Life on the Fast Lane

"Life on the Fast Lane", known as "Jacques to Be Wild"[2] in the United Kingdom, is the ninth episode of the American animated television series The Simpsons.

Albert Brooks (in his second of ten appearances) guest starred as Jacques, a French bowling instructor, with him being credited as "A.

After forgetting Marge's 34th birthday, Homer rushes to the Springfield Mall, where he buys a bowling ball with his inscribed name for himself and disguises it as her gift.

Offended, Marge calls Homer out for giving her a gift for himself, pointing out that she has never gone bowling in her life and that the ball is inscribed with his name.

While there, she meets a French bowling instructor named Jacques, who develops an infatuation with her and offers to give her lessons.

After deflecting Helen's prying by feigning a discussion of bowling theory, Jacques asks Marge to meet him the next day at his apartment, causing her to faint.

Bart advises Homer to keep quiet about Marge's suspected affair to avoid making things worse.

[5] An extended audio clip of Albert Brooks's unused dialogue was made available on Disc Three of The Simpsons The Complete First Season DVD.

[8] The restaurant that Jacques and Marge visit is called "Shorty's"; it was originally intended that a chef's hat would be shown moving around in the background, implying that the owner was short, but the concept was dropped as it seemed to be too much of a silly idea.

[9] The episode's conclusion is a reference to An Officer and a Gentleman, which David Silverman had to watch first, so that he knew how to set the scene out.

[9] During Marge's phone conversation with Patty and Selma, Maggie can be seen sucking her pacifier repeatedly, a concept dropped in later episodes as it was deemed too much of a distraction from the dialogue.

[2] The end scene, in which Marge walks into the power plant, and Homer carries her away, is a reference to the film An Officer and a Gentleman, and features an instrumental of the song "Up Where We Belong".

Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, called it "a very good, very assured episode that has seen some viewers (particularly female ones) tearing out their hair at the conclusion".

A newspaper editor noticed that the problem cited in the letter was identical to the plot of "Life on the Fast Lane".