Hipster Homer

The Simpsons, S24E07

Homer's problem to becoming a cool dad was answered when he befriended a father from Portland who taught him how to live a more exciting and stylish life.  However, when Bart fought with their son and Marge clashed with the breast-feeding mothers, Homer's new friends brought their trendy friends to Springfield to take over the town.

This isn't the first time that Homer's felt old or uncool and sought to change himself.  Who would have thought the answer would have started with donuts? Donuts, which Homer didn't fully get to enjoy (he got a beer keg one, and that seemed to be it).

There were a lot of things I liked about this episode, besides Homer dressing like a hipster little by little.  At the beginning, I liked when Homer was shouting at the ducks:

Beat it, ducks!  I’m not old enough to have food for you!  I’m sexy! Young and sexy!

I guess I think it's funny to shout at something that can't understand you.  And Homer was yelling, making himself sound crazy (not unlike a confused old man would), so it contributed to that joke.

Later, Homer wanted to "man-hug" Terence, but was fumbling around with it.   It was like he was drowning and didn't have a clue how to swim.  I enjoy when Homer does something "new" and fails to do it, when he certainly knows how to do it (if he just removed the prefix of "man," he'd be fine).

Marge had her funny moments too.  Of course, I liked her resisting to join the breast-feeding "cult," but I really liked when she was mad about how the kids were acting after Homer had brought them from a number of interesting outings:

The kids are a mess!  You brought them home exhausted and pretentious!

She also commented on his new style of dressing, the funniest of which were his scarves.  It was so wonderfully gross when he tossed the scarf around his neck, allowing a bunch of sweat to splash on the wall.  That really emphasized the ridiculousness of Homer, in particular, wearing it out of season.  Nasty, but good.

One more thing concerning Homer's hipster look was his goatee.  It wouldn't even grown in right--he looked horrible with it.  I really liked how hard he was trying to fit in.  I'm sure if he had been able to stay friends with Terence longer, his new best friend could have talked him into some more unflattering-for-Homer fashion choices.

Lastly, I liked Homer's comment when he found out that his new best friend and family weren't the nicest people after all:

Whoever thought a cool person could be a jerk?

If you're ever seen a 80s movie, you should know that's quite possible (not to say that's the only example).  Or just met enough people, you could find lots of jerks who are supposed to be "cool."  I like when Homer makes ironic statements like that.

I liked this episode a lot.  I think I enjoy the stories when Homer tries to fit into some new fad or profession and sort of changes his style.  It's just interesting to see Homer dress or act differently from what he usually does, because we've seen that routine for twenty-plus years now.  I don't think that hipster Homer is my favorite of his attempts to change, but it's definitely one of the better ones he's done in the latter seasons of this show.