Jaws Wired Shut
Homer's jaw is wired shut, forcing him to listen.
Last updated
"Jaws Wired Shut" aired as the ninth episode of The Simpsons' thirteenth season on January 27, 2002, on Fox. Matt Selman wrote it, Nancy Kruse directed, and John Kassir voiced one of the gay dogs in the pride parade. About 8.7 million viewers tuned in, making it the highest-rated scripted program on Fox that night. After its home video release, critics mostly gave it positive reviews.
Plot
When the Springfield gay pride parade goes by the Simpsons' house, three dogs in the parade flirt with Santa's Little Helper. Homer feels uncomfortable and takes the family to the Springfield Googolplex. He gets fed up with the long previews and public service announcements before the movie, goes on a rampage, and demands the film start. Ushers chase him out of the theater using oversized Kit Kat bars.
While running away, Homer smashes his mouth into the fist of a large metal statue of boxer Drederick Tatum, breaking his jaw. At Springfield General Hospital, Dr. Hibbert wires Homer's jaw shut, so he cannot talk or eat solid food. Forced to listen to his family, Homer becomes more attentive and sympathetic to their problems, which pleases everyone, especially Marge. Because Homer is so well-behaved, Marge feels safe going to the annual country club formal.
The next day, Homer's wires are removed, and he and Marge go on the talk show Afternoon Yak to talk about his change. The show's hosts help Marge beg Homer to stay well-behaved and give up his reckless ways. Homer resists the temptation of an upcoming demolition derby and behaves for Marge. Five weeks later, Marge gets bored with the quiet and enters the derby herself.
Homer wakes up, finds her gone, and takes the kids to stop her. Marge enjoys the derby at first, but it becomes too dangerous. Since Homer has given up recklessness, he does not know how to rescue her. Bart orders a can of beer from a vendor.
Homer drinks it like Popeye eats spinach, gaining a burst of energy, and saves Marge. She makes him promise not to make her the wild one in the family.
Production
The episode was written by executive producer Matt Selman and directed by Nancy Kruse. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on January 27, 2002. The episode's setpiece was pitched by Selman, and originated from a discussion he had with current showrunner Al Jean, about "how much crap there is at the movie theater before the movie actually begins." The episode's plot was also pitched by Selman, who had wanted to do an episode with a "jaws-wired-shut plot" for a while.
It was not until long after the episode was completed that Selman learned that one can in fact talk with one's jaw wired shut. He learned this from fellow Simpsons writer Brian Kelley, who had had his jaw wired shut once in high school. Kelley joined the writing staff during the writing stage of the episode; however, he did not mention that one could talk, since he did not want to "ruin" the episode. However, he did say that one should eat a lot before since one will lose weight when their jaw is wired shut.
These bits were subsequently included in the episode. According to Jean, the episode's table read went "great" until the third act. The Simpsons writers found the third act "pretty challenging" to write, because by having Homer's jaws wired shut, they "took [their] funniest character" and "remove[d] comedy." In the DVD commentary for the episode, Selman described it as "It's the comedy of saying: 'Oh, he [Homer] can't do all the stuff you want him to do'."
It was also hard to "keep the story moving" back to normal, since they kept having to "re-use the premise". The episode features American comedian John Kassir as one of the dogs in the gay pride parade in the beginning of the episode.
Barbara Walters and Star Jones, the hosts of The View, were portrayed by American voice-actor Tress MacNeille. In the DVD commentary for the episode, Jean stated that MacNeille is "very versatile". Lisa Ling and Joy Behar were portrayed by voice-actor Pamela Hayden.
Cultural references
The title of the episode was pitched by The Simpsons writer Max Pross, and is a reference to Stanley Kubrick's 1999 drama film Eyes Wide Shut. According to Jean, the writers chose the title because "[they] thought it would have been more well-remembered." When Homer's jaw is wired shut, he writes words on a portable chalkboard to communicate with people. This is a reference to Anthony Hopkins' character in Legends of the Fall, who, after having a stroke, also communicates with people using a chalkboard.
The song used in the ballet scene is "The Blue Danube Waltz", which was also used in 2001: A Space Odyssey, another film by Kubrick. A scene in the episode takes place on the talk show "Afternoon Yak", a parody of The View, with the hosts based on The View's real-life host Barbara Walters and Joy Behar, and former hosts Lisa Ling and Star Jones. The View's audience members are also referenced, and are depicted in the episode as "giv[ing] a huge response" to everything in the program.
The play that Bart and Homer are rehearsing in the living room was written by American playwright Edward Albee. Near the end of the episode, Homer gains strength by drinking a can of beer. The scene parodies the character Popeye, who gained super-strength from eating spinach. Homer also talks in a manner similar to Popeye after drinking the beer.
Marge also resembles Popeye's love interest Olive Oyl in the scene. Another scene shows the Simpsons in a movie theater, where Lisa tries to solve the following quiz: "Name that character: MOT HANKS". She answers, seemingly obvious, "Tom Hanks", while the right answer turns out to be "Otm Shank", "India's answer to Brian Dennehy" according to fellow moviegoer Apu. The Itchy & Scratchy PSA showing at the theater is titled "To Kill a Talking Bird", a play on the 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird.
Additionally, Binky from Life In Hell appears behind Itchy. The sign on the Springfield Civic Center mentions that the demolition derby was featured in the 1985 film Faces of Death III, an entry in the controversial mondo horror film series Faces of Death.
Release
In its original U.S. broadcast on January 27, 2002, "Jaws Wired Shut" received an 8.7 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, translating to approximately 8.7 million viewers. The episode finished in 22nd place in the ratings for the week of January 21–27, 2002, making it the most watched scripted program on Fox that night. On August 24, 2010, "Jaws Wired Shut" was released as part of The Simpsons: The Complete Thirteenth Season DVD and Blu-ray set.
Matt Groening, Al Jean, Matt Selman, Carolyn Omine, Dana Gould, Joe Mantegna and Pete Michels participated in the audio commentary of the episode. Following its home video release, "Jaws Wired Shut" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Stuart O'Conner of Screen Jabber described "Jaws Wired Shut", "The Parent Rap", "She of Little Faith" and "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge" as "first-rate ep[isodes]." Giving the episode a B+, Jennifer Malkowski of DVD Verdict described the episode as having "nicely gooey family moments."
She called the "gay pride parade's 'Salute to Safer Sex' float" the episode's "highlight". Casey Broadwater of Blu-ray.com gave the episode a positive review as well, calling it "a welcome return to a more old school Simpsons storytelling style, capable of being both comical, and, in its own bizarro way, touching." Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote "While Season 13 doesn't threaten to approach the high standards of the series' strongest years, episodes like "Shut" help make it better than expected.
Sure, it follows fairly predictable patterns, but it develops them in a satisfying comedic manner." He concluded his review by writing that the episode's overall "entertaining," even though its ending "falters." On the other hand, Ron Martin of 411Mania gave the episode a mixed review, calling it "uneven at best, mediocre at worst." Although he praised the episode's setpiece, Nate Boss of Project-Blu gave the episode an overall negative review, writing: "With a hilarious take on movie theaters to start the episode, the duldrum of the rest can be forgiven...almost."
Adam Rayner of Obsessed with Film wrote that the episode was "woefully weak" and felt "contrived, rushed and handled by hacks."
More in The Simpsons Season 13 Episodes
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Jaws Wired Shut (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced