| **1/2 The "South Park" guys are at it again. Off to be as offensive as possible without any apparent reason. People should know by now how Director/Writer/Actor Trey Parker and Writer/Actor Matt Stone think. And yet, I'm still amazed at how easily old women are lured into the theater to see a movie of theirs. So, I check the time of my watch. The old women who sat in front of me left not 3 minutes into the film. May I ask, what are people expecting when they go to see a film like this? Vulgarity should be at the top of the list. But honestly, this film is creative, featuring an ensemble of puppets that occupy a world of models, small transport vehicles, and cats that act as panthers. All this is an obvious attempt at humor, and it works most of the time. It's in the acting, plot, and structure where the film sags. Team America is a group of terrorist fighters with planes, rockets, jets, jeeps, etc. led by Spottswoode (voice by Daran Norris) who have their base in Mount Rushmore. They are called out whenever the world is in jeopardy to fight the terrorists. We first see Team America in action in Paris, France, where during the fight, landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre are destroyed. Soon, Spottswoode hires a Broadway actor named Gary (voice by Trey Parker) to go undercover to see when the terrorists are planning their next attack. Team America immediately accept him and set off an their mission(s). They end up going up against North Korean dictator, Kim Jong II (voice by Trey Parker), and the much humiliated, F.A.G. aka: Film Actor's Guild, which consists of Hollywood actors like Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, and Matt Damon, who Parker and Stone make the funniest. An obligatory love relationship is set up between Gary and fellow team-member Lisa (voice by Kristen Miller) for the solitary purpose of having the first on-screen puppet sex scene in film history. Offensive? You decide. Trey Parker does good voices, all originating from the immortal Cartman from the TV show, "South Park". His characters are funny, but have no depth. So, I don't believe for one moment all the sentimentality. I sit there watching a slow, quiet scene waiting for the punch line, but it usually never came. Doesn't work. Also, the puppets do random things, some funny, some not. That might greatly affect how this film is perceived. Like I said, there is humor in how the puppets look, act, move, dance, etc. I like the noticeable strings and way they look like they’re flying when they move. And the world that is created for them is neat and very creative. The models of Cairo and Paris must have been fun to build and destroy. Even the action scenes have a life of their own. You nearly forget the film is a comedy. The music is also very memorable. Very creative. Yet, the lyrics are another matter, as titles like “Everyone has AIDS “or “America, F-ck Yeah!” might make some of the audience angry. No, the titles will make some of the audience angry. The central problem with this film, despite all its high marks, is that it has no clear purpose. Parker and Stone made a wise decision to leave the 2004 Presidential candidates out of the film. Although, with all the stuff they already have, I don't see how it would’ve mattered much. These guys do not hold anything sacred. They make fun of everything. They will probably make fun of themselves one day. They know they will make somebody mad (Sean Penn wrote them an angry letter prior to film's release, for example.), so why is it important to make films like this? They are smart enough to know people appreciate humor. Good humor. Humor that can be vulgar if it's honest and works. Humor that captivates. So, I guess narrow-minded people need to lighten up and avoid the film if they don’t want to see it. However, there is an uneasiness to watching this movie. The audience will want to laugh, but you get the feeling they're looking over their shoulder to make sure they won't get slapped. And it's no American's fault. We laugh at different things, yet we have an idea when certain groups of people, like Muslims, AIDS victims, homosexuals, or Matt Damon, will not laugh. There is a side of me that says to lighten up. After all, this film is a comedy. But we live in a very political and social, tension-filled time. Do films like this help the country? The audience will unite at times in laughter at hilarious, inspired moments. But I can't quite recommend this film, especially to grandma. |