Not for the faint of heart

Rating: 7/10 (9 January 2008)

My first exposure to South Park was the film, Bigger, Longer and Uncut. Experiencing it for the first time, I was shocked, bewildered, and entertained by Stan's search for confidence, Kyle's moral compass, Eric's obnoxious personality, and Kenny's death. The Terrance and Philip movie has swept through South Park. It is so profanity laden, the kids of South Park are imitating the art. This provokes a violent reaction by the parents, it eventually leads to the capture of Terrance and Philip. Since they are Canadian, our neighbor to the north decides to declare war on the U.S. Meanwhile, Satan plans to use the war, particularly the execution of Terrance and Philip to usher in his new reign on the Earth. I will first get a few gripes out of the way. While The Simpsons uses subtle irony and satire to provoke thought, South Park hits the audience over the head with a shovel. There is no subtlety. In fact, sometimes the spirit is downright mean and vicious. In fact, sometimes it slaps fundamentalist puritanical culture with the same hatred it dishes out. This is the predominant weakness of South Park. Parker and Stone work so hard to shock and offend, they often sacrifice that for the message they try to get across. Also, the lovers spat between Saddam Hussein and the Devil was really drawn out too long, making the movie about 20 minutes too long. But there are some things that work. The best part is the humor that rests in both irony and unpredictable dialog and situations. One of my favorite parts was having Cartman rigged up to a V-chip that gives him a shock every time he utters a curse word. Another good scene involves the rescue of Terrance and Philip amidst a very strange USO show featuring Big Gay Al. Another involves the U.S. military strategists shooting Bill Gates for making Windows 98 too hard to handle. What really got me to like this movie, though, was its overbearing satire. Despite the shock factor, most people will get what Parker and Stone are trying to say. At one point, Kyle tries to dissuade his Mom from her vendetta against Terrance and Philip. However, she is so wrapped up in stopping their filth, she forgets to pay attention to her son. Also, one musical number stands out: Blame Canada. Apparently, the parents of South Park were so outraged at Terrance and Phlip, they break into song. Their battle cry is to "blame Canada before someone thinks of blaming us!" South Park does push the limit of good taste ... but that is what makes it fun. You could enjoy it ... if you are not too easily offended.