the lot and have answered them the best i can. so without further adieu, here are your answers. q: just how funny is it really? a: on a scale of one to ten (one being yawn inducing and ten being death from laughter hilarious) it's a solid eight. i never did laugh uncontrollably but there were definitely some instances of true comedy here. the best gags much like in the television series are the spur of the moment ones that catch you off guard. also for the first time in quite a while not all of the funniest jokes are featured in the trailer. i do however think spider-pig's astonishing ceiling walk should have been saved to be seen at the theater, but oh well. q: is it as good as the show? a: it's not great, but i think it's good enough to satisfy most fans. there are a few episodes that i'd consider better than it but overall it remains on par with the recent seasons. pretty much the film is the equivalent of two great episodes and then one mediocre one. q: what was your favorite part? a: my favorite part of the entire film isn't a joke or scene. it's the fact groening and his talented team of writers didn't try to change or reinvent the simpsons for their big screen debut. i was a little worried beforehand they'd make it over the top and ridiculous. it was great to see everything was kept in tact and stayed true to the series while at the same time giving a few surprises along the way. q: what did you like least about it? a: plain and simple: the hype. no it didn't have anywhere near as much as 'spider-man 3' or 'at world's end', but it still had a tremendous amount of it. sorry, it didn't live up to it. i love the simpsons and have watched them ever since i can even remember doing so. even so i was just a little disappointed when the film was over. i'm not saying i didn't like it, but as a whole it failed to reach its full potential. q: if you could change one thing about the movie what would it be? a: two words: sideshow bob. he is undeniably one of the best characters in the whole series and he wasn't even in the movie. somehow, some way i would add him. one can only hope the next time around he makes an appearance. - originally written on july 27, 2007