Lakewood Elementary School has just instituted IRP, a program where the students can earn points (and prizes) for reading, and Buster decides to take part because the prize for 500 points is a skateboard.
Tropes
- "Reading Is Cool" Aesop: As Mr. Ratburn says, reading isn't a waste of time if you enjoy the experience. Buster didn't like Loki Benediktssen and the Teenage Aesir, but he did enjoy City of Droids.
- Shout-Out: The book series Loki Benediktssen and the Teenage Aesir seems to be based on Percy Jackson and the Olympians, only with Norse mythology instead of Greek.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: The flier of prizes advertises a skateboard for 500 IRP points, and Francine reads nonstop for two weeks to get it only to learn that the skateboard is just a toy, smaller than her hand.
Buster and Brain just can't seem to agree on movies. Buster rates everything 10+/10 while Brain dislikes everything.
Tropes:
- Both Sides Have a Point: Both Brain and Buster do have valid points against each other. Buster blindly rates every movie a "10+" out of 10 and only sees movies that are clear pablum. Brain, however, is a Caustic Critic who mainly reviews a genre he doesn't even like in the first place and starts attacking Buster in his later reviews. It's also implied that Brain is less media literate than Buster, since Buster, who was more invested in the movie, is able to address the supposed plot holes that Brain brings up.
- Four-Point Scale: Buster rates every movie he watches (all being action movies full of robots and explosions) a 10+/10. However, he does consider demoting a movie to just 10/10 because it's not in 3D.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Arthur tells Brain to stop getting so angry over Buster's review because it's just one, and it's not like he'll write more. Gilligan Cut to Buster entering the Sugar Bowl with another review he wrote.
- Le Film Artistique: Brain and Buster choose a random movie for both to review, and land on a French film with English subtitles called Le Murmure de Silence. Surprisingly, Buster actually enjoys the movie while Brain dislikes it.
- Shout-Out: One movie Brain likes is The Rules of the Game, which he refers to by its French title. Everything he describes about it is accurate as well.
