Homer and Apu - Cultural References

Cultural References

The episode features cultural references to many American and British films. Woods becoming a convenience store clerk to prepare for a film is similar to Nick Lang (Michael J. Fox) becoming a police officer in the 1991 film The Hard Way, which Woods also starred in (interestingly, this is a reversal of roles: Woods played the cop that Lang was saddled with in the film). When Kent asks Homer if he is willing to go undercover to "nail" Apu, Homer replies: "No way, man, get yourself another patsy!" This is a reference to a line in the 1991 film JFK. The scene of Homer and Apu riding on mules to the Springfield Airport, with their luggage strapped to the mules' backs, is similar to a scene from the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia. In his Kwik-E-Mart job interview, the interviewer asks Woods why he would want to work at the Kwik-E-Mart, to which he replies: "To be honest, in my upcoming movie I'm going to be playing this tightly-wound convenience store clerk and, I kind of like to research my roles and really get into it. For instance, in True Believer I actually worked in a law firm for two months. And then, the film Chaplin I had a little cameo in that. I actually traveled back in time, back to the twenties, where... Well, I've said too much," referencing the 1989 film True Believer and the 1992 film Chaplin.