Review of Cannibal! The Musical (1996) by Richard T — 21 Feb 2009

Being one of Trey Parker's earliest film I was unsure exactly what to expect. Sure he's shown his ability to write, especially apparent with musical numbers, but I was unsure if his style of humor would have been fully developed at this point in time or if the film would just be a precursor of what was to eventually come from the man.

That being said, I finished the film pleasantly surprised with what I had just seen. I have yet to see Baseketball, but of all the other Trey Parker helmed films this one seemed to have the best camera work of his career to date, which I suppose either says a lot about his current time as a director or just how great he was at the start of his career.

The comedy is not nearly as developed as it is in South Park, Team America, or even Orgazmo, but it's still pretty damn hilarious and the songs are incredible, with the Trapper Song and Snowman being the two biggest stand outs.

Also there were a few gags used in the film that eventually transferred over to the South Park series, and as a huge fan of the show I really enjoyed seeing where some of these jokes were used previously.

The acting was never overly amateurish, and even the production value, while clearly cheap, never detracted from the film. The story is engaging, the musical numbers are great, the film is a laugh from start to finish, and my time watching the film flew by, as it does with all of his comedies.

I wish Trey would get behind the camera for more feature length films, or at least write in the large amount of downtime he has from South Park, but I suppose the show is a double edged blade if there ever was one.

Cannibal! is a great time and I finished with my heart as full as a baked patata. 4.15790812472.