Mr. Largo tells Lisa to give up playing the saxophone, in order to avoid disappointment in the future. Instead, she should feel disappointed now. Skinner also tries to convince Lisa to give up, and she eventually does. Marge tells her not to give up her dreams, but Lisa just can't play the sax anymore. She has the yips. At dinner that night, Marge announces that her Aunt Eunice is turning 100, and that she wants them to visit her. She lives in Gainesville, where Marge wants to go on vacation. Homer hates the idea, and Lisa is dismayed at the mention of music. So, a vacation that pleases everyone. On the flight to Gainesville, things aren't going well. Everyone on the plane seems to be pretty upset, and then there's a passenger revolt. The pilot lands the plane immediately, which means Gainesville is a no-go. Instead, they'll be going to New Orleans.
Homer is in heaven in New Orleans considering the city's rich selection of foods, but Lisa is still upset. Elsewhere, Marge takes Bart to the voodoo shop, where he gets voodoo dolls for him to use to take out his revenge on the bullies at school. Back in Homer and Lisa's story, Lisa has a "talk" with "Louis Armstrong", who encourages her to pursue jazz, even if she won't be the best.
Bart starts using his voodoo dolls, and they actually work. Probably. Elsewhere, a man at a jazz club introduces himself as Bleeding Gums' nephew. He manages to cure her case of the yips, and she rediscovers her love of jazz.
Wrap-Up:
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode of the Simpsons, even though there were some issues with it. The start of Lisa's plot felt completely out of left field and just very random. There's a chance that the writers were going for that, but either way, it was a strange start. That storyline definitely got better with time, though. Bart's storyline was really strange though. I don't even know if I can call it a storyline, it barely even made an impression on me. It felt like more of an excuse to throw in some classic New Orleanian culture (voodoo) than anything. My favorite part of the episode was that watching it, you really felt like you were in New Orleans. It was very authentic and a great trip down memory lane for me, reminding me of the times that I chowed down on po' boys, muffalettas, and beignets in the Big Easy. This made for an episode that was much more enjoyable than it would have been if the characters had stayed in Springfield.
Score: 8.5/10
Grade: B+
