Review: South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut

In 1999 Trey Parker and Matt Stone were riding a huge wave of success with South Park. God, it was reminiscent of 1989-1990 when The Simpsons were the hottest thing going. Merchandise was everywhere and it was only a matter of time before we got a feature length film (it took South Park two years, The Simpsons far longer,) and what could have been the biggest piece of crap ever put to film (that title goes to Avatar. Sorry, but Paulie Von Doom ain’t impressed,) set the groundwork for Trey and Matt’s other projects like Book of Mormon. These guys know how to write musicals and the South Park movie is testament to this ability. We all know how I feel about South Park, so expect a lot of love for this one.

Surprisingly enough I didn’t catch this one in theaters when it came out. I was very busy with my high school’s theater department and was doing some community theater that summer so movies weren’t high on my list of priorities (unless you count Phantom Menace, I saw that motherfucker 6 times to my shame,) but when I did finally see it, I realized what I was missing.

So we find the boys going to see the eagerly anticipated Terrance and Phillip Movie (A nod to Beavis and Butthead, I assume,) Kyle’s mother finds out and deems the Canadian duo obscene. This sparks an anti-canuck backlash amongst the population of that sleepy Colorado town, Demanding action, the government declares war on Canada.  Cue “Blame Canada” (the aforementioned song nominated for an Oscar,) and you have a recipe for disaster.

Meanwhile, in hell, the super-buff Satan and his boyfriend Saddam Hussein (He was alive at the time of this film, which makes me wonder if he’s Satan’s boyfriend in real life and…oh wait, Hell is a myth,) eagerly await the coming war between the US and Canada.  Once the war starts, the two can leave hell and rule the world. Kenny gets killed, as he often does, and eventually everyone comes to their senses and learns a valuable lesson and hopefully, the audience does, too, because that is what Trey and Matt do best. They teach us about ourselves by showing us just how absurd we can be when whipped into a frenzy.

The movie loses none of the show’s charm and often feels like an extended version of the show. The musical numbers are great and showcase Parker and Stone’s writing skills and their own mania. Musical theater suits them (watch Cannibal: The Musical if you don’t believe me,)  and their satirical skills are top notch, touching upon things like nationalism, mob mentality, censorship, and why Kyle’s mom is a big fat bitch (there’s a whole fucking song about it!) All in all, this is a great movie, perfect for a rainy afternoon when you want to watch something that laced with profanity and fart jokes but also includes deeper issues that make you think.  It’s always fun to watch and I wish I could have seen it in the movie theater, but as they say, the show must go on.