South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut (1999) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com Member: Online Film Critics Society
***1/2 out of four
"Remember what the MPAA says: Horrific and deplorable violence is ok as long as you don't say any naughty words."
Featuring the voice talents of Matt Stone, Trey Parker, Mary Kay Bergman. Rated R.
Filmmakers jump on real-life controversies faster than Austin Powers on Felicity Shagwell. The debate on whether cinema is to blame for teenagers turning into hoodlums has only begun to heat up, and already someone's made a movie about it, and it's not, thank God, a tragic account of a family ripped apart by the effect violence in films had on a teenage boy. Instead we get a sharp, biting satire that takes no prisoners and leaves no conservative point of view unscathed.
Based on a popular (and controversial) cable tv show, South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut can finally break loose of the shackles placed on the show by television restrictions and take bad taste to brand new heights. The movie is about a group of kids who sneak into a Canadian R-rated movie and learn some naughty words. When they exhibit their new knowledge to their moms, they decide to "blame Canada," wage war against the neighbor country and execute "Terrence and Phillip," the flatulent actors in the obscene film. The kids form an alliance they name "La Resistance" (with the accent on the third syllable of "Resistance") to save their favorite thespians, in a hilarious spoof of (tribute to?) Les Misérables.
In a subplot, one of the characters (Kenny, who else?) dies and goes to hell where he meets Satan. Satan and Saddam Hussein are lovers, you see. Satan is a benevolent soul, while our favorite Eastern ruler can only think about sex. Apparently, too, if Terrence and Phillip are executed it will be the final sign of the apocalypse and Satan can emerge from the deepest bowels of the Underground Kingdom to rule the Earth.
Aside from being a brilliant satire, South Park is also an all-stops-out musical, with unforgettable numbers like "Shut Your F***ing Face Uncle F***er" and "Cartman's Mom is a Big Fat Bitch". Almost invariably it's funny stuff: often juvenile but always funny. The same can be said for the rest of the movie: it's intelligent but delivered in a sophomoric manner (i.e. toilet humor, endless profanity, etc.). Not that there's anything wrong with that: vulgarity, when done right, is my bag, baby.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the twenty-somethings behind the film and the show, paint a bulls-eye on The Motion Picture Association of America and proceed to be the first to start trying to hit it. Cruelly mocking the fact that the MPAA's rating system will allegedly tolerate grotesque violence as long as obscenities aren't uttered, the auteurs throw some nasty one-liner insults their way. The ratings-a-plenty association isn't the only target of this unsparing banter: people who favor censoring movies over gun control are equally fair game, with the "Blame Canada" plot being a not-so-cheap shot at them.
The distinctively low-tech "cardboard" animation is oddly effective, even more so than the state of the art "Deep Canvas" technique aptly demonstrated in the recent Tarzan. It's more pleasant to look at, less intimidating up on the screen, and most importantly it doesn't detract from the film's concept as much as Disney's admirably awe-inspiring work does.
The show's popularity has been waning as of late, and perhaps this movie is just the thing to boost its ratings. Perhaps not. Having seen the show on numerous occasions, I can say that it's not nearly as smart or as funny as this movie. The series may be better off simply continuing on the big screen every couple years. Parker and Stone have outdone themselves to the point where I am forced to ask: Must the show go on? ©1999 Eugene Novikov‰
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