REVIEW: [PABF14] Lisa Goes Gaga

[Stretch_Dude]

Spoiler

Okay, not quite as horrible as expected, but damn close.

Everything that wasn't Gaga, I liked. Lisa telling Gaga to fuck off, I loved. But the sheer Gaga-worship seeping from this episode's every pore... Eeeuuugh. I suppose the fact that her attempts to cheer Lisa up did jack squat was supposed to help, but jeez. I don't think I've ever seen an episode suck a guest star's proverbial dick this hard before. (And you can really tell Yeardley Smith was not thrilled by the song at the end. She's usually a much better singer than that.)

It's especially galling, because like I said, the non-Gaga parts? It's good stuff. I don't think they've done the "outcast Lisa" thing this well since "Summer of 4 Ft. 2." There are some genuinely heartwrenching line reads from Lisa and Marge, even if they come in scenes with THAT WOMAN, especially THAT SCENE where THAT THING happened. Why did they have to mess up such a potentially great episode with...Gaga?

[c_nordlander]

I've been asking the same thing with every single guest star who didn't, you know, play an actual role.

I don't know... did the writers spend their youth watching Growing Pains or something and think: "You know what this show's really missing? More shoe-horned guest stars!"

[Gulliver63]

Unfortunately Lady Gaga is the poster child for everything that's wrong with today's music industry...I once did a picture of Leela dressed up as her, which I thought was a cute project, but it got such a low viewership at dA that I pulled it after just a few days. Actually, in ways I thought the episode wasn't too bad...the jokes and gags weren't too awful, and it was a little interesting to see the props and visuals. Yesterday as well I watched Roger Waters on 60 minutes still filling up stadiums at 68 years of age to watch "The Wall" - kind of says something about the music industry.

[Terry Y]

Spoiler

I was absolutely prepared to hate this episode. Instead, I only hated the songs. Seriously, they were terrible, and way out of Yeardley Smith's vocal range. I mean, it's a show with Lady Gaga for crying out loud! You couldn't spring for Auto-tune?

Other than that, the episode was surprisingly tolerable for a show that was essentially a Lady Gaga commercial. I think the fact that she was so willing to make fun of her persona was part of the reason. At least she didn't take herself too seriously. As Stretch said, the stuff with Lisa was very well done. And the scene where Marge expresses her desire to do more for Lisa almost had me a tearing up a bit.

So yeah, it could have been a lot worse, but as it is, it was pretty decent.

GRADE: C+ (would've been a B if not for You-Know-Who)

[missy_misery]

Showing up early to register my distaste throughout the interbutts! Keep in mind: I'm reviewing this as a bona fied Lady Gaga stan who generally finds her adorable/a brilliant musician/a good, helpful person in society...

Spoiler

...And she was flat-out terrible in this episode. Wow. Remember when the Simpsons was boldly unafraid to tell you it was okay to be sad, because there are people out there who'll hold you up along the way? And that it's okay to fail sometimes, as long as you're willing to apologize and show your love for the person you wronged? We've gone from that moral in 1991 to "FIND A WAY TO BE HAPPY OR YOU'LL MAKE A POP STAR CRY" in 2012. Yay, evolution!

WHY were there no consequences for Bart's ruining Lisa's social life by revealing she was anonymously propping herself up on that message board? Not only does he get off scott-free with a sad, downcast look, THE PLOT POINT IS NEVER RETURNED TO AGAIN. Bart and Gaga using their combined popularity to say hey, Lisa is awesome, would've made more sense and made him being a jerk to her more relevant to the plot.

Gaga lampooning herself and, in the narrative, genuinely caring enough about Lisa's happiness were also wonderful moments, I agree (And I loved that they poked fun at the excess of her road shows).

But: then they ruined a GORGEOUS, beautifully acted, emotive Gaga and Marge scene, not by having Marge kiss Gaga, but by turning the moment into a revoltingly cheap joke (it turned her on so much she immediately had sex with Homer). What IS it with the show and Marge kissing women the last couple of seasons? I'd love to see them explore the idea of Marge's bisexuality, but guess what; I DON'T TRUST THEM TO DELIVER ON IT. WHY couldn't it have ended with Marge being nervous about holding her hand, then having it turn into a hug? WHY did they need to deliver a punchline?!

Don't get me going on the fact that Lisa realized she needed to comfort Gaga by ENTIRELY TUNING HOMER OUT. Homer's gently comforting Lisa used to be a hallmark of this show - now it's funny because she doesn't need his support, ho ho ho ho.

And in the end, the moral is: Lisa was ungrateful for the good parts of her life, so she had no right to be depressed when HER ENTIRE SCHOOL SHUNNED AND BULLIED HER. So if you're depressed kids, just swallow down your sadness and love the good parts of you, because you were gosh-darn-it born this way and rocking the boat is something only bad kids do. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THIS SHOW PREACHED AGAINST IN ITS FIRST SEASON. THAT'S what I miss; the show that used to tell kids processing their depression was healthy. Instead, the moral is just ignore your depression and GET HAPPY DAMN IT. There were SO many ways for Lisa to find self-reliance and learn how to love herself without going for that moral! The worst part is, she only pulled herself out of her doldrums because she upset Gaga - which means she NEVER DEALT WITH THE CORE OF HER DEPRESSION.

And then the entire school suddenly decides she's all right because she sang with Gaga. After explicitly rejecting her when they knew she was friends with the woman. HTH? Lisa's narration at the end was a lovely conclusion, but too little too late.

As for Gaga's VA work...bless her heart. The first part of the episode she sounded wooden, but she got better as time went along. I have a feeling she wrote those songs under a pseudonym, and if it really WAS her, I'm surprised she didn't find a way to better support Yeardley's voice.

And I'm glad I wasn't the only person cringing for Yeardly in that duet with Gaga. WAY out of her key, delivered in a reedy whisper. We've heard her sing "Jazzman"; we know she can deliver big and bold when she wants to; instead she was embarrassedly cringing her way through the song. Retake. City.

This could've been improved with a couple of rewrites - and this show REALLY NEEDS TO STOP BEING TOO AFRAID TO MAKE A SINCERE EMOTIONAL STATEMENT. Gah, they came SO close to it several times in this show, then promptly ruined it. YOU AREN'T FAMILY GUY. THIS SHOW HAS A RICH HISTORY OF DRAMATIC ACTING AND WRITING THAT CAN SUPPORT A SERIOUS MOMENT.

@Gulliver: You really think Gaga's the poster child for everything wrong in this industry? She can actually belt without autotune, can play her own piano and writes almost all of her own songs. There are a thousand pre-fab acts in the top 100 now I could point to who don't do even a quarter of that (One Direction COFF COFF COFF).

/Taking cartoons and pop stars too seriously :p

[Gulliver63]

Lisabella, I'd like to rephrase that a bit because I didn't mean to punch a fan in the face. But it is what she lampooned of herself last night. You'd have to admit that it wasn't a very flattering portrayal of herself in the show. I must admit that Lady Gaga is a very unusual thing to me - it took me the longest time to figure out why she went by that name. My daughter was a fan for some time...for some reason, she had no desire to watch last night's episode. I will admit that she has quite a voice...it's just this modern show thing with the dancers that I have problems with. And autotone - oy vey! I want to tear my ears off of my head every time I hear it. In my 49 years, the music industry is in the sorriest state I've ever seen it in. I'm an old codger who still thinks his Miles Davis and Yes CD's are a really neat thing to do art to. Again, I didn't mean to hurt the feelings of a fan.

[c_nordlander]

^^Wait, you want a popular cartoon comedy to have a bisexual main character and treat it as a natural part of their life instead of playing it for gay jokes or "OMG she kissed a girl so hawt"?

Maybe in 2084.

[missy_misery]

Oh, there's absolutely no need to worry about offending me; I like her but, as my review indicated, I'm quite willing to note her flaws as an entertainer - didn't you notice my distaste in regard to her decisions as a voiceover artist? And as I noted in my review, I appreciated her self-lampooning; Gaga seems self-aware enough to know her stage persona is highly overblown, which is why she pokes fun at herself here (and in other venues).

I just thought it was interesting you felt that way about her when she doesn't even come close to the apex of awful in the chicks-singing-about-having-fun-at-the-club genre (My pick for that category, Ke$ha, who patently cannot sing, at least writes her own music and has a couple of catchy hits), and when the industry itself is largely bouncing back from the party-rock/club music dearth of the last year. Gaga's live shows don't even LOOK like what was portrayed on the show; she does an acoustic set where it's just her and the piano, for instance.

Around fifty percent of the top 10 songs in the US as I type this are either rock-driven (Maroon 5, fun., The Wanted, Train), or written and performed by the artist behind the mic and is boldly creative (Nicki Minaj) In fact, the number one song in the country is an entirely acoustic song by sing-songwriter Gotye, who has quite a bit in common with the Simon and Garfunkels of the world. The top ten actually has a very interesting mix of sounds at the moment, but my two cents, and everyone has a different opinion. I think there's popular music out there for everyone, even on top twenty radio.

@Chris

Spoiler

I know, right? I wish they could do it in a creative way and not an LOL HOMER AND MARGE BREAK UP FOR A WEEK episode.

I mean, the point of the show should always

Spoiler

reflect that Homer and Marge love one another

but I know plenty of happy, committed bisexual couples.

Spoiler

Also they could've easily made the same joke during the Katy Perry episode, which doesn't say much for the writers.

[Gulliver63]

I'm definately from another time period. What I've been going for lately are two bands: Transatlantic and Spock's Beard, both bands that idolized the euro-rock bands that I've always loved. And for some reason I just went crazy for Bjork's "Army of Me"...I just saw "Sucker Punch" last night on DVD. I listen to a lot of music here in the studio when I'm doing art. I still feel bad that my "Leela Gaga" picture got such a tepid response...I'll have to dig out that sketch and post it sometime.

[missy_misery]

Yes, Bjork is very talented.

And you should post the drawing to your art thread!

[Gulliver63]

I should pull that out...I was very proud of it. I actually researched her outfits in her videos for the project. I would also like to do a Bjork project at some point...fascinating elven features...asian eyes. Tomorrow I'll hunt for those.