Sweets and Sour Marge
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"Sweets and Sour Marge" is the eighth episode of the thirteenth season of The Simpsons.
[edit] Synopsis
Homer buys a book on world records published by Duff. After boring everyone with world record trivia, Homer decides to break a record himself. He gathers the whole town to build the world's tallest human pyramid. After Jimbo and Kearney move their hands just before the record is claimed, the pyramid collapses into a giant sphere. The entire town rolls to a truck weighing station and the Duff record book officials say that Springfield is the world's fattest town, ahead of Milwaukee.
The townsfolk are happy to have made it in the record book. Marge is worried that the whole town is overweight. She discovers that there is sugar in nearly everything Springfielders eat. After complaining to Garth Motherloving, head of the Motherloving Sugar Corporation, (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marge decides to sue the sugar industry. Judge Snyder sides with her and bans all sugar products in Springfield (angering Homer and a few others).
The whole town goes cold turkey. Homer joins a secret group to smuggle sugar from the island of San Glucos. After arriving back in Springfield, and evading a police boat, Homer brings the sugar to the docks. Marge pleads Homer to dump the cargo. After contemplating, Homer does so. All Springfielders, even those who seemed happier and healthier without sugar, jump into the harbor and drink the sugar water. Judge Snyder declares the ban over and dives in with everyone else.
[edit] Cultural references
- Erin Brockovich is referenced several times in this episode. She is set to appear in The Simpsons Movie.
- This episode takes a very blatant jab against Butterfinger candy bars. When the police must burn all of Springfield's candy and other assorted sugar products, a big stack of Butterfingers are thrown and is even referred to by name. The fire is unable to burn the candy bars and they bounce right back without even a singe to which Chief Clancy Wiggum comments, Even the fire doesn't want them, hinting at a general disdain for the candy. The Simpsons had appeared in Butterfinger commercials and print ads for more than a decade. Shortly after the episode, Butterfinger dropped the Simpsons as spokespersons. Two episodes later, Bart's chalkboard punishment was "I will not bite the hand that feeds me Butterfingers."
- The Duff Book of Records parodies the Guinness Book of Records, also named after a beer company. Lisa also mentions that the Duff Book of Records was originally created to settle disputes in pubs, which is true of its Guinness counterpart.
- When Homer evades the police in the boat, the entire boat chase parodies the intense, high adrenaline action of the TV series, "Miami Vice".
- When Homer climbs the human pyramid, he does it in a very similar way to the opening of the film "Mission: Impossible 2".
- During the end credits, the song "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies plays.
- This episode makes a reference to the 2000 film Chocolat. In the scene when the town is burning everything containing sugar, the character Lou is resistant in burning the promotional Johnny Depp chocolate figurine from the film. Chief Wiggum replies with "We melted for him, now he's gonna do likewise." This could be a reference to Depp's sex appeal. The way that the figurine melts into the fire is similar to that of the main figure in the painting The Scream.
[edit] Trivia
- This episode was dedicated to the memory of Ron Taylor, the voice of Bleeding Gums Murphy.
- When told by the sugar cabal that they were going to smuggle in sugar from "south of the border" Homer responds "Oh, you mean Tenessee?", when looked at on a map that places Springfield in Kentucky, as earlier confirmed by the "Behind the Laughter" episode.
