Team America

Team America (Director: Trey Parker)

I rarely feel the need to write about a film right after I saw it, late at night, approaching the wee hours of the morning, but this new comedy from the creators of "South Park" must be discussed...right now.

Let me preface this by saying that I will not, under any circumstances, spoil any jokes that come about in this movie. I will speak in broad terms.

1999's South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut was one of the funniest, and best, movies of the year. It clearly deserved more mention, and clearly deserved the Oscar for the song, "Blame Canada." When Parker and cohort Matt Stone skewer something, you're sure to see them absolutely pummel their target. It's true, more-than-biting, satire. It's a whole meal of satire. The dripping disdain Parker and Stone have for certain people goes beyond veiled reference. It's shocking, but very funny.

Team America made me laugh to the point of not breathing twice. That's a lot. Then add the many other funny moments in the film, you've got a classic in the making. Songs? Yes. They aren't as catchy as the made-for-musical South Park, but they are still funny. This movie makes fun of Jerry Bruckheimer movies, nearly all of the big, testosterone-fueled films he's produced. Michael Bay gets the smackdown--a big plus. All of the actors mentioned in the trailer, plus a few not mentioned, come out looking very bad indeed, and what's great about that is how true it is. Alec Baldwin gets his second Parker/Stone film, quite surely without his approval.

As for contemporary times, George W. Bush doesn't make an appearance, but the spirit of the ultra-Republican, kick-ass regime is present. In fact, politicians are almost completely missing in this film. Kim Jong Il is portrayed as the ultimate antagonist, which certainly sends a message that possibly we've been raiding the wrong country in our search for madmen with WMD's. Sure, there's Arab terrorists in here and they get their ass kicked, but they are mere pawns in the whole scope of the story.

There's no doubt that some critics are going to dismiss this. You might see one star or two for this when your morning paper arrives. Don't buy what some fifty-year-old says about this, because they're going to miss the point, they're going to miss what is truly funny, and they likely gave How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days high marks last year. Comedy is difficult to judge for some people, like it has to be inoffensive and hip, just see my review for Shark Tale. You're going to see some people avoid it altogether because it's a bunch of marionettes, and it looks cheesy. They will be missing out on some funny stuff. The dialogue often veers into the ultra-absurd, nailing the stilted and dumb dialogue of the big action film. When Parker and Stone (and another script contributor, Pam Brady) go into dialogue that befits themselves, it can be a raunchy ride, but not one I find offensive for the sake of being offensive--there's even a character who plays an "Iceman" (like Val Kilmer in Top Gun) who they make fun of for being the hardass who has to say "fuck" every other word or to emphasize everything he says.

Parker and Stone have garnered some respect, and they've got some top people working with them on this. First, there's cinematographer Bill Pope, who has made his name in the past several years with the photography in The Matrix and its sequels, and recently did Spider-Man 2. The movie looks beautiful. They also got a veteran voice actor (Daran Norris) to breathe life into their winning Spottswoode character, the gruffly-voiced leader of Team America.

All I can say is, I'm watching this again. A second viewing will surely be more rewarding. I was laughing so hard in some moments that I missed about five minutes afterward because I couldn't stop laughing and thinking about what I just saw. Now, I just want to see how everyone who gets mentioned reacts. Sean Penn has already written a letter to the creators, but Sean Penn isn't Trey Parker.