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.
