The whole episode is also a parody of the story, as they are both about someone who has a controlling and despotic boss and is in a new job which leaves them no time to spend with their partner.
Other scenes, such as when Homer and Carl go to France and Homer has to remind Carl the names of the people at the party, are also parodies of the book.
During the episode's opening sequence, Homer floats across the title screen in a lawnchair with a bunch of balloons attached to it, referencing the 1982 flight of Larry Walters (nicknamed "Lawnchair Larry"), who reached an altitude of 15,000 feet by attaching 42 helium-filled weather balloons to a patio chair. Also homer tried to rise in episode Coming to Homerica but then failed.
Homer and Marge visit "Smooches on the Beach" hotel for a romantic getaway, which is a parody of the real Shutters on the Beach Hotel in Santa Monica, California.
Homer, Carl and Lenny dreamed to drive colored Mini Cooper cars in the Nuclear Power Plant, it is a reference to The Italian Job.
When Marge and her friends decide to pose for a calendar, it might be a reference to the movie, Calendar Girls.
When Homer and Carl are on their way to the Annual Nuclear Power Expo in France, U2's "City of Blinding Lights" plays.
The chalkboard gag is likely a reference to the episode "Tennis the Menace".
Trivia[]
This is the third Simpsons media to show a nude person. First was in the woman in the painting from the Tracey Ullman Short, The Art Museum Second was in the movie with Bart's genitalia showing while skateboarding. This shows Marge's breasts in the flesh, although they aren't actually seen, instead seeing Carl's face.