I'm with Cupid
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- "My darling bride Manjula, I hereby mend my ways. I'll shower you with Valentines, for seven love-filled days!"
- ―Marge reading Apu's poem
"I'm with Cupid"
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Episode Information
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"I'm with Cupid" is the fourteenth episode of broadcast season 10 of The Simpsons and the two hundred seventeenth episode overall. It originally aired on February 14, 1999. The episode was written by Dan Greaney and directed by Bob Anderson. It guest stars Jan Hooks as Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon and Elton John as himself.
Synopsis[edit]
- As Apu showers his wife with glowing, outrageous Valentine's Day gifts, the other husbands of Springfield are made to look bad in comparison. But as his gifts grow increasingly grand, the men attempt to foil his efforts, instigating a Valentine's massacre.
Plot[edit]
At night, Homer is telling a bedtime story to Lisa, which turns out to just be about his time at Moe's. Meanwhile, Marge is putting Bart to bed, who tells Marge that he has to make a working model of the digestive system for a school project due the next day. Marge reluctantly agrees to do the project for him and goes to the Kwik-E-Mart for supplies. At the Kwik-E-Mart, Marge invites Apu and Manjula to their house for dinner, but Apu tells Marge that since she hosted his and Manjula's wedding, they should come to his apartment for dinner instead. When Marge gets home, she stays up all night putting together Bart's project. However, on the bus to school, Nelson puts one of the intestines into the project's mouth, causing it to explode.
The night of Apu and Manjula's dinner with Homer and Marge arrives, and Apu leaves Sanjay in charge of the Kwik-E-Mart, but phones him just before the dinner to check in on the store. Manjula stops Apu from rushing to the store to help out, and Homer and Marge arrive while Apu and Manjula are making out, letting themselves in as the door is unlocked. During the meal, it comes out that Apu has been lying to Manjula about American work culture, claiming that it was traditional for people to work eighteen-hour days every day of the week, including weekends. This leads to an argument between Apu and Manjula, and Homer and Marge awkwardly leave the apartment.
The week before Valentine's Day, Homer gets Marge a card with monkeys on it and the caption "You're a-peeling" written on it. As he's checking out, Homer mentions to Apu that there's still a week before Valentine's Day, which gives Apu an idea. The next day, the Simpsons read a romantic poem in the newspaper from Apu to Manjula. The same night, he also covers their bed in wildflowers. Later, Marge and Manjula play badminton with each other while Manjula tells Marge about how romantic Apu has been. A parrot then flies in and starts singing "I Love the Nightlife" to Manjula. That night, Marge tells Homer about how romantic Apu has been recently, but Homer tells Marge that he has something special planned for Valentine's Day. When Marge asks if it's the monkey card, Homer starts to worry.
The next day, Manjula gets a large chocolate box delivered by Baron Von's Munch House, which has a chocolate-covered Apu inside. When the other women of Springfield notice the gifts and gestures Apu's been making, they begin to get jealous and resentful of their own partners. Back at home, Marge works out that Homer has spent more money on temporary tattoos than Valentine's gifts for her. Seeing his marriage in crisis, Homer gathers up the men of Springfield in Moe's, where they decide to sabotage Apu's Valentine's Day surprise for Manjula.
On Valentine's Day, Homer, Chief Wiggum, Dr. Hibbert, Moe, and Ned Flanders follow Apu around Springfield, waiting for him to start his surprise. After a few stops along the way, Apu goes to the Springfield Airport, where the men see that Elton John has just arrived in town on his private plane. They think that Apu has hired the singer for Manjula, but he had actually just landed because the chandelier in his plane had malfunctioned. The men confront Elton John, and Homer gets him into a dog cage before they realize that Apu was really at the airport for Fantastic Dan, a skywriter. Leaving Elton John in the cage, the men rush out to stop the plane, with Homer jumping into the other seat. Homer attempts to stop the pilot from writing the message to Manjula and eventually manages to break the gas container off the plane, leaving the message as "I ♥ U" followed by a star-shaped blob. The women of Springfield see this message, and each one thinks it's for them. Fantastic Dan then flies his plane upside down through a rose field, with Homer getting covered in roses. He then falls out in the backyard of his house, presenting the roses to Marge in what she thinks is a very thoughtful gesture. Later that day, Apu closes the Kwik-E-Mart for the day, as he has Elton John sing a parody of "Your Song" for him and Manjula.
Production[edit]
"I'm with Cupid" originally aired on February 14, and Fox had asked the producers to make a Valentine's Day-themed episode to coincide with the date.[1] Dan Greaney, who wrote the episode, also pitched the episode. Ron Hauge pitched the name of the episode, and they only later found out that the title was also used by King of the Hill.[2]
In the scene where Apu and Manjula argue in Indian, Hank Azaria and Jan Hooks were given phonetics to speak the lines,[2] and they made sure to get the correct translation of the lines. The parrot that sings "I Love the Nightlife" was performed by main cast member Nancy Cartwright. Al Jean flew to Atlanta to record Elton John's lines for the show. Jean said that recording John's lines was a "wonderful experience." Elton John had to record the parody of "Your Song" several times and was very accommodating about it.[1]
Reception[edit]
In a 2007 article, Simon Crerar of The Times listed Elton John's appearance in the episode as one of "the 33 funniest Simpsons cameos ever."[3]
In a 2012 review of the episode, Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode an 8.8 rating. Canning calls the episode "very smart and very funny," praising the final act of the men following Apu around town. However, he dislikes Elton John's guest appearance, thinking that it "feels very tacked on."[4]
As of January 2026, "I'm with Cupid" has a 7.2 rating on IMDb.[5]
In other languages[edit]
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References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Scully, Mike (2007). Commentary for "I'm with Cupid", in The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hauge, Ron (2007). Commentary for "I'm with Cupid", in The Simpsons: The Complete Tenth Season.
- ↑ The Times - "The 33 funniest Simpsons cameos ever" (archived on Wayback Machine)
- ↑ IGN - "The Simpsons Flashback: "I'm with Cupid" Review"
- ↑ IMDb - "I'm with Cupid"
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