Dumbbell Indemnity

"Dumbbell Indemnity"
The Simpsons episode
File:The Simpsons 5F12.png
Episode no.	Season 9
Directed by	Dominic Polcino
Written by	Ron Hauge
Original air dates	March 1, 1998
Episode features
Chalkboard gag	"Silly String is not a nasal spray"
Couch gag	The family is crushed into a cube.
Commentary	Matt Groening Mike Scully George Meyer Ron Hauge Ian Maxtone-Graham Dominic Polcino

"Dumbbell Indemnity" is the sixteenth episode of The Simpsons' ninth season.

Plot Synopsis

Upon noticing Moe's depressed state, Homer takes him out for the night to meet women. He has no luck in the bar, but meets the perfect woman, named Renee, on his walk home. He is not exactly smooth with Renee, but she takes a shine to him. He begins to treat her like royalty, but as a result, maxes out his Player's Club credit card and has to find a way to make money.

He devises a plan where Homer will steal Moe's car and destroy it on the train tracks, in order to claim the insurance. Homer steals the car but stops to see a drive-in movie and misses the 10.15 train, so Homer switches to another plan and sinks the car to the bottom of the lake. The cops are watching him the entire time, and he goes to jail.

Homer makes a jail break and Moe eventually tells Renee about his debt, and pitches a plan to her where he will fake his death. She leaves him, and he accidentally sets the bar alight. Homer arrives to kill him, but after a brief struggle, both pass out.

Barney, who was in the bathroom, saves them both as well as two kegs and two cases of beer. Their friendship is restored. To help him, Homer lets Moe turn his house into the new hangout.

Reception

In a 2006 article in USA Today, "Dumbbell Indemnity" was highlighted among the six best episodes of The Simpsons season 9, along with others including "Trash of the Titans," "The Last Temptation of Krust," "The Cartridge Family," "The Joy of Sect," and "Das Bus".

Cultural references

• The title of the episode is a reference to the classic novel and film Double Indemnity.
• The episode was originally to be titled "Mutual of Momaha," a reference to the insurance company, "Mutual of Omaha."
• The song that plays during the montage of Moe and Renee dating is "I'm a Believer" by The Monkees.
• The song Homer sings, "Stealing, stealing, stealing a car for Moe" is sung to the tune of "Daisy Bell".
• The movie in the drive-in theater has a scene of the monkey President jumping out of Air Force One. This is a reference to the movie Air Force One, where the President of the United States, played by Harrison Ford, jumps off the plane in a parachute.
• The shot of Homer watching the drive-in movie with the train passing in the background is a reference to Hotshot Eastbound, a photograph taken by O. Winston Link in 1956.
• Homer's ghost resembled Jacob Marley from the Dickens novel A Christmas Carol.
• The prison book cart leading to an escape is reminiscent of the novel/film The Shawshank Redemption.
• The song that plays at the end of the episode is "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" by George Thorogood & The Destroyers.

External links

• "Dumbbell Indemnity episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.