I'm with Cupid
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"I'm with Cupid" is the fourteenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
''. It first aired on the
Fox network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
in the United States on
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
, 1999. The episode takes place on Valentine's Day, and the wives of Springfield are jealous of the attention Apu gives to his wife Manjula. Angered by this, Moe and the Springfield husbands spy on Apu to sabotage his romantic plans. "I'm with Cupid" was written by
Dan Greaney Daniel Greaney is an American television writer. He has written for ''The Simpsons'' and ''The Office''. He was hired during ''The Simpsons'' seventh season after writing the first draft of the episode "King-Size Homer", but left after season el ...
and directed by Bob Anderson. Because the episode was to air on Valentine's Day, Fox wanted the episode to relate to the holiday, although the idea for the episode was pitched by Greaney. The title of the episode is based on the T-shirt slogan "I'm with stupid".
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
guest-starred as himself, and recorded a new version of his song "
Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in M ...
" for the episode. The episode also features references to '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', Tiffany & Co. and "
Lisa the Vegetarian "Lisa the Vegetarian" is the fifth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 15, 1995. In the episode, Lisa decides to stop ...
", an earlier episode in the series. In its original broadcast, "I'm With Cupid" was seen by approximately 7.7 million viewers and finished in 48th place in the ratings the week it aired. Following the home media release of ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'', the episode received generally positive reviews from critics.


Plot

Apu APU or Apu may refer to: Film and television * ''The Apu Trilogy'', a series of three Bengali films, directed by Satyajit Ray, with the fictional character Apu Roy, comprising: ** ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Little Road'') (1955), the first ...
and his new wife
Manjula Manjula (Sanskrit: मंजुला) is a Hindu and Sanskrit female given name, which means, "melodious". Notable people named Manjula * Manjula (Kannada actress) (1954–1986), Indian actress * Manjula Chellur (born 1955), Indian doctor and ...
invite
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
and
Marge Marge is a feminine given name, a shortened form of Marjorie, Margot or Margaret (name), Margaret. Notable Marges include: People *Marge (cartoonist) (1904–1993), pen name of Marjorie Henderson Buell, American cartoonist *Marge Anderson (1932 ...
to their house for dinner. However, Apu and Manjula get in a fight, after Marge mentions to Manjula that Apu does not need to work as much as he does. The week before
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
, 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 jealous from all the attention Manjula is receiving, and find their men to be cheapskates (including
Maude Flanders The American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' contains a wide range of minor and supporting characters like co-workers, teachers, students, family friends, extended relatives, townspeople, local celebrities, and even animals. The write ...
). At
Moe's Tavern Springfield is the primary fictional setting of the American animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' and related media. It is an average-sized, fictional city within an indeterminate state in the United States. The fictional city's geography, surroundi ...
, Homer encourages several of Springfield's men that they have to prevent Apu and Manjula from reconciling to save their own relationships and marriages. During Valentine's Day, Homer,
Chief Wiggum Chief Clancy Wiggum is a fictional character from the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Hank Azaria. He is the chief of police in the show's setting of Springfield, and is the father of Ralph Wiggum and the husband of Sarah ...
,
Dr. Hibbert Dr. Julius Michael Hibbert, M.D. is a recurring character on the television animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. He is Springfield's most prominent medical professional. Although he has a kind and warm persona, he is also often characterized as gree ...
,
Moe Moe, MOE, MoE or m.o.e. may refer to: In arts and entertainment Characters * Moe Szyslak, from the animated television show ''The Simpsons'' * Moe, leader of The Three Stooges, played by Moe Howard * Moe Higurashi, supporting character in ''Yash ...
, and
Ned Flanders Nedward "Ned" Flanders Jr. is a fictional character in the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', voiced by Harry Shearer and first appearing in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire." He is the good-natured, chee ...
investigate what Apu is doing so they can stop it. They go around town following him, and Flanders is thrown out of the group for suggesting they should be using their time to be more romantic to their wives instead of trying to sabotage Apu. Following Apu to the airport, the remaining group see
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
there, and they think that he came to Springfield to perform a concert for Apu and Manjula at his insistence (in reality, he had to make an
emergency landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...
because the
chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...
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 skywriting canister in mid-air, it creates the message "I ♥ U ★", 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
rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
s after the plane flew out of control through a thorny rose patch, possibly giving Homer a
collapsed lung A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve is ...
; nonetheless, Elton John is able to perform a private concert for Apu and Manjula, and their marriage is saved. The end credits are red instead of their usual yellow color.


Production

"I'm With Cupid" was written by
Dan Greaney Daniel Greaney is an American television writer. He has written for ''The Simpsons'' and ''The Office''. He was hired during ''The Simpsons'' seventh season after writing the first draft of the episode "King-Size Homer", but left after season el ...
and directed by Bob Anderson. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on
Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
, 1999. Because they knew it would air on Valentine's Day, Fox asked the ''Simpsons'' staff to produce an episode related to the holiday. The episode's ending credits were also painted red in honor of the holiday.Scully, Mike. (2007). Commentary for "I'm with Cupid", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The idea for the episode was pitched by Greaney, who also wrote the episode's first draft. The episode's title was pitched by fellow ''Simpsons'' writer
Ron Hauge Ron Hauge is an American television writer and executive producer. Early in his career, Hauge was a contributor to '' National Lampoon''. In 1989 he created a graphic for ''Spy Magazine'' captioned "The World Championship," with wars between co ...
, who based it on the T-shirt slogan I'm with stupid. However, Hauge later found out that the title had already been used before for an episode of another television series. However, he did not believe that copyright issues would arise: "It's a very innocent mistake," Hauge said in the DVD commentary for the episode. "It is one of those things that, in the course of a career, you're gonna be on both sides of that, so nobody ever sues on it."Hauge, Ron. (2007). Commentary for "I'm with Cupid", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox.
Jan Hooks Janet Vivian HooksJan Hooks obituary
liteseyfh.com; accesse ...
reprised her role as Manjula in the episode. In a scene in the episode, Apu and Manjula are arguing in
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
. During the scene, both characters speak the language accurately, as both Hooks and
Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Sna ...
(the voice of Apu) were given a
phonetic transcription Phonetic transcription (also known as phonetic script or phonetic notation) is the visual representation of speech sounds (or ''phones'') by means of symbols. The most common type of phonetic transcription uses a phonetic alphabet, such as the ...
of their lines. The singing parrot that Apu sends to Manjula was voiced by series main cast member
Nancy Cartwright Nancy Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress. She is the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on the animated television series ''The Simpsons'', for which she has received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Perform ...
, who also portrays Bart in the series. The episode features singer
Sir Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
as himself. John's lines were recorded by current showrunner
Al Jean Alfred Ernest Jean III (born January 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. Jean is well known for his work on ''The Simpsons''. He was raised near Detroit, Michigan, and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his wri ...
, who found working with John being a "wonderful experience". "Elton John was a very nice person," Scully spoke for Jean in the DVD commentary for the episode, since Jean was busy during the commentary record. "He was a great sport and worked really hard for the show." Scully also stated that the re-recording of "
Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in M ...
", which appears near the end of the episode, had to be recorded "several times," but that John was "very accommodating" about it.


Themes and cultural references

In their book ''Picturing South Asian Culture in English: Textual and Visual Representations'', Tasleem Shakur and Karen D'Souza analyzed "I'm with Cupid" along with the
season 9 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
episode "
The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons "The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons" is the eighth episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 16, 1997. It was written by Richard ...
". The two argued that "I'm with Cupid" represents Apu's role in the series, and "reinforces the romanticised view of Apu's marriage through the increasingly elaborate ways in which he expresses his love for his wife." They wrote: "In a Valentine's day episode, the message is clearly critically showing up the all-American men of Springfield for their lack of romance. ..Throughout this episode, Apu's identity is reinforced as exotic other, but not so much as 'South Asian' other, as an 'American' ideal other, that more wholesome, romantic male juxtaposed to the Duff drinking, couch potato male typified by the men of Moe's bar and Homer Simpson. Again, Apu is not so much represented in his ethnicity, but presented in his critical otherness to both contemporary degenerativeness of American culture, specifically male identities and ironically (re)constructed idea of South Asianness. In these two episodes, the Asian cultural space which Apu, his mother and Manjula perform is a hybrid one, mixing 'Asian' and 'American' values and identities, but critically displacing Asian 'authenticity' and revealing the displacement of contemporary American marriage from its 'authentic' traditions." In a scene late in the episode, John, having just chewed his way out of a dog carrier, meets Apu, who exclaims "Elton John!", to which John replies "That's my name! Well, not really." The exchange references John's name change, as his birth name was Reginald Dwight. Apu quotes the names of four of John's songs, "
Take Me to the Pilot "Take Me to the Pilot" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally released on John's eponymous second album in 1970. It was recorded at Trident Studios in London in J ...
", "
Your Song "Your Song" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was John's first international Top 10 chart single. "Your Song" was first released by American rock band Three Dog Night in M ...
", "
Someone Saved My Life Tonight "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is a song, with music by English musician Elton John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin, from John's 1975 album '' Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.'' It was released as a single on 23 June 1975, the only s ...
" and "
The Bitch is Back "The Bitch Is Back" is a rock song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was the second single released from John's 1974 album ''Caribou'', and reached number 1 in Canada (his sixth in th ...
". At the end of the episode, John performs a version of "Your Song" for Apu and Manjula on the roof of the Kwik-E-Mart. The scene is a callback to the
season 7 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
episode "
Lisa the Vegetarian "Lisa the Vegetarian" is the fifth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 15, 1995. In the episode, Lisa decides to stop ...
", in which
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
performed on the roof.Selman, Matt. (2007). Commentary for "I'm with Cupid", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The scene in which Homer is seen jamming Valentine's Day cards into their holders were based on an observation by the writers. Writer
George Meyer George Meyer (born 1956) is an American producer and writer. Meyer is best known for his work on ''The Simpsons'', where he led the group script rewrite sessions. He has been publicly credited with "thoroughly shap ng... the comedic sensibilit ...
said of the scene: "You just see cards get really man-handled, and the envelopes get switched with the wrong sizes."Meyer, George. (2007). Commentary for "I'm with Cupid", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. In another scene, Marge and Manjula are seen playing badminton. While the scene was conceived in order to provide exposition, the sport was included because badminton is "very popular" in India, according to writer
Ian Maxtone-Graham Ian Howes Maxtone-Graham is an American television writer and producer. He has formerly written for ''Saturday Night Live'' (1992–1995) and ''The Simpsons'' (1995–2012), as well as serving as a co-executive producer and consulting producer ...
.Maxtone-Graham, Ian. (2007). Commentary for "I'm with Cupid", in ''The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season'' VD 20th Century Fox. The episode also mentions the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's''. In a scene, Apu, carrying a shopping bag, exits the jewellery and silverware store
Tiffany & Co Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's) is a high-end luxury jewelry and specialty retailer, headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It sells jewelry, sterling silver, porcelain, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watc ...
. Meanwhile, Homer, along with Wiggum, Moe, Flanders and Dr. Hibbert are watching Apu, assuming he bought jewellery for Manjula. It is soon revealed that Apu bought a croissant in the store, to which Wiggum says "Oh, that's right, they have breakfast at Tiffany's now." The heart-shaped fade out at the end of the episode is a reference to the series ''
Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup ...
''.


Reception

In its original American broadcast on February 14, 1999, "I'm with Cupid" received a 7.7 rating, according to
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, translating to approximately 7.7 million viewers. The episode finished in 48th place in the ratings for the week of February 8–14, 1999. On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of ''The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season''
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
box set. Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Ron Hauge and Matt Selman participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode. Following its home video release, "I'm with Cupid" received generally positive reviews from critics. In 2007, Simon Crerar of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' listed Elton John's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show. James Plath of DVD Town wrote that the episode is "funny" because "it has a plot we recognize from our own lives," and Jake McNeill of Digital Entertainment News considered it to be one of the season's best episodes. Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood of ''I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide'' gave the episode a positive review as well, calling it "Very, very clever and funny," and wrote "it's executed stylishly and Homer wins in the end; entirely by default of course, but maybe that's his reward for not falling off the skywriting plane until the last minute!" However, they also criticized the episode for being "a little tacky," writing "After all, how nice are these people who want to ruin Apu and Manjula's day just because they're scared of looking bad?" Writing for
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
, Robert Canning described "I'm with Cupid" as "very smart and very funny" and "a great episode representing one piece of Apu's journey." However, he disliked John's guest appearance in the episode, describing it as "completely unnecessary" and "very tacked on," and described John's performance as "very flat." Nevertheless, Canning gave the episode an 8.8 rating and concluded his review by describing it as a "tightly written Valentine's episode." Giving the episode a more mixed review, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide criticized it for being too similar to an earlier episode, writing "Didn’t we already see that Flanders makes everyone else look like a jerk on Valentine’s Day? Doesn’t that theme mean that 'Cupid' is somewhat redundant?" He added "Yes that the show lacks any spark, as it throws out a reasonable number of laughs," and concluded his review by writing that "it seems a little stale and not one of the year’s better programs."


References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography *


External links

* * {{The Simpsons episodes, 10 The Simpsons (season 10) episodes 1999 American television episodes Valentine's Day television episodes Cultural depictions of Elton John