Dumbbell Indemnity

"Dumbbell Indemnity" is the sixteenth episode of the ninth season of the animated television series The Simpsons, which originally aired March 1, 1998. It was written by Ron Hauge and directed by Dominic Polcino. The episode sees Moe trying to keep his girlfriend by using a large amount of money, but when it runs out, he must commit insurance fraud. Homer helps him, but is caught and sent to jail, and attempts to take revenge on Moe when he does not bail him out.

Plot

While at Moe's Tavern, Homer notices Moe's depressing state. He learns that Moe has not had a date in some time, so he decides to take him out to a night club to meet a woman. However, the trip proves to be unsuccessful for Moe. When leaving, a woman named Renee who runs a flower stand starts to talk to Moe. She compliments Moe and makes him feel better, leading to Moe to ask her out.

Moe and Renee fall in love, though Moe is forced to spend an excessive amount of money on his credit card, or he may feel that she is unsatisfied by him. The card is soon maxed out, leaving Moe to brainstorm for an idea to make more money. He decides to commit insurance fraud by having Homer steal his car and leave it in front of rail tracks so a train destroys it. The night of the event, Moe and Renee go on the "Police Department's Moonlight Charity Cruise", which assures Homer that he will be safe from any police. However, he decides to watch a movie at a drive-in theater, causing him to be late to the rail tracks. However, he still tries to destroy the car somehow, which gives him the idea to drive it off a cliff into a body of water. He is unable to get out of the car in time before the car goes off the cliff, and the car sinks directly in front of the yacht the police department and Moe are on.

Homer is sent to jail, assured that Moe will bail him out. Moe meets Homer outside the jail, talking to him through his jail window. Moe promises to bail him out, but he changes his mind while talking to Renee, and instead decides to buy a trip to Hawaii. While packing, Moe is confronted by his own conscious form of Homer, who makes him feel bad that he betrayed Homer. He tells the truth to Renee, and although she is happy he told her the truth, she is disgusted by him and leaves him when his plan to save Homer involves more criminal activity. He is still presenting his idea when she leaves, and that part of his plan involving pouring alcohol around his bar to light on fire. By accident, Moe drops a match, and the bar is soon in flames. Meanwhile, Homer has escaped jail and is coming to get revenge on Moe. He comes in while the bar is on fire, and the two fight. However, both of them being unconscious by the fumes of the fire. Fortunately, Barney comes and saves both of them. The bar is, however, completely destroyed, but Homer promises Moe that he can use his house as a bar until he is able to reconstruct his old bar again.

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.

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".

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The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson • The Principal and the Pauper • Lisa's Sax • Treehouse of Horror VIII • The Cartridge Family • Bart Star • The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons • Lisa the Skeptic • Realty Bites • Miracle on Evergreen Terrace • All Singing, All Dancing • Bart Carny • The Joy of Sect • Das Bus • The Last Temptation of Krust • Dumbbell Indemnity • Lisa the Simpson • This Little Wiggy • Simpson Tide • The Trouble with Trillions • Girly Edition • Trash of the Titans • King of the Hill • Lost Our Lisa • Natural Born Kissers