Review of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) by Kevin S — 30 Mar 2014

This American animated musical comedy is really something else! Based on the animated television series South Park, it is produced and co-written by its creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone who are starring in it as well. The film was directed and co-scored by Parker and co-written by their South Park collaborator Pam Brady, and co-starred Mary Kay Bergman, and Isaac Hayes as Chef. It features twelve songs by Parker and Marc Shaiman with additional lyrics by Stone. There is so many things to enjoy, but I always like the best the satire of our society presented in the most politically incorrect way possible - real trademark for South Park!

This time film is largely concerned with the issues of censorship and freedom of speech and doesn't spare anyone - from Disney films released during the Disney Renaissance to musicals such as the West End's Les Misérables... but the best part is when satirizes the controversy surrounding the show itself. The story of the four boys from South Park (Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, Kyle Broflovski and Eric Cartman) who see a controversial R-rated movie featuring Canadians Terrance and Phillip and begin cursing incessantly as a result, was very funny. Escalated slowly, starting from their parents pressuring the United States to wage war against Canada for corrupting their children. The movie also heavily hits the Motion Picture Association of America, with a reason... Parker and Stone battled the MPAA throughout the production process and the movie received an R rating just two weeks prior to its release.

The song "Blame Canada" earned Parker and Marc Shaiman a 1999 nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Song. I have it imprinted in my head! And, can you believe it, Kenny's entire face was revealed for the first time. Paramount's first trailer for the film advertised it, according to Parker, as "the laughiest movie of the summer," and promoted it in such a way that South Park is completely against. Parker and Stone told the studio of their dissatisfaction with the trailer, and upon the creation of a second trailer with minimal changes, the two broke the videocassette in half and sent it back in its original envelope. "It was war," said Stone in 2000. "They were saying, 'Are you telling us how to do our job?' And I was going, 'Yes, because you're fucking stupid and you don't know what you're doing.'".

And there is plenty of this in the movie. Don't miss it!