more wit than you'd expect

Rating: 7/10 (20 June 1999)

Critics have complained that BASEketball is too crude and dumb to be funny. I don't think those critics really "get" the movie. The movie *is* funny, because Trey Parker and Matt Stone have a certain charisma and wit that give a spark of humor and creativity to even the lewdest, simplist jokes. Part of the humor of this movie *is* their character's stupidity, but it's not the old Beavis and Butthead stupidity, where the characters don't even know they're stupid. BASEketball's characters seem like insightful, intelligent people who revel in wackiness with a witty edge. Their spark of charisma gives a sense of awareness to their gags that makes them funny--they know some people will think their sense of humor is dumb and crude, but they don't care, they do it anyway. It's not humor in terms of, "ha ha, he cussed!" It's how, when, and why they do it that makes the movie work. One gets the sense that these guys have a creative, fresh feel for humor--their style seems more original than a lot of recent comedies and tired comedy set-ups.