Review of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) by Andrew G — 16 Oct 2010

"Satan, your ass is gigantic and red. Who am I going to pretend you are, Liza Minelli?" Saddam Hussein - Matt Stone.

As far as I am concerned, South Park is a very hit and miss TV Series. Some of the episodes will be nothing more than swearing and sex references, which if you took the unique animation away, makes it nothing special. However, a lot of episodes of it will be smarter, and even though they're still high on the profanity and sex references, they're used to compliment the humour and the episodes become laugh out loud funny. I can recall many a time where I was literally rolling on the floor laughing because it was so funny. The film is something I'd only heard positive things about. To my surprise, it met all of the expectations I had for it, and is one of the funniest films I've ever seen.

The boys made famous in South Park, Stan, Kyle, Eric and Kenny, go to see an R-Rated film about Canadian Comedians Terrence & Philip. They re-enact scenes from the film, and repeat all of the swearing from the film, with Kenny being killed as a result. Deeming the children as corrupted, Kyle's mum and the rest of the parents pressure the USA to wage war against Canada, and have Terrence & Philip executed. It's up to Stan, Kyle and Cartman to save the Comedians, before Satan and his lover Saddam Hussein rise from Hell. Yes, you read that last sentence correctly. The film is a parody of the attitudes that 'soccer mums' have towards any form of media with swearing and/or violence. Sure, it goes to the extreme and doesn't at all exist in the real world, but it's mocking these parents all the same. For years, I have been complaining about parents that blame the media in all its forms for the fall in society. I remember hearing a story about a child whose parent let him watch Pulp Fiction, and he re-enacted scenes from it, as well as repeating dialogue from the film. Even if you haven't seen Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece, you're probably aware that it is an extremely violent film that has a great deal of swearing. The reaction I've heard from this child's parents is that she blamed the film for 'warping' her child's mind. It never occurred to her that she shouldn't let her 7 year-old watch a rated 18 film. This is an argument brought up in South Park, stating that though children are likely to watch forbidden films anyway, they are still forbidden. The film-makers of inappropriate films have done all they can themselves to ensure that certain audiences don't watch the film. I remember at a young age hearing about the Silence of the Lambs, and desiring the watch the film greatly. Being a child at the time, and the film being rated 18, my parents wouldn't allow me to watch it. From a child's perspective, it seems unfair, but as both a teenager and film buff, I've seen the film numerous times; it's my all time favourite film. It's rated 18 for a damn good reason, and I understand why I wasn't permitted to watch it. Kyle's mum in the film is a perfect portrait of these 'soccer mums' that think the world is a terrible place and everything that isn't about Jesus or Sharing is a terrible influence on children. Granted, I don't like unnecessary swearing myself, but I understand that some people actually enjoy listening to it. The point is that South Park perfectly represents the absurd minds people have towards profanity and makes great comedy out of it. Recently, we've had lots and lots of individuals come out to criticise all sorts of media as the sole reason that society isn't too well. We all remember the controversy for games such as Grand Theft Auto, and it never occurs to any parent that it may possibly be their fault for their children's 'warped' mind. An argument I always like to bring up is who do you think is purchasing this media for children? I know that a great portion of my review so far has been a serious take on the issues that South Park raises about parents that want to live in a perfect world, but the film is also smartly funny. A great deal of it is swearing itself, but it's not swearing for the sake of it; it's swearing as a form of parody. Most of the humour comes from just how ridiculous the extreme actions from the parents are. They actually start a war with Canada, and it's hilarious to see it play out. There are a lot of popular culture references, incorporating things such as Saddam Hussein being dead. The character jokes are what make this not just a regular comedy; all of the characters that you've grown to love in the series are present, and their jokes are just as funny as you remember. There are newer characters present; such as Satan and Saddam. They take their own spin on these famous stereotypes. Each character is voiced perfectly, and while we do get some special voices briefly, such as George Clooney, they don't overdo the voices and it's not at all distracting from the characters. This is one of the funniest films I have ever seen, and every time I watch it, I find myself laughing just as hard as I did the first time. I know that I'm often known for being harsh to comedies, I'm the guy that didn't find American Pie funny, but this is proof that a film that is raunchy and contains lots of profanity can make me laugh. The difference between South Park and American Pie, other than the fact that one is animated, is that South Park is clever with its humour and swears for a reason, whereas American Pie seemed to swear just for the sake of it.

The animation of South Park has always been distinct. The joke with the animation has always been that it's really lacking in detail and fluency, and everyone loves it for that reason. The animation is basic, don't get me wrong, but there's a brilliant charm to it. If you complain about this film based majorly on the animation, you're just not getting the joke.

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut is one of the funniest films I've ever seen, and easily recommendable. Even if you're more sophisticated with your humour, like me, I can see you giving in to this film. It's sort of the mid-way film that both people with sophisticated and unsophisticated people can watch and love. Despite the praise I have for it, it's neither the best animated film nor comedy film ever made, but that's not a criticism. It's just something you should take into account: this isn't an art film; it's a film you watch to be entertained.

Andrew's rating: 8 out of 10.