I'm with Cupid
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"I'm With Cupid" is the fourteenth episode of The Simpsons' tenth season. The episode aired on February 14, 1999.
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[edit] Plot
Apu and his new wife' Manjula, invite the Simpsons to their house for dinner. However, Apu and Manjula get in a fight, after Marge mentions to Manjula that Apu does not really need to be as much of a workaholic. There is a week before Valentine's Day, and Apu tells Homer that he is disappointed that Manjula does not love him, until Homer assures him that Manjula will not leave him before Valentine's Day, and Apu agrees. Apu decides to shower Manjula with many romantic surprises to regain her love. However, although many of Apu's surprises succeed in fixing his marriage, they ruin other people's relationships. The rest of Springfield's women become disenchanted from their envy towards all the attention Manjula is receiving, and they find their men to be nothing more than cheapskates. At Moe's Tavern, several men in Springfield try to find ways to avoid having Apu and Manjula reconcile to save their own relationships and marriages.
During Valentine's Day, Homer, Chief Wiggum, Dr. Hibbert, Moe, and Ned Flanders (who is later thrown out of the group for suggesting they should use their time to be more romantic to their wives rather than trying to sabotage Apu) investigate what Apu is doing so they can stop it. They go around town following him to the airport. But when they see Elton John at the airport, they think that he supposedly came to Springfield to perform a concert for Apu and Manjula at his insistence (in reality, he had to make an emergency landing because the chandelier on his plane was malfunctioning). However, Apu's actual plan is that he arranged for a skywriter to write "I ♥ U MANJULA". During the trouble that ensues, Homer jumps on the plane during takeoff to try to stop the skywriter from spraying the message. When Homer destroys the plane's canister in mid-air it only sprayed part of the message, which the other women think is for them. While Homer and the pilot fight, Marge remains unconvinced until the plane flies by and Homer drops out of it covered with roses after the plane flew out of control through a thorny rose patch, apparently giving Homer a collapsed lung. Nonetheless, Elton John is able to perform a concert for Apu and Manjula, and their marriage is saved.
[edit] Cultural references
- The episode title is a spoof of a novelty T-shirt saying "I'm with stupid".
- There is an episode of King of the Hill by the same name.
- Apu says "My humble message of love has become a Valentine's Day Massacre."
- The episode ends in a heart-shaped iris, à la Love, American Style.
- Apu owns "concert against Bangladesh", featuring the song "You Make Me Feel So Young" by Frank Sinatra; the album's name is a reference to George Harrison's Concert for Bangla Desh.
- Chief Wiggum reads Truly Tasteless Jokes to Sarah to get her in the mood. The beginning of the "hot buttered corn" joke that Wiggum recites the punchline to can be found at the top of this page: http://www.lustylibrary.com/modules/xfsection/print.php?articleid=2588 .
- Apu taught a parrot to sing I Love the Nightlife with clever new lyrics. Marge is impressed, even though she and Homer actually hate the song. "I Love the Nightlife" was also heard (with the original lyrics) in the season eight episode "A Milhouse Divided" when Luanne packs away her ex-husband's clothes and sets them on fire and in the infamous episode "Homer's Phobia" (also from season eight) when John (the gay antiques store owner voiced by John Waters) comes over for dinner.
- Chief Wiggum mentions that Tiffany's now offers breakfast, a reference to the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.
- When Apu is talking to Elton John, the logo on the tail of the aircraft next to them is similar to that of United Airlines
- After Apu saves Elton John from the plane gone awry, he references a number of Sir Elton's songs. They include, "Take Me to the Pilot", "Your Song", "Someone Saved my Life Tonight", and "The Bitch is Back". Additionally, Elton closes the episode with an updated performance of "Your Song".
- Elton John's private jet having a pair of huge red glittering glasses is a reference to Elton's trademark sunglasses.
[edit] Previous Episode References
- Fantastic Dan (the skywriter with whom Homer brawls in the climax of the episode) is also the man who lived in the Whack-A-Mole game in the season nine episode, Bart Carny.
- Elton John's giving Homer a Grammy and Homer chucking it in the garbage is a reference to the recurring joke in the series of saying that Grammys are worth nothing. This joke was also used in episodes Homer's Barbershop Quartet and The Mansion Family.
[edit] Mistakes
- When Marge asks for the "Scullery Week" section of the paper at the kitchen table, Homer says he is keeping it. The animation clearly shows "Scullery Week" at the top of the section he hands her, which she says is "about investment opportunities in Yemen".
[edit] External links
- "I'm with Cupid" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
- "I'm with Cupid" at the Internet Movie Database
