[The long of it]
Kim Cattrall, one of the four ladies in "Sex and the City's" central quartet, recently surprised the show biz community when she swore she'd never take part in a movie based on that series. "SatC" fans, were, to put it mildly, disappointed. What, they asked themselves, could Cattrall have lined up that would be more important than a "SatC" movie? Now the truth can be told -- she had to be a guest voice on "The Simpsons." Hey, a girl's got to have her priorities.
At least the writers gave Cattrall a substantial role in "She Used to be My Girl." She's Chloe Talbot, a reporter for the Global News Network. While in Springfield to cover Mayor Quimby's latest personal scandal, she meets her old high school friend, Marge Simpson. Chloe know she's a big deal in her field, but she's too smooth to make a big deal of it (so to speak). On the other hand she's just proud enough of her exploits that she needs little prompting to recite them or hint at the flings she's had. Cattrall handles the conflicting demands role nicely.
At first, Marge is happy to reunite with Chloe, but it isn't long before she's jealous of her friend's globetrotting career, which sets in motion the plot of tonight's story. It's a good premise, and "Girl" is a decent show, but some spark seemed to be lacking. One of the big points in the plot is that Marge and Chloe were both on track to be journalists, but Marge was sidetracked by her love for Homer. Okay, I can see how Homer would prevent Marge, however inadvertently, from having a big-time career. I have a harder time imagining that Marge's career would be in journalism, though. Marge (usually) isn't a thrill-seeker. Can you really see her teaming up with Chloe to cover dissident executions in China, or racing to an erupting volcano? I can't quite picture Marge doing that, so it's that much harder to see how she's given something up to have her quiet suburban life.
On the other hand, it's easy to see how Lisa might look up to Chloe. Here we have someone who escaped her limited hometown for something bigger and more important. Lisa not only follows Chloe around Springfield, but she even ties a little pink scarf around her neck, just like Chloe. The scarf covers Lisa's pearls, nicely symbolizing how the reporter has apparently usurped Marge as Lisa's role model. I rather liked this theme, and the show's title hints that this was to be the central conflict. (Get it? She used to be Marge's girl, but now she's Chloe's.) Somewhere along the way, though, the idea got pushed to the background a bit. It would have been nice to see Marge and Chloe competing to see who can impress Lisa more, but about all we get between the two is a catfight on the front lawn.
Even if it isn't all it can be, "She Used to Be My Girl" is funny enough to be an above-average episode. The first act had some good digs at local news reporters. Kent Brockman promises car chases, skimpy clothes on the weather girl, and cheap contests to get viewers to tune to his newscast, which summarizes all the tawdry excesses of some local news stations. Homer and Marge drop in on a conference of man-hating women in one amusing scene. There's a good acupuncture joke involving Abe and some kabob skewers, although the promos gave that one away. While it would have been nice if the third act ended in something other than an action-adventure sequence, this one was done pretty well and had a nice callback to Barney's chopper-flying days. (My main problem with action-adventure endings is that they're sometimes just an easy way to resolve an episode when the writers can't think of a good "normal" ending.) The "outtake" at the end was funny in a quirky way.
Okay, I don't really think Cattrall gave up a "Sex and the City" movie just to do this episode. But I wouldn't have been upset if she had -- even if that episode, like "She Used to be My Girl," isn't destined to be a classic. Hey, it's got to be more prestigious than pushing clothes for the Gap.
[The short of it]
This show has a good premise, and Kim Cattrall does a fine job as Chloe Talbot, Marge's old friend who became a big-time cable news reporter. And yet, some spark seemed to be lacking. Marge is annoyed she gave up a potential journalism career to be with Homer, but I had trouble imagining Marge as a reporter in the first place. A theme where Marge and Chloe compete for Lisa's admiration should have been stressed more, I think. In spite of that, "She Used to Be My Girl" is funny enough to be an above-average episode, although not a classic one. (B-)
[DYNs]
... nearly all the protesters were pregnant women? ... Bill Clinton and Arnold Swartznegger are among Chloe's flings? ... the portrait of President Nixon on Dondelinger's office? ... whether he intended to or not, Homer really does make good on his promise to travel the world with Marge? ... during Marge and Chloe's "catfight," we can hear a cat yowl?
[References]
O. J. Simpson murder case - Marge says, "... the Juice is on the loose." This was said of O. J. "The Juice" Simpson as he was fleeing from authorities
~Nixon's Checkers speech - Quimby uses a cute dog in a speech to defuse blame over a scandal, much as Nixon did in the 50s
Men's Fitness (magazine) - Homer reads "Men's Fatness" magazine
"Sex and the City" (TV series) - snippet of theme song plays during Chloe and Barney's helicopter scene (At least, I think that's the theme song -- I've seen "Sex and the City" exactly once)
[Previous Episode References]
[3F11] Marge jealous of old friend's new lifestyle [BABF14] Barney rescues someone with his helicopter
[FFF]
Fox News truck graphics:
FOX B U S H
NEWS
channel 2004 CHENEYCookie's son's sash:
MAYOR'S BABY
Marge's fair and wise chore wheel:
(Outer wheel -- each name has the appropriate head shot
next to it)HOMER MARGE BART MAGGIE LISA
(Inner wheel)
Dust and Mow the Wash the Pick Up Sweep Feed Dog
Vacuum Lawn Dishes Dry Cleaning GarageSigns at protest rally:
Mayor SAY "YES" QUIMBY-
McSleeze TO SPERM YOU PAY
LIMITS NOW!Homer's magazine:
Men's Fatness
----------
BAD ABS IN
SIX WEEKS!
----------High-school paper headline:
Springfield High News
SHAM CHOWDER!
[ Moe ]
[spitting]Press club sign:
SPRINGFIELD
PRESS CLUB WE HAVE A LIBERAL
BIAS ... TOWARD
GREAT MEAL DEALS!Marge's black-eye repair spray:
SHINER-B-GONE
[ Fighting ]
[Leprechaun]
[ logo ]
IRISH STRENGTHWomen's convention sign:
CAPITAL CITY CONVENTION CENTER
+------------+
| WOMEN'S |
| CONFERENCE |
+------------+
SEXY ASIAN GIRLS TALK ABOUT
WAGE DISPARITY[Personal Comments & Observations]
The Fox News truck blares Queen's "We Are the Champions" over its PA system.
Bob Dylan -- Folk/rock singer. Lately, he's had as much reputation for slurred, intelligible speech as he has had for his music.
Tom Brokaw -- Anchorman for the NBC Nightly News. He retired a few days ago (Dec. 1, 2004), which might explain why he has the time to play keep-away at a small city's press club.
Dan Rather -- Anchorman for the CBS Nightly News. (Not for much longer, though. He'll retire in early 2005.)
Morely [sp?] Safer -- Another CBS News personality. He's best-known for his work on "60 Minutes," CBS's flagship newsmagazine show.
G. Gordon Liddy -- One of the men implicated in the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, which brought down Nixon's presidency. Years later, Liddy would go on to host his own radio talk show, which might be how he and Chloe met. A former military man (and kind of tightly wound, if you ask me), Liddy would have a *lot* of good fight moves to teach her.
Chloe Talbot drives (or drove, before the lava hit it) a Cadillac CTS. Recently, the government mandated that all automakers provide an emergency release that opens the trunk from the inside. This is how Lisa was able to pop out at the appropriate moment.
Expo '67 refers to the Montreal Expo, a world fair held in this Quebec city in 1967.
For those of you not up on U.S. geography: Dallas and Fort Worth are two large cities that blend into one another in Texas.