South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
4/5 stars
Review by John Ulmer
"South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been major
protestors against the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
since one of their early films, "Orgazmo," was tagged with an NC-17
rating due to strong language and pervasive sexual content.
They have been known to purposely upset the MPAA by a number of
methods, but nothing they've done yet reaches the low standards of
"South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" (1999). This, an animated feature
film spin-off of the immensely popular cult television show from
Comedy Central, is one of the most deliberately profane, vulgar and
controversial films I have ever seen – and, like many controversial
films, it is a social satire with bite.
That's not to say that it's flawless. The movie is funny, and it has
its fair share of hilarious moments, but it isn't great by any means –
and often goes searching for laughs in all the wrong places. Still,
one has to admire the guts of Parker and Stone – who also voice most
of the characters in the movie. I never thought I'd see so many racial
stereotypes packed into a single movie – much less an animated one. I
never thought I'd see young (albeit animated) children using
four-letter words with such pride. I never thought I'd see Saddam
Hussein and Satan having a homosexual affair together. Then again, I
never thought I'd really see anything remotely close to the content in
general that exists within "South Park" the movie.
Fans of the TV show will already be familiar with the characters: four
animated kids named Kenny, Kyle, Stan and Cartman. "Uncut" opens with
a cheery musical number and rapidly moves towards vulgarity as the
"innocent" children sneak into an R-rated movie starring their boyhood
idols, the foul-mouthed Canadian duo Terrence and Philip, whose
combined humor consists of bodily function gags and songs with extreme
profanity. ("What did he say?" one of the boys mutters in the theater
after the first expletive is heard.)
Terrence and Philip's movie becomes number one at the box office,
inspiring many local children to start frequently swearing. The
parents of South Park decide to launch a campaign named Mothers
Against Canada (MAC), with the sole intent of starting a war between
the U.S. and our neighbors to the north.
If Terrence and Philip are killed, Satan and a recently deceased
Saddam Hussein (the character of which is actually represented by real
photos of Hussein blended with animation) will rise from the bowels of
Hell and take over the world. Terrence and Philip's death somehow –
for one reason or another – signifies the coming of the apocalypse,
and Kenny – who dies early on in the film, goes to Hell and realizes
Satan's plan – rises back to Earth as a ghostly image and tells his
friends they must stop the war.
I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone are making a statement here, not
just about war in general but also about what they believe is
"censorship" by the MPAA and their absurd standards (as one character
sings in a musical number, it's okay to show nasty blood and guts –
but just don't say any naughty words!). And it's quite obvious that
"Terrence and Philip" are metaphors for the creators of "South Park,"
and the reaction of the public in the film is an eerie foreshadowing
of the controversy surrounding the "real" film's release. It's a
clever bit of self-parody that works quite well. I don't think anyone
can say that "South Park" is dumb, even if it's immature.
Canadians in "South Park" are represented by crude stick figures with
heads that part at the mouth into two pieces, flapping about as they
"talk." The animation on the Americans isn't much better – very, very
basic drawings. In a bit of a self-referential stab, one of the kids
in the film says that he likes Terrence & Philip, but "the animation
sucks."
Some people said "The Passion of the Christ" was anti-Semitic. Some
people said "Birth of a Nation" was racist (indeed, a recent limited
re-release was protested). "South Park" is both. Packaged along with
more than a handful of scatological references are cruel jokes
surrounding ethnicity. There are running gags about Jewish residents
of South Park, as well as African-Americans and, of course, Canadians.
However juvenile their jokes may be, however, Parker and Stone manage
to make us laugh – even though we may sometimes feel disturbed by
doing so. And one can't help but realize that a lot of the racial
jokes are satirical – such as when the Army decides to launch an
attack against Canada, and a platoon of black soldiers are used as the
"human shield." The movie is often trying to say something important,
which isn't at all what I had expected – and the notion of America
trying to blame other countries for its fault (in this case, Canada)
isn't so far-fetched.
"South Park" contains less profanity than "Scarface," "Pulp Fiction,"
"GoodFellas," and "American History X," among others, but it's known
for its strong language. It constantly pops up on Internet message
boards as one of "the" most profane films of all time, despite the
fact that according to official sources it contains less than half the
amount of foul language found in Martin Scorsese's "Casino."
So why are so many people convinced that it has the most profane
language of all-time? Well, part of the reason is its length – barely
more than 80 minutes – and I'm sure another large issue is the fact
that it's animated, and all the profanity is delivered at a rapid
speed, mostly by supposed "children" (who look like big blobs of
cardboard). And, unlike more serious films, the profanity in "South
Park" is there for no reason at all – at least not in the same context
as dramas. In an interview, director Trey Parker claimed that the
intent of "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" was to shock. And
indeed, if that was his point then he and co-writer Stone have
succeeded – this is a revolutionary advancement in mainstream
entertainment. The MPAA is constantly stretching its boundaries, and
with "South Park" – which they originally gave an NC-17 classification
prior to certain scenes being deleted by Parker – they really have
shamed themselves.
I liked "South Park," a number of scenes made me laugh and I was very
amused overall. No fault can be found in its short length, either –
had it dragged out another twenty minutes, perhaps it would have
seemed too long, but its current runtime is appropriate given the
material. Not all the jokes work, and sometimes the film just goes too
far – but if you're looking for something funny, and you have an open
mind and aren't easily offended, "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut"
is a worthy recommendation.
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