A Star Is Born Again/References
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"A Star Is Born Again"
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Cultural references[edit]
- This episode is a parody of the 1999 film Notting Hill.
- The episode title is a play on the 1937 film A Star Is Born.
- The episode title is also a play on the term "born again", which means to have a personal conversion experience, as the plot is centered around Ned Flanders and the "born again" experience is a key component of his faith.
- Throughout the episode, "Clair de lune" by Claude Debussy plays.
- When the Stinging Red Jellyfish return to the beach, "Born Free" by Matt Monro plays.
- After Sara Sloane visits the Leftorium and makes a date with Ned, he sings "A Girl with No Name", a parody of "A Horse with No Name" by America.
- Sara's name is probably a pun on actress Sharon Stone, to whom she bears a slight resemblance.
- Homer mentions that he mixes Twinkies and Ding Dongs all the time.
- Ned Flanders mentions Arthur Miller and Lyle Lovett.
- Sara Sloane mentions that the actors she normally wants to date talk about their botox, their Tae Bo and their Xbox.
- Marge mentions that Sara Sloane has been with every Tinseltown hunk from Ben Affleck to Adrian Zmed.
- Ned says that Sara's movie is starting to get like "SpongeBob NoPants", a reference to the television show SpongeBob SquarePants.
- Sara Sloane mentioned that Katharine Hepburn never showed her breasts.
- Honey, I Scotchguarded the Kids is a parody of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Sleeping with Pinocchio is a reference to Pinocchio.
- The song "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" by Cher plays next to the Cher-crow.
- When the paparazzi talk to the Cher-crow one of them asks "Is it true that your daughter is gay?", referencing the fact that Cher's daughter is transgender.
- Sara Sloane said that Rainier Wolfcastle beat up Jon Lovitz because he presented her with an award.
- During the Hollywood scene Ned imagines, "Hooray for Hollywood" by Richard A. Whiting plays.
- One of Chief Wiggum's photos is of him dressed as Eleanor Roosevelt.
- Apu said that he had already dumped three of his kids on Mia Farrow.
- Marge's book club reads Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, who also attends the book club.
- When Helen Fielding runs around being chased by bobbies and a man in a gorilla suit (following the book club meeting and the end of the episode), it is an homage to the UK sketch comedy The Benny Hill Show. The music featured in the background of the sequences, "Yakety Sax", is the same music used in that series.
- The concert Ned and Sara attend is conducted by John Williams.
- Ned said that he's like Baskin-Robbins. You get one free taste, then you've got to buy the scoop.
- A Sydney opera house shaped sandcastle is shown on both the cover of "Modern Sandcastle Magazine" shown by Lisa and "Bad Boys'life" shown by Bart.
- Originally, Sara's line after Ned starts a fight with the director was "Katherine Hepburn never showed her breasts". In an airing in on August 27, 2003, it was changed to Angela Lansbury because Katherine Hepburn died months after this episode was shown. In UK airings, the original line is present.
- James L. Brooks is credited as Jim Brooks for his appearance.
- The metallic sound that Sara Sloan's nose makes is clearly due to a metal plate in it, a prosthesis that must be used by those who burn her mucous membranes by snorting cocaine frequently.
- Lenny's lip sync is off after admitting he's selling Sara's autograph on eBay.
- Homer's lipsync from his response to Ned Flanders' "milk for free" saying is also off.
