Before I start my review, let me first say that anyone who doesn’t “get” the South Park TV series will not “get” this movie. These are usually the people that classify South Park as mean-spirited, offensive, and too raunchy for kids. The reason those people don’t “get” the humor in the TV series (and this movie) is because they miss the satire and they don’t realize that just because it’s a cartoon doesn’t mean it’s for kids. It’s an adult cartoon and this is a very adult movie.
Kyle, Cartman, Stan and Kenny are on their way to see the new Terrance and Phillip movie, Asses of Fire. They are stopped at the theater’s box office by the cashier, who tells them that the movie is rated R and they’ll need a parent or guardian to see the movie. So, the kids pay a homeless man $10.00 to buy their tickets. Problem solved. Unfortunately, the movie has an effect on them. They begin swearing at every available opportunity. When this gets them in trouble at school, their parents launch an all-out war to blame Canada — Terrance and Phillip’s home country — for their children’s ill-mannered vocabulary.
The story is advanced, believe it or not, by several full-blown musical numbers. There are enough of them that the film could actually be considered a musical. Normally, I despise musicals, but the songs in South Park are so side-splittingly funny and, dare I say it, good, that I didn’t mind them at all. Of course, they’re so laden with those “words that cannot be spoken on television,” that you’ll never see these tunes nominated for any Oscars. (Edit: “Blame Canada” was nominated for an Oscar for “Best Original Song.” Shows what I know!)
Once again, I must address the humor in this film. While at face value the humor may seem crude and mean, it really does tackle some thorny issues. The film makes jabs at disabled people, Christians, Jews, homosexuals, Canadians, Americans, Bill Gates, Jar Jar Binks, Satan, Saddam Hussein, and too many others. The difference between this movie’s humor and what is perceived as this movie’s humor is that the movie always makes a valid point to go along with the joke. The movie is a lot more intelligent than you might think. If you can’t laugh at yourself and accept that everyone has faults, you won’t enjoy this movie.
Another criticism of South Park is its cheap looking animation. However, on the big screen, with the characters and scenery appearing several times larger than they do on any television, it becomes apparent that there is a lot of work that goes into the “cheap looking” animation. One can see that a lot of effort goes into giving South Park what can only be described as a definitive style. It might look like a movie of this type can be knocked out in a weekend, but after viewing this film, I have a new appreciation for the animation in the show. It doesn’t approach the animation in a Disney movie, but it is more than paper cutouts and stop motion animation.
Kudos to Trey Parker and Matt Stone to making a very timely statement regarding the media’s effect on children. The movie makes a lot of points dealing with parents who crusade against the evils of the media without even taking the time to talk to their kids about what’s troubling them.
Still, for all the political commentary and intelligence this film possesses, the main draw will still be sheer glee of hearing what are supposed to be children swear and call each other names. Thankfully, this film has the brains and the heart to make that stuff even funnier than it would be if it were done for shock value alone.
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
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