Get ready for rude crude and over the top humor as the boys from “South Park” have put together an outlandish film pointing fingers at just about everybody as the ultra-conservative “South Park” creators add their own bit of satire to the political fray.
Instead of poorly animated youngsters this time around Matt Stone and Trey Parker use marionettes to act out their play and while Saddam and Satan aren’t getting intimate in this one the puppets that make up Team America manage to find themselves in all sorts of “positions.”
Team America is based on a team of international do-gooders, which apparently have no affiliation with the actual United States government, nevertheless they have charged themselves with keeping the peace and wiping out terrorism as they make their base in the faces of Mt. Rushmore. The evil here is the dictator Kim Jong Il whose goal of taking over the world involves terrorism, weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and a bit with some actors, and Team America is out to stop him.
Not a soul is safe in this one and the primary target for ridicule seems to be firmly pointed at a group of today’s most outspoken actors led by Alec Baldwin and comprised of names such as George Clooney, Matt Damon, Janeane Garofalo, Ethan Hawke, Tim Robbins, Sam Jackson, Sean Penn and on and on, all of which are members of the Film Actors Guild, or F.A.G. for short.
If you are wondering just how a puppet movie could manage an R rating you either haven’t watched “South Park” or you don’t have much imagination as this one has it all including a 40 second sex scene, that was cut from its initial 2 minutes in length so the movie could get its R rating instead of the initial NC-17 the MPAA stamped on it.
Blood flies, puke spews and historical landmarks are demolished all in the span of 90 minutes but those that say there is no message here have missed a little as the boys certainly have managed to input their feelings in certain areas. Just consider the fact that they are making fun of a group of Americans policing the entire world as they destroy the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt and the Louvre is blown to bits, all while they cheer and clamor of success once the job is done and a country is left smoking in ruins… Hmmmmm, Baghdad anyone?
Don’t get me wrong, on a political level this thing tussles with the right and the left equally, but not without a couple of jabs at certain current political agendas just to get the point across.
Taking all that into consideration, don’t go into this movie looking for a political message or you are going to miss out on the fun as there is certainly more than enough puppet sex and gore to put a smile on your face. From Kim Jong’s foul mouthed rants to some hilarious songs with lines such as “Pearl Harbor Sucked” (the movie that is), “Everybody has AIDS” and the final anthem “America, FUCK YEAH!”
If you plan on checking out this film you will have to put your politically correct feelings aside and enjoy it for what it is, uncensored comedy at its best. Team America has a niche audience and everyone in that audience will be going to go see this film, but I do think this one will be just as much fun, if not more, on DVD, considering the drunker you are the funnier this will be, plus if there is a director’s cut on DVD it will be priceless.
