I saw The Simpsons Movie with Jenna tonight, mainly because the reviews were so surprisingly positive. Some very mild and allusive spoilers ahead.

I'll say this: it was better than anything they've done in the past two years. There were, in fact, some hilarious moments — the opening, a musical movie reference, a skateboarding sight gag, a particular bedroom scene — and the movie had plenty of shots that used the new medium to good effect.

On the other hand, rewards for hardcore fans were pretty thin on the ground: a wide cast of characters in the crowd shots, familiar Springfield landmarks, and a visual reference or two to past episodes. Really, this movie isn't for people like me.

I'd recommend seeing this movie for the first 20 minutes alone, but it helps to go in with low expectations, because there isn't a single criticism of recent episodes that can't also be directed at the film. Simple jokes go on too long, the pop culture parodies come off like Family Guy lite, the celebrity cameos don't seem organic, jokes are recycled from previous episodes or dumbed down unnecessarily (e.g. Rainier Wolfcastle has been renamed Arnold Schwarzenegger), and backdrops are less information-rich even as the show increases its reliance on sight gags.

The movie doesn't really fix any of this, but with so much time to tell a story, sometimes it escapes it. I enjoyed myself: there you have it.