She Used to Be My Girl
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"She Used to Be My Girl" is the fourth episode from the sixteenth season of the animated TV series The Simpsons. It features actress Kim Cattrall from Sex and the City. It was the last episode to-date animated by Toonzone Entertainment.
[edit] Plot
The episode opens with the family in the living room, but they quickly become distracted by a throng of newsvans rolling down the street, including a Fox News van, blaring Queen's "We Are the Champions" with a large "Bush Cheney 2004" banner. On television Kent Brockman explains that Mayor Quimby has had 27 different paternity suits filed against him, with the mayor eventually placating most of the reporters with a cute puppy.
But one reporter is not distracted: Marge's old high school friend Chloe Talbot, herself from Springfield, who continues to ask Quimby tough questions and lambasting her male coworkers.
Marge sees her friend on TV and is jealous of her success, and later they meet on the street. An embarrassed Marge confesses she never left Springfield, but the two are generally glad to see each other again. Chloe comes to the Simpsons for dinner; her exciting stories -- taking place all over the world and involving famous people -- annoy Marge and inspire Lisa, who goes out to dinner with Chloe.
In a flashback, we learn the story of Marge and Chloe's friendship: both were reporters for their high school newspaper, but after college Marge stayed with her sweetheart Homer, with Chloe leaving her sweetheart Barney. With all of Chloe's success, Marge seems to begin to resent both her decision and her family, but receives supporting words from Homer.
On their way back from dinner, Chloe invites Lisa to the UN women's conference, with Lisa saying she would need parental permission. Upon arriving at the Simpsons house, they are met at the door by a drunk Marge, who is angry at their late return. Marge provokes Chloe and Chloe threatens Marge "I'm going to show you some moves I learned from G. Gordon Liddy!" with Marge screaming back "I'm so sick of names!" before the two engage in a fight on the lawn.
Lisa decides to sneak out to attend the conference with Chloe, receiving a little help from Bart. She hides in the car's trunk, but as Chloe drives off she receives a call from her boss, telling her to instead cover the story of the eruption of Springfield Volcano.
Lisa pops out of the trunk -- to Chloe's surprise -- but instead of attending a women's conference, she replaces Chloe's cameraman, who ran away at the first sight of lava. "Remember to keep my boobs in the shot," Chloe directs.
Marge and Homer go to the actual women's conference in search of Lisa, but there see Chloe's live broadcast from the volcano, crediting Lisa behind the camera. Things at the volcano are looking grim, with Chloe and Lisa awaiting a fiery death. Marge races to the scene and leaps from rock to rock across a sea of lava to rescue Lisa; moments later, Barney descends in a helicopter to rescue Chloe, who grants him a half hour of violent pity sex.
The episode closes with Marge imagining what she could have done with her life...she is in front an ice rink, reporting that "the Miracle on Ice" never happened. "Nooo!" she screams in real life, to a shrugging family.
As the credits roll, we flash back to Lisa hiding from the volcano in Chloe's trunk. "What are you doing in there?" Chloe asks. Lisa responds "Praying to Buddha...Jesus...SpongeBob...there's no time to be picky!" In Heaven, the three figures debate whether or not to help, with SpongeBob concluding "Screw her!" and laughing maniacally.
[edit] Cultural references
- Mayor Quimby's puppy distraction refers to Richard Nixon's Checkers speech.
- Chloe is seen driving a Cadillac CTS.
- Chloe is shown interviewing Bob Dylan.
- When Chloe and Barney are in the helicopter the music from Sex and the City can be heard.
- The title is a spoof of the song "Used To Be My Girl" by The O'Jays.
- This is the second episode in which Barney uses his helicopter pilot skills.
- Fox News' rather celebratory entrance, with Bush/Cheney '04 on the side of a huge bus and Queen's "We Are The Champions" playing, is a jab at Fox News' right-slanted perspective.
- When Chloe says she thought Krusty the Klown was dead was a reference to the episode Bart the Fink.
- When Bart was taking apart the TV it was a reference to The Simpsons short The Bart Simpson Show
- Chloe works for a network called Global. Global, is the Canadian network that airs first run episodes of The Simpsons.
