"I'm with Cupid" is the fourteenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on Fox in the United States on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1999. The episode takes place on Valentine's Day, and the wives of Springfield are jealous of the attention Apu gives to his wife Manjula. Angered by this, Moe and the Springfield husbands spy on Apu to sabotage his romantic plans.
"I'm with Cupid" was written by Dan Greaney and directed by Bob Anderson. Because the episode was to air on Valentine's Day, Fox wanted the episode to relate to the holiday, although the idea for the episode was pitched by Greaney. The title of the episode is based on the T-shirt slogan "I'm with stupid". Elton John guest-starred as himself, and recorded a new version of his song "Your Song" for the episode. The episode also features references to Breakfast at Tiffany's, Tiffany & Co. and "Lisa the Vegetarian", an earlier episode in the series.
In its original broadcast, "I'm with Cupid" was seen by approximately 7.7 million viewers and finished in 48th place in the ratings the week it aired. The idea for the episode was pitched by Greaney, who also wrote the episode's first draft. The episode's title was pitched by fellow Simpsons writer Ron Hauge, who based it on the T-shirt slogan "I'm with stupid". However, Hauge later found out that the title had already been used before for an episode of another television series. However, he did not believe that copyright issues would arise: "It's a very innocent mistake," Hauge said in the DVD commentary for the episode. "It is one of those things that, in the course of a career, you're gonna be on both sides of that, so nobody ever sues on it."
Jan Hooks reprised her role as Manjula in the episode. In a scene in the episode, Apu and Manjula are arguing in Hindi. During the scene, both characters speak the language accurately, as both Hooks and Hank Azaria (the voice of Apu) were given a phonetic transcription of their lines. The singing parrot that Apu sends to Manjula was voiced by series main cast member Nancy Cartwright, who also portrays Bart in the series. The episode features singer Sir Elton John as himself. John's lines were recorded by current showrunner Al Jean, who found working with John being a "wonderful experience". "Elton John was a very nice person," Scully spoke for Jean in the DVD commentary for the episode, since Jean was busy during the commentary record. "He was a great sport and worked really hard for the show." Scully also stated that the re-recording of "Your Song", which appears near the end of the episode, had to be recorded "several times," but that John was "very accommodating" about it.
In a scene late in the episode, John, having just chewed his way out of a dog carrier, meets Apu, who exclaims "Elton John!", to which John replies "That's my name! Well, not really." The exchange references John's name change, as his birth name was Reginald Dwight. Apu quotes the names of four of John's songs, "Take Me to the Pilot", "Your Song", "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and "The Bitch is Back". At the end of the episode, John performs a version of "Your Song" for Apu and Manjula on the roof of the Kwik-E-Mart. The scene is a callback to the season 7 episode "Lisa the Vegetarian", in which Paul McCartney performed on the roof. The scene in which Homer is seen jamming Valentine's Day cards into their holders were based on an observation by the writers. Writer George Meyer said of the scene: "You just see cards get really man-handled, and the envelopes get switched with the wrong sizes." In another scene, Marge and Manjula are seen playing badminton. While the scene was conceived in order to provide exposition, the sport was included because badminton is "very popular" in India, according to writer Ian Maxtone-Graham. The episode also mentions the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's. In a scene, Apu, carrying a shopping bag, exits the jewellery and silverware store Tiffany & Co. Meanwhile, Homer, along with Wiggum, Moe, Flanders and Dr. Hibbert are watching Apu, assuming he bought jewellery for Manjula. It is soon revealed that Apu bought a croissant in the store, to which Wiggum says "Oh, that's right, they have breakfast at Tiffany's now."
Reception
In its original American broadcast on February 14, 1999, "I'm with Cupid" received a 7.7 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, translating to approximately 7.7 million viewers. The episode finished in 48th place in the ratings for the week of February 8–14, 1999. On August 7, 2007, the episode was released as part of The Simpsons - The Complete Tenth Season DVD box set. Mike Scully, George Meyer, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Ron Hauge and Matt Selman participated in the DVD's audio commentary of the episode.
Following its home video release, "I'm with Cupid" received generally positive reviews from critics.
In 2007, Simon Crerar of The Times listed Elton John's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show.
James Plath of DVD Town wrote that the episode is "funny" because "it has a plot we recognize from our own lives," and Jake McNeill of Digital Entertainment News considered it to be one of the season's best episodes.
Gary Russell and Gareth Roberts, of I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide gave the episode a positive review as well, calling it "Very, very clever and funny," and wrote "it's executed stylishly and Homer wins in the end; entirely by default of course, but maybe that's his reward for not falling off the skywriting plane until the last minute!" However, they also criticized the episode for being "a little tacky," writing "After all, how nice are these people who want to ruin Apu and Manjula's day just because they're scared of looking bad?"
Writing for IGN, Robert Canning described "I'm with Cupid" as "very smart and very funny" and "a great episode representing one piece of Apu's journey." However, he disliked John's guest appearance in the episode, describing it as "completely unnecessary" and "very tacked on," and described John's performance as "very flat." Nevertheless, Canning gave the episode an 8.8 rating and concluded his review by describing it as a "tightly written Valentine's episode."
Giving the episode a more mixed review, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide criticized it for being too similar to an earlier episode, writing "Didn’t we already see that Flanders makes everyone else look like a jerk on Valentine’s Day? Doesn’t that theme mean that 'Cupid' is somewhat redundant?" He added "Yes that the show lacks any spark, as it throws out a reasonable number of laughs," and concluded his review by writing that "it seems a little stale and not one of the year’s better programs."
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