SPOILER SPACE
One comment for those of you who haven't seen it: yes, there is a gag at the very end of the credits, so stick around.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Well, I liked it. I didn't love it, but I liked it. It wasn't up to the standard of the very best TV episodes, but it was better than many, and certainly better than most from the last couple of seasons. The story was pretty well plotted out, with enough of an epic sweep to make it feel "big" enough for a movie, but without going too far into the fantasical.
If there's one thing that made it stand out as more than a regular episode, it's that, for a brief scene, we get to understand Homer a little better. The scene where he says that he doesn't think so much, although he respects people who do, and mostly he just tries to get through the day as painlessly as possible so he can get back home to Marge--I was, honest-to-goodness, touched by that. (In fact, if anyone has the exact quote, I'd be much obliged.) Here's a person who really doesn't like his life, and perhaps doesn't really like himself, but he loves his wife and he can't wait to get back to her, if only he can do so without disappointing her. I can relate.
I'm not going to catalog all the references and such, although there are some obvious ones (for example: [9F03] An Itchy & Scratchy movie plays in Springfield). I did, however, think that one of the shots of the President (when he was seen from behind silhouetted against the window) was a reference to the opening credits of The West Wing. Am I right, or does it reference something else?