The year 1999 was a big one for film. Star Wars returned to the big screen, The Matrix changed action movies forever, and notorious producer Jon Peters finally got his giant spider in a movie.

In our first episode of 2025, Nate and Adam revisit Peters’ and Barry Sonnenfeld’s notorious flop Wild Wild West (1999) and its eight-legged parody in “The Sweetest Apu” (S13E19). Is this movie as bad as you remember, or has Hollywood lowered our standards to meet it halfway? Let’s find out.

Also in this episode:

• One of the greatest Simpsons episodes of season 13

• Special effects and production design that have aged like fine wine

• Sexual politics that have aged like milk

• Is this the height of the ‘90s trend of end-credits raps that summarize the plot?

Plus, check out our show notes for a complete list of Simpsons references, double feature suggestions, and further reading

Next time, Adam and Nate revisit the Simpsons-Critic crossover “A Star Is Burns” (S6E18) on its 30th anniversary and Mr. Burns’s rip-off of Ben-Hur (1959).

For more Simpsons movie parody content, check out SpringfieldGoogolplex.com, or follow us @simpsonsfilmpod on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok, YouTube, and Letterboxd. Discover more great podcasts on the That Shelf Podcast Network.