South Park: Größer, länger und un(b)geschnitten

When you have the reputation that Parker and Stone do, it is hard to get rid of the sterotypes that have been drawn around you. You are forever stuck in the mold that has been bestowed upon you. But perhaps sometimes when stigmas of that nature are forever embedded with your name and reputation, it actually gives them more leeway to make a statement that is political in nature. As long as they disguise that statement(s) with all that made them popular in the first place, they can get away with it. So now, if I said that beyond the non-stop vulgarity and infinite humour that this film contains, is a film that has an important message camouflaged in animation, would you believe me? Would you care?

First off, this is the most profanity laced film I have ever seen in my life, and that includes early Eddie Murphy efforts. But the profanity in this film had me in stitches. Honestly, that was almost not just a figure of speech either. I laughed so hard that I almost banged my head on the on the person in front of me. Remember how absorbed you were at the horror of war at the beginning of Private Ryan? Well if you had to parallel the two and replace horror with humour, that is a safe comparison. This film is so ******* funny and I really enjoyed it on that level. I can honestly say that I haven't laughed so hard since Office Space. The profanity goes a bit overboard at times but I think that was on purpose. Some of the humour is a bit gross ( seeing Sadam's rubber propalactic was funny but a little sick at the same time ) but I think these guys wanted to see how far they could go. And they went very far and they dared the MPAA to censor them even more, and hey, I was very entertained.

But on the political side, there are a lot of dicey issues that are covered here. Censorship for one. It's funny because we as Canadians and Americans have some of the same ideologies and one of them is free speech. But if that is what we want, then we have to be willing to go all the way. You can't pick and choose what is more free and more appropriate than something else just because it is not politically correct. Free speech means free speech. Free to express your thoughts in an open forum. This film tells us that free speech is free as long as you don't offend the masses. It also says that in MPAA's world it is okay to see blood and guts and intestines and brain tissue ( many of those films get an AA rating ) but profanity dictates that an R or an X is required to see the film. That really is silly.

The film also touches on racism in the armed forces and it shows how brain washed Americans get when there is a conflict with an opposing nation. It doesn't matter that perhaps some of the issues at hand are clouded and misunderstood, many people stand behind their government to the very end. Kill em' all in the name of the Constitution. There are also some stabs at religion and being gay and a plethora of other issues. A particular scene with Bill Gates is funny.

Parker and Stone have given the finger to the ratings system in America and I think people will like it. They have also given much more credit to the Canadian armed forces in this movie. If the U.S. ever went to war with us, it would probably be over in a day or so. So thanks for making us look at least competetive. That was cool.

It may be weird to read a review of this film and have comments about politics in here, because it really is a funny movie and I was in a good mood when I left the theater, but there is more to this movie than just humour. To accomplish that and still be known as the guys who made fart jokes and the F word popular is quite a feat. This film is there to enjoy but it is also there to ask some tough and interesting questions. Enjoy the film, but listen to what it has to say. That is, besides the F and S word, listen to what it wants to say.

**** One last observation and that is, when I was in line for the film, a lady and her five year old daughter were in front of me. When they asked for South Park, the cashier asked if she was sure because there is a lot of profanity in the film. The lady reassured her that it was fine. Her daughter can listen and watch but knows not to repeat. That is responsible parenting. Teach your kids right from wrong and hope they turn out well. That's all you can do. And I applaud that parent for doing so. She may never know who I am but I will remember her for quite some time. Maybe if more people were like that, there wouldn't be such a fuss about profanity. After all, they are just words.

its easy to see why a lot of people may be offended by this film. After all, it makes fun of black people, Jews, women , Canada, homosexuality, homeless people, fat people and of course Barbara Streisand...miss anything out!!?! yet if you like it you can't help but admit that the movie is comedy genius. The opening 10 minutes had me rolling in the aisles "how would you like to suck my b#lls, Mr garrison?" and the song "its easy mmmmkay" being some of the highlights. the jokes while repetitive (based on swearing or insulting someone) never get old and the genius of ideas such as "operation get behind the darkies" while being offensive are undeniably funny. the only people who would rate this movie any less than at least 7 are the pathetic types who'll say "oh its to vulgar and rude and offensive". thats the point! so if you're someone who can laugh at yourself (which we should all be able to in an un-serious movie such as this) and want to witness some amazing moments of comedy genius than this is for you. special shout out to the creators of south park for the character Eric cartman, the real star of this movie who would be up there on par with homer simpson for all time greatest comedy character if not for his foul mouth and habit of insulting well..everyone! 10/10 from me for all the nights this ones cheered me up with out fail.

I was not a fan of South Park before I saw BL&U, nor was I a fan of movie musicals. Well, I'm still not a fan of musicals, but I'm a fan of *this* musical, and am grateful to Parker and Stone for demonstrating that it's still possible to make a great movie on one's own terms.

For this movie, unlike the usual feature-length adaptation of a pop culture phenomenon, not only lives up to its pedigree, it wildly exceeds it. Yes, the movie does recycle many of the show's jokes, but it does so in new yet relevant contexts that keep the material funny if you are familiar with the South Park world. If you aren't familiar with that world (as I wasn't before seeing the movie), the gags are simultaneously accessible yet often subtle.

Subtle? Yes, many of the gags are. Indeed, one of the pleasures of owning a copy of the movie is having the ability to review the movie, in slo-mo if necessary, and discover throwaway sight gags that one has missed in the delirium of watching this anarchic satire the first time through. (And if you have the DVD, you can add subtitles to catch many of the songs' often elusive lyrics.)

Then there's the music. What is it about movie musicals that attracts great satiric minds? Not since Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" has a work of art so subversively exploited the conventions of the movie musical as South Park. From the droll opening strains of Mountain Town, to the Disneyesque "Up There," to the Les Miserables spoof, "La Resistance," South Park simultaneously sends up the genre while paying homage to it, and still finds room to use the songs to score delicious points against its myriad targets.

One last thing: this movie is not cynical. Beneath the scatological humor, the cartoon violence, the scathing portrayals of Wynona Ryder et al, and the backdrop of adult xenophobia, sexual repression and political opportunism, is a sensibility that exalts childhood as an island of honesty and idealism, if also of id-like impulse and frequent selfishness. In this they share space on the shelf of great satires with "Candide," "Gulliver's Travels," "Tom Sawyer" and especially "Huckleberry Finn"--classics that, like BL&U, also exposed the hypocrisies of the adult world "through the eyes of a child."

Elvis Costello once sang, "I want to bite the hand that feeds me/I want to bite that hand so badly/I want to make them wish they'd never met me." That BLU was shut out at the Academy Awards (having only garnered a nomination for the relatively tame "Blame Canada", which lost, appropriately enough, to the execrable Phil Collins) only vindicates the film's take-no-prisoners send-up of nearly everything that annoys in this suffociatingly focus-group-tested, PC-policed, cynically sentimental, violence-ridden, love-starved modern world. See this movie, and see the persistence of hope and possibility sparkling like a diamond amid the pop culture detritus of a quiet little red-necked, white-trash, strait-laced, mesuggeneh, US mountain town.

Nothing can prepare you for this film. It's a one off. Undoubtedly the best film I have ever seen. I truly laughed until I cried in the cinema showing, bought the video and the soundtrack - which I never do - and have watched it several times over. The political undertones are frighteningly poignant. The idea is brilliant. It's the antidisney. It's a fart in the face of those who wage war in the name of decency. It's a bunch of foul mouthed kids spewing profanity. It's better than good versus evil; it challenges us to asses the criteria upon which we judge good and evil. It pokes fun at everyone, white, black, Jewish, Christian - but particularly the stupid and the bigoted. by ridiculing the fuss that is made against profanity, the writers have safeguarded themselves against adverse publicity from complaints. It's what the film is about in the first place. My only complaint is that this film is so brilliant that it made Team America seem tame.

First of all, let me preface this by saying that I am not a huge fan of South Park the TV show. While I find the TV show amusing, I do not watch it more than once every few months. So I had doubts about the movie, but my brother insisted I watch it. So I did and ended up purchasing the DVD the next day.

All comedy aside, this is one of the most masterfully written movies I have ever seen. The songs are hilariously funny and the way that they incorporate all the individual songs into one masterpiece is sheer genius. Probably one of the best musicals I have seen.

As for the humor, don't watch this if you are easily offended, because you will be offended.

Funny, funny, funny. 10 stars.