Review of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) by Dylan C — 08 Sep 2012

What most would expect to be an extra-long episode of the show is, in fact, South Park's first step toward the cutting-edge form of satire it has now become. Sure, the shamelessly cornball, potty-humor-fueled crudeness of its first few seasons is still intact, but the story's giant stab at household America's embarrassing tendency to find scapegoats for simple problems gives it an edge of relevance even today.

This being a musical, perhaps the most surprising aspect of the film is the quality of the songs. The variety of musical styles in its hour-and-a-half run-time is as eclectic as it gets, lampooning (perhaps even celebrating) the tradition of Disney movies old and new, and even capturing the scope of contemporary Broadway epics. If anything, these songs were the earliest sign of creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone's musical sensibilities (even nabbing an Oscar nomination for the number "Blame Canada"), and would set the stage (sheesh, no avoiding that pun) for their work on "Book of Mormon".

I proudly recommend this self-aware, delightfully vulgar treat to fans of the show.