Friday, May 9, 2014

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Trey Parker, 1999) Review

In addition to being a huge fan of film, I'm a huge fan of video games too. That explains why I've already tackled video game films such as Super Mario Bros. and Sonic The Hedgehog The Movie with more planned on the way. Anyone who follows gaming knows that South Park: The Stick of Truth was the big game of the last few months and, as a student, I haven't planned yet but, instead, I present you with South Park's big screen debut...and...only big screen appearance, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

In the mountain town of South park, Stan (Trey Parker), Kyle (Matt Stone), Cartman (Trey Parker again) and Kenny (Matt Stone again) go to see the latest Terrance and Philip movie, Asses on Fire. It turns out to be filled with foul language that the boys begin to imitate. Soon, every kid in South Park is swearing and their parents have had enough. Kyle's mother Sheila (Mary Kay Bergman) begins a campaign against Terrance and Philip but the boys band together against her in order to stop the oncoming war against Canada and the rise of Satan (Trey Parker...yet again) and Saddam Hussein (Matt Stone again again).

Out of all the big animated sitcoms like South Park, The Simpsons and Family Guy that attempted a feature length iteration, South Park did the best. It delivers the best jokes, the best narrative and the all around strongest film. This film is witty while also being poignant and taking a stab at real issues even if they take a fictionalised and exaggerated road to expressing it. The film serves a purpose while delivering some hilarious moments and even turning it into a subtle parody of Les Miserables (tell me that 'La Resistance' is not like 'One Day More').

What I find commendable about this movie is that it very well could've been a lazy extended episode. It goes far to define itself as a movie and making it a musical was a good move. The songs in the film are legitimately good songs that are catchy and well written to the point that this film was nominated for an Oscar. Yes, South Park was nominated for an Oscar. What a time to be alive. I suppose the biggest problem is that, yes, it is very crude. It's par for the course for South Park though so I can't really complain. South Park has done much worse. 

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut knows exactly what it is. It delivers a hilarious and poignant animated comedy that captures what made South Park a success and transfers it successfully on the big screen. The songs are well written and catchy with many, many memorable scenes and quotes along the way. Watching this makes me realise what I love about South Park and that is that Matt Stone and Trey Parker aren't afraid to take risks like so many other creative minds are. It's just good to see animations with strong creative input.

Verdict:
8/10
Funny, witty, poignant and memorable with some legitimately good songs.

So if South Park was out of the equation, who in this genre did the feature length itearions best? It isn't The Simpsons or Family Guy so you'll have to wait a see.

1 comment:

  1. Wow! That’s a wonderful rating. I must add this to the watch list. My kids are now days watching some good series by Andy Yeatman on Netflix and once these are finished, I will have to look for more and so I have started adding movies and series to bucket list.

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