Bart's Girlfriend
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"Bart's Girlfriend" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons' sixth season. It premiered on November 6, 1994 on Fox. It was written by Jonathan Collier and directed by Susie Dietter. Meryl Streep guest stars as Jessica Lovejoy.[1]
The plot follows the secret romance of Bart and Jessica Lovejoy, Reverend Lovejoy's daughter. Bart tries to end the romance when he discovers that she is more evil than him. Jessica then steals the money from the collection plate leaving Bart to take the blame. Lisa helps prove to the townspeople that Jessica took the money, despite Reverend lovejoy’s strong denial, and she is punished as a result.
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[edit] Plot
Bart is bored in church when he sees Reverend Lovejoy's daughter, Jessica (Streep) and falls in love with her. However, when he approaches her, she ignores him. The next Sunday, Bart decides to attend Sunday school to try to convince Jessica that he is a good person, but she still just ignores him. Frustrated, Bart goes to the park to play a prank and is punished with detention. Jessica approaches him to express sympathy and asks him to dinner with her family.
At the Lovejoy house, Bart’s crude mannerisms and language cause him to be banned from ever seeing Jessica again. Jessica realizes that Bart is a bad boy, and tells him she likes him. They begin secretly dating. Bart quickly realizes that she is even more badly behaved than him. Jessica steals from the church collection plate, and the congregation mistakenly believes that Bart took the money when they see him with the empty plate. Bart tells his family that he did not steal the money, and that he doesn't know who did.
The following week Lisa tells the church congregation that they should not suspect Bart without evidence, and that the guilty person should confess. Jessica does not confess, so Lisa accuses her and convinces the townspeople to search her room, where the money is found under her bed. Jessica admits that she did it to gain attention. She is punished by being forced to scrub the church steps. When Bart approaches her to talk about what he has learned, Jessica responds that she has learned she can make boys do whatever she wants.
[edit] Production
Mirkin originally had the idea of Bart having a girlfriend that was more evil than him.[2] He they gave it to Collier to write alone with James L. Brooks, it was also pitched by David Silverman. Collier said later that he thought it was a case of Brooks coming up with good ideas and him "giggling insequentially"[3] Groening felt that Jessica Lovejoy was hard to draw in his own style but at the same time make her attractive.[4] Julie Kavner was particularly impressed by the eyes.[5]
Jessica was made the Reverend's daughter to give the impression that she was good at first and then to show that she was rebelling against the righteousness of her family. The joke where Bart struts was written by Jace Richdale.[2] The Yes, We Have No Bananas joke was reportedly very expensive for the writers to put in.[3] Nancy Cartwright and Streep's recordings for the episode were done together. Mirkin felt Streep was easy to work with because she was so versatile and keen to do a lot of different things and "easily evil". He also liked the scene where Bart is punched by Nelson, because he takes a while to recover, making it more realistic.[2] Homer's line "stop him, he's heading for the window" was added in later.[5]
In the scene where Bart talks to Jessica outside her house, her baton playing was in the script but the exact choreography was not. Dietter liked its incorporation because it gave her something else, other than Bart, to pay attention to. This was also done in the final scene using a scrub brush.[6] The idea for the ending of the episode was to have none of the characters learn anything from the experience.[2]
[edit] Cultural references
- The children being rounded up by the parents in the cornfield is an homage to Planet of the Apes.
- In the same scene, one parent shouts, "Schlomo, time for your violin lesson!" This is a reference to Fame
- When in church, Bart is playing with a Troll Doll, a toy originally from 1959 that has gone in and out of fashion on many occasions, but was enjoying a period of popularity in the 1990s when this episode was first broadcast. When playing with the doll Bart sings the Sam & Dave song "Soul Man", only with the word Troll substituted for Soul.
- Bart's restraint jacket is a reference to Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs.
- When Homer is musing over Bart's first date, he begins to sing 'Sunrise, Sunset' from "Fiddler on the Roof", which quickly turns into "Cat's in the Cradle", and then "We have no bananas" he begins to weep due to the people in the song having no bananas.
- The story that causes Bart to be banned from the Lovejoys' house was from an episode of the FOX sitcom Martin.
- Jessica twirling a baton is a reference to Pretty Poison.
- Bart strutting to "Staying Alive" is a reference to the final scene in Staying Alive, the sequel to Saturday Night Fever
- The boy who works in the library looks a lot like James Dean from Rebel Without a Cause.
- The song that Ned Flanders sings in a woman's voice at church is Air on the G String.
- When the kids are playing Indians, Nelson is dressed very similar to Robocop. Also, Bart's Indian name, Dances in Underwear, is a pun on Dances with Wolves.
- Bart calls Jessica "Smart, beautiful and a liar..." and then claims she's "...so much better than that Sarah, Plain and Tall".
- "Misirlou" from Pulp Fiction plays during during Bart and Jessica's date.
[edit] Reception
In a 2008 article, Entertainment Weekly named Meryl Streep's role as Jessica Lovejoy as one of the sixteen best guest appearances on The Simpsons.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, p. 156. ISBN 0-00-638898-1.
- ^ a b c d Mirkin, David. (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart's Girlfriend" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b Collier, Jonathan. (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart's Girlfriend" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Groening, Matt. (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart's Girlfriend" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ a b Kavner, Julie. (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart's Girlfriend" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Dietter, Susie. (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Sixth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart's Girlfriend" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
- ^ "16 great 'Simpsons' guest stars", Entertainment Weekly, 2008-05-11. Retrieved on 2008-05-11.
[edit] External links
- "Bart's Girlfriend" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
