My Favorite Bromances: Lenny Leonard and Carl Carlson
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
Worst. Duel. Of The Fates. EVER!
Pop media is full of relationships between men that, while occasionally having sexual overtones, really just boil down to the fact that these characters are the kinds of friends that would bail each other out of jail no matter what the other one’s done. One such relationship, and one of my favorites is the one between Simpsons supporting characters Lenny and Carl.
You almost never see them apart, and it would appear that Lenny has a huge crush on Carl. That’s not to say that they’re gay. Both men have admitted that they have families, though they’ve never been shown. Lenny has been shown to be one of Springfield’s greatest citizens, once throwing a party for all his friends when he won the lottery, and buying each one of them a Roomba as a gift. Carl has a Masters in nuclear physics, and is rumored to be one of the best looking men in town. They are perennial barflies at Moe’s Tavern, where they are seen more than anywhere else. They are often shown at work at the power plant, and they only indication of their actual jobs (besides Carl once being named a junior exec) was Lenny answering customer service calls.
What I like about these two is that while they’re shown together most of the time, they’re not afraid to let the other know just when they’ve become annoyed with them. Part of the above board writing on The Simpsons, I feel is that the writers have been able to generate emotion for these two on matter what the situation. I love it when I see them pop up in a scene, mostly because Lenny is so sincere and Carl is such a smartass. Lenny and Carl! May they keep entertaining me for year on end.
Posted on September 19th, 2010 at 10:55 am
Back during the first season, I kept comparing Lenny & Carl to Lenny & Squiggy. Probably because of the Lenny thing. I mean, how often do you hear that name? But I digress…
Lenny & Carl have more dimensions than any 2D background character has any right. And I love it. With just a look or sigh these two can completely change a scene. That’s amazing and shouldn’t be possible.
Way to go Lenny & Carl.