I tried watching this thing and gave up halfway through. This is supposed to be entertaining?
Reasonably decent episode. Some good little jokes on the side here and there. Bart’s storyline wasn’t at all believable but this is Simpsons’ land here. So, Natalie Portman. Better job than most of the generic young starlets they’ve used. (Sara Gilbert is still the best.)
Better than some of the recent episodes this season.
I found one bit very funny. When they went to get married in Utah and Bart said he had only one bride, and the guy replied “What are you, gay?”
In the rerun at 7:30, there was a scene of Homer getting dressed. Standing in the dark under a spotlight, clothes flying at him out of nowhere, very stylized. What’s that from? I know it’s an “homage” to something, but I don’t know what.
I miss so many of their pop culture references these days. Makes me feel old. 
Ali G.
And that part was hysterical.
Decent enough.
I, for one, am going to start a thread asking what the name of that song was when the fire was started. 
So Bart gets a drivers’ license and tries to get married…
My suspicions have been confirmed: Bart Simpson is no longer 10 years old. He’s officially 20.
Is it that hard to write characters that actually behave like they’re supposed to? Not that I ever expect much from The Simpsons these days, but Jesus Christ…
Smithers: Mr Burns! Help Me!
Burns: I don’t see you helping me…
Smithers: But I’m FLAMING!!
Burns: …
We all know the Simpsons has passed it’s prime like 5 seasons ago. They can still pull out a few chuckles though.
More like 26ish. Thought to be fair he did think that kissing while holding hands would get a girl pregnant . Lisa was just off.
Neither the A nor B plot really worked for me - I didn’t buy Lisa as that kind of liar and Bart’s relationship was weird - but I thought the jokes were very very funny.
I was saying “Boo-urns!”
I don’t know, a Jack Benny joke? Seemed a little weak.
I missed the first act. How and why was Bart driving, anyway?
In thanks for accidentally saving Springfield from a wildfire, the mayor grants Bart one wish:
Bart: OK, I want a license!
Mayor: To kill?
Bart: No, to drive.
Mayor: Suit yourself!
Two laughs: one, Lisa explaining what the Hitachi tribe had seven names for. (I do that all the time–I wish I had just one name for it.)
Two: at the end when Bart complains, “All we did was fight!”, Homer replies “Yeah, how 'bout that …”. Just that. Simple, unforced, and real.
A couple of funny lines sprinkled in, but both plots were so ridiculous it didn’t even matter. As KJ noted above- didn’t the writer of this episode know anything at all about the characters? Lisa’s actions in this episode go against everything she stands for- if nothing else, she’s smart enough to know she’ll be called on the ruse, eventually. She may have a small lapse every now and then, like hiding the teacher’s editions, but comparing that to this is like comparing the episode where Marge takes bowling lessons from the Frenchman to one where she takes part in a gang bang. Even if you live under a rock and don’t know the characters, can’t you ask the guy in the office next to yours? And Bart saying “I was looking forward to becoming a dad”- are you fucking kidding me? Maybe though, this isn’t the work of a rogue writer, but instead those in charge have decided to just throw out 15 years of relative continuity and now anything goes- Marge as a slut, Homer a serial rapist, Lisa smoking crack, etc, like in FG and American Dad?
which was started by Cleetus’ cow in a RubeGoldbergian sequence that I thought was pretty damn funny. Actually, it was started and extinguished by Cleetus’ cow, and then restarted by Cleetus himself.
We also saw Cleetus’ last name in this episode. Has that been known before?
And, did Lenny or Carl make some crack about their mom?
I liked the episode. The aforementioned “what are you, gay?” was a highlight.
He turned down a chance at a license to kill? What is he, gay?
Plenty of laughs, but the plot was extremely unlikely and inconsistent with past Simpsons episodes. It’s almost like a parady of The Simpsons. Have the writers changed?
Yes. I recall one episode where Cletus writes his name in a un-hillbillylike fancy font.
Just for the heck of it, based on Wee Bairn’s comment, I decided to check the IMDb for the filmography of Don Payne, the episode’s writer. A couple of his episodes were good, but most were pretty bad. As for character development, one of his episodes featured a My Fair Lady parody in which Sideshow Bob sang that he just couldn’t kill Bart because he’s grown accustomed to his face. I thought that one was a little weird.