(Annoyed grunt)n't see this movie

"The Simpsons" movie trailer. This really couldn't look worse. I guess it's hard to advertise a movie based on something we've all seen hours of - what can they show us that we haven't seen? - but maybe if there was some idea or indication as to why this movie even exists, and what they're going to be doing on a big screen they can't do on TV, it would be easier to show something. But instead this seems just like some sort of cheap cash-in for people like me who remember oh-so long ago when the show was actually funny.

I hate everything about this trailer. I hate the way the logo has a donut for the "O," which is a throwback to the first couple seasons of the show when they were known for things like Homer eating donuts and Bart being disrespectful to his parents. I hate the "A Hard Place" gag. I hate the Moe gag. I hate the fact that the 3D animal bit, which is ripe for parody, doesn't go anywhere and takes up 1/2 of the trailer.

There are conditions where a movie based on a TV show seem like a good idea - when a show was cancelled before its time and people want more ("Serenity"), when it's clear that the show could do more without the limits of TV ("Reno 911") or when there's strong nostalgia (any of dozens of crappy movies based on '60s or '70s sitcoms). But I'm not sure who a movie based on a TV show that most people are sick of that's way past its prime and on TV four times a day in every city in America is supposed to appeal to.

What I'm saying is that July 2007 can't come fast enough!