Review Copyright Rose Cooper, 1999

(click here to skip to this movie's rating)

Though I'm posting this review on August 3rd, I actually watched it the day before I saw Inspector Gadget, which I reviewed on July 27th. So, why'd it take me so long to review this flick, compared to the relatively quick turnaround for "Gadget"? Hmmm... THE STORY (WARNING: **spoilers contained below**) Unless you've been hiding under a rock somewhere (or, more likely, you can't get - or don't want - the Comedy Central cable channel) you likely know the premise of South Park: four hooligan White juvie delinquents with filthy, -ist filled mouths, totally fu..dged up authority figures, a horny, cowardly, Uncle Ben-type cook, and Satan worshippers, all being Saved From Their Heathen Selves by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). [...proving, once again, it's all in how you look at it. Or, in the case of some unnamed folk of a darker hue, more like, "it's all in how you're looked at..."] Are you swayed by my opening "The Story" salvo? If so, you've grasped part of The Point of this flick. It truly is all in how you look at it. Because if you look at it from another angle, this version of SP is about four misguided 8-year-olds trying to traverse the rocky road built by totally fu...dged up authority figures, free-wheeling TV-cum-movie heroes, a Totally Rad Black Chef, and the Satan-worshipping MPAA. And on the ubiquitous other hand, it could very well be about poorly-drawn cartoon kids let loose on the big screen to provide anarchistic anti-censorship types with about 30 or so minutes worth of yuks and 60 or so minutes worth of unbleeped cussin' out of an 80 minute movie. So, which is it? Hmmm... THE UPSHOT If, like me, you also watch the cable TV version of South Park, you'll undoubtedly spend a lot of time comparing the two, and rightfully so. Though you don't have to know the history of one to appreciate, as it were, the other, it helps to know why Kenny Dies, or why Mr. Hat "talks", or why Kyle's Mom's A Bit...uh, anyway, it helps. But, did it, here? Wellllll...not necessarily. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut has a different...feel, a different groove, if you will, than does the cable show. Different, "good", or different, "bad", depends on how you see either. Undoubtedly, those who don't like the cable show, won't like the movie; indeed, they'll probably like it even less. And "like" or "not like" are far too mild terms to use for SP; generally, you either can't stand it, or you see beyond the surface into its potentially brilliant expose' of that which it satirizes, whether it be homophobia or hypocritical charity-campaigning celebs (as in two of my favorite SP cable episodes, "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride" and "Starvin' Marvin [the Ethernopian]", respectively), or as is the case of the movie, reactionary adults and the MPAA. [Bams pauses after that lengthy sentence]. And dig this: I could spend quite a bit of time describing this flick, from multiple angles. I could tell y'all about the shock of hearing little White boys (animated, but still) cussin' they bad little asses off, like adults - and then look at my sentence, to see why that angle of "logic" is twisted (much as the same argument, given in the movie by the animated adults, was). I could tell you about how funny it was to see Chef outwit Yet Another Clueless Establishment Tool - and at the same time, lament that that kind of situation, unanimated, just ain't funny no mo'. I could point out the various sight gags (Clooney playing Dr. Doctor, parodying his Dr. Ross character on ER; the many sendups of celebs like Brooke Shields, Conan O'Brian, and Winona Ryder; and the literal gag of Sadaam Hussein's "manhood"), for their "aha!" factor. And I could tell you about how tripped out I was when West Side Story was parodied (especially when Terence and Phillip's "Uncle F*cka" got going. I was too through.) But those Moments just didn't add up to a satisfying whole. For me, it all paled in comparison with the cable version. Granted, the canvas on the big screen calls for a different brush than what is allowed in a weekly (most of the time. SP's biggest foe in TeeVee land is that Comedy Central is either too damn cheap, or stoopit, or some combination of the two, to have the sense ghod gave a billygoat to schedule the show in any useful way. The inconsistent schedule pickles my pancreas, and I'm surprised when I actually catch a new episode. Not that this year's batch have been anything to write home about. But...where was I? Oh yeah: "allowed in a weekly...") cable show. Both have their benefits and deficits: in theaters, with an "R" rating, writers Parker and Stone were allowed (as much as anyone fighting the Clue-challenged MPAA, could be said to have been "allowed" to do anything) to be almost as nasty as they wanna be; never in a million years would they have been able to show Sadaam having Relations with Satan, complete with the most angry-lookin Power Tool I've ever had the sorry pleasure to witness. The silver screen also allowed them semi-free reign as far as gratuitous violence (which they freely admit to including, because the MPAA, in its Far-Reaching Wisdom, decided 'Sex, Bad; Violence? No Problem') and, of course, the underlying plot - Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny, at their Eddie Murphy-Raw "best" - just can't happen on non-pay (i.e., HBO, Showtime, et al) cable. Then again, the cable version feels more complete, somehow, than the movie. Kenny dies in (almost) every episode, yes - but he comes back, as you know he always will. Cartman wants you to Ree-spect His Ahhthoritay; he doesn't just lip off and cuss you out. Mostly. And even when he does, he's not just used as the setup for a punchline. Mostly. Um...Stan Learns A Lesson, and shares it with us (or is it Kyle? I gotta admit, I get those two mixed up at times). Chef doesn't just get screwed over by The Man; Chef is tha Man. And about that cussin again: to me, there is much more charm in a bleeped-out Stan/Kyle mega-rant, than outright flim-flam-filth (tm Bill Cosby), even though movie Cartman's moments of torture when he couldn't cuss, brought a chuckle or two. Thing is, though, anybody can cuss; but it takes something special to say what you have to say, creatively. That extra oompf seemed missing from this flick; that they got away with near murder is undeniable; but to people not suffering under the thumb of MPAA's totalitarianism [always wanted to use that in a sentence. Hope I spelled it right.], "lookit what we can get away with!" just ain't enough to fill the belly, y'know? In the end, it's a mixed bag for me. I will say this, though: South Park, the movie, disturbed me. And far less for what it said, than for what it had to say. Dwell on that a sec, young jedi. THE "BLACK FACTOR"    [ObDisclaimer: We Are Not A Monolith] The BF shows itself on two main fronts in SP (three, if, like some folks I've talked to, you see "Terence And Phillip" and "Canadians" as stand-ins for rappers and Blacks in general. I'll leave that one 'lone, for now), in my view: the first, obvious situation being Chef (Hayes) and his Operation Protect Whitey (or something like that) Brigade; the punchline was telegraphed, but still, humorous. But, more interesting, for me, was the whole Satan thing. Now, I'm the first to say We Are Not A Monolith. But my Traditional Black Chu'ch training was screaming LOUD in my ear that I was Going To Hell for sitting there laughing at such obvious sacrilege. Then again, my enjoyment of SP-cable's own 'Jesus Cable Hour' probably doomed me long ago. BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE I find myself torn by all that I've had to say about this flick in the preceeding paragraphs. If I didn't Stop To Think about it, I could let SP go simply on the merits of being somewhat funny, sometimes hilariously so. But Rate I must, so... SOUTH PARK... ...the movie: Too uneven to call it "good", though perhaps in an...altered state...you might find it Muy Deep. ...the cable series: As with any series, it has its fair share of hits and misses, but the Message at least isn't brought by totally foul-mouthed 8-year-olds (no, these kids bleep. And isn't that The Way Ghod - uh, I mean, the MPAA - Intended It?) back to top And that's the way I see it. Rose "Bams" Cooper 3BlackChicks Review™ Copyright Rose Cooper, 1999 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com    ICQ: 7760005 http://www.3blackchicks.com/