Rating: 

The Info

Directed by: Trey Parker
Written by: Trey Parker & Matt Stone, Pam Brady
Starring: the voices of Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, Isaac Hayes, George Clooney, Brent Spiner, Minnie Driver, Mike Judge, Eric Idle, Dave Foley
Produced by: Trey Parker, Matt Stone

The Nutshell

The cast of TVs South Park has to save the world from World War 3 in their first motion picture.

The Review

    South Park, the animated television series, shares a lot with shock radio DJ Howard Stern. When Stern first emerged onto the airwaves, listeners were disgusted and shocked. No one had ever heard a morning radio show that had such an anything-goes attitude, with Stern going to outlandish lengths to keep his rapt audience alert. His show was banned and/or censored in some markets, while more conservative cities had citizens protest outside of radio stations to force the removal of his show. The main reason for the uproar is originality. Stern tried something different, something that made fun of the taboos of the day. His show is now carried in dozens of cities across America and in Canada, with Stern himself gaining a cult following and a feature film about his life (the underrated Private Parts).

    South Park has had the exact same impact as The Howard Stern Show. Many stations only broadcast the show late at night, with multiple content warnings run after every commercial break. South Park's schoolchildren swear and insult each other in a manner that even former top bad-boys Beavis & Butthead don't touch. South Park is under scrutiny more because of its subject matter than its language. Shows about anal probes and elephants mating with pigs tend to upset more conservative viewers' stomachs.

    Whether the television show remains popular or disappears from view next year, one thing is for sure. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut will eventually become a cult classic. The film is a stunning combination of parody, music, wit and animation. Parker and Stone have crafted a brutal attack on the MPAA, slamming censorship, film rating methodology and the blaming of youth violence on Hollywood. The fact that the film is incredibly funny is icing on the cake. South Park's plot involves Cartman, Kyle, Stand and Kenny going to see an adult Canadian film called Asses of Fire. The film stars the kids' heroes Terrence and Phillip. The film contains so much swearing that the children find themselves mouthing off uncontrollably, forcing their mothers to take action against Canada. After being embarrassed by the U.S. at the United Nations, Canada bombs the Baldwin Brothers and all out war commences. There is a  sub-plot about Kenny's descent into hell after lighting himself on fire and dying (big surprise to the show's fans).

    The first 20 minutes are side-splittingly funny as fans are given what they have craved since the show's inception: unedited swearing. The film's opening scenes probably contain more obscenities per minute than any other film in history. The shock value of the film's language propels the laughs to a near-constant. After the swearing bonanza the laughs taper off slightly and the film finds a steady rhythm. All of the show's usual characters make appearances in the film, some mere walk-ons, some with full music numbers. The songs are a pleasant surprise, ranging from witty ("Blame Canada") to disgusting ("Uncle *****"). The song styles of Disney, Sound of Music and Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals are all  impressively parodied. Parker and Stone leave no one unscathed as they take shots at the MPAA, religion, Star Wars, rednecks, racists, homosexuals, Canadians, and many others. Many people will manage to get offended at the film, ignoring the fact that they laughed throughout. Parker and Stone have done the impossible. They accomplished all of their goals (making a film so raunchy and disgusting that the MPAA would hate it) while creating the year's most intelligent comedy. No matter how hard you try, you will laugh yourself silly from start to finish. Oh, and don't be surprised if you find yourself whistling the tune to the film's most offensive song for a week after seeing it. Whether your favourite part is George Clooney as the surgeon trying to revive Kenny, or Terrence slapping Brooke Shields on the Conan O'Brien Show, you will be talking to someone about it the next day. In the film, Asses of Fire corrupts the children of South Park. In real life, South Park will corrupt you, and you'll love it.

Copyright - Tim Chandler

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