Bigger, Longer, Uncut and it actually works

Rating: Null/10 (12 February 2000)

* * * ½ (3½ out of 5)

South Park : Bigger, Longer and Uncut

Directed by : Trey Parker, 1999
The essence of Trey Parker's South Park - the television show - is crude and foul-mouthed social commentary dressed up as an ugly drawn (low-tech paper animation) cartoon, that on a good day can be as politically sharp and relevant as it can be magnificent fun.

The show chronicles the lives and adventures of third graders Kyle, Stan, Cartman and Kenny, as they endure down the path of life towards adulthood in the small, hick town of South Park somewhere in desolate Colorado.

Obviously influenced not only by such raunchy and classic adult animation as Fritz The Cat (1972), but by more recent 90s favorites  the dead-on teenage angst and dimwitted humor of Beavis and Butthead, the charming and intelligent social satire of The Simpsons, and the subtle, white-trash, rural middle America characterizations as depicted in King Of The Hill - South Park has nevertheless clearly distinguished itself in both tone and style if not subject matter.

How? By being twice as rude, offensive, obnoxious, absurd and calculated as anything ever before.

This formula works because South Park - however repetitive it may seem with a constant cavalcade of filth, wall-to-wall-cursing and depraved acts - relentlessly keeps the punches coming and has both heart and grit enough to do so, thus ensuring that the only safe bet is that the character of Kenny will get killed sooner or later (no spoiler, a trademark). `No one here gets out alive´ seems to be the message. If Jim Morrison was alive today he would be a fan.

Amazingly, the movie too wins you over because of this general element of surprise and flow in the verbal attack, and "Bigger, Longer and Uncut" is actually a very descriptive subtitle to the full-length movie (it runs 80 minutes). It is exactly that.

However, Parker has also built this pro-longed edition more in the veins of a musical than a regular episode thereby making everything seem very fresh and initially different. Fans may be annoyed at the many musical moments (some are more entertaining than others) but it makes for a nice pacing and an appropriate abrasive feel (as South Park should be).

The good song and dance routines are superbly written and robustly crafted in the best of musical traditions. I will be the first to admit that they had me singing along more than once. Blatantly humming something like: "Shut your f**king face, uncle f**ker" - as the four kids do after having seen their heroes Terrance and Phillip's R-rated film, "Asses On Fire" - whilst laughing my head off and tears rolling down my cheek, is not how I would like to be remembered. Yet it happened to me. You have to hand it to Trey Parker: South Park can be genuinely addictive.

That is because there is a much needed moral behind all the adolescent obscenity. The moral being not only anarchistic, but both intelligent and reflective. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone slam censorship and intolerance, and make a hard case against the lack of parental guidance - in general, not only at the movies. Kids nowadays in America are not necessarily victims of any sleazy outside influence or a decaying society, but namely of a lack of communication with their parents. An issue that can not get enough of a forward push in the United States today.

On the downside; some parts of the movie work better than others. For instance, I never took to the Saddam Hussein and Satan relationship. It carries on too long and is unfortunately at center throughout. There is also mock genitalia shown simply to shock - and that is beneath even South Park.
On the upside however, other vulgarities, like the ethnic stereotyping - a tireless joke in the world of South Park - takes on a whole new meaning towards the end of this movie (Q: Chef: "Ain't you heard of the emancipation proclamation?" A: Army General: "I don't listen to hip-hop"). The movie nakedly addresses cultural and racial misunderstandings, minority bashing and human shallowness in a both hilarious and sinister fashion without tooting any specific horn. Brilliant.

The experience of viewing South Park : Bigger, Longer and Uncut rests primarily on the unknown factor (as much as it is also jam-packed with inside jokes which may seem unfamiliar to many non-Americans), so I will not reveal anything more. If you can stomach the extreme vulgarity that resides in the small mountain town of South Park, Colorado, and want to be wooed by some wry and open-minded wit, then you are surely in for a joyride.

Summing up the warped but wonderful humor of South Park is best done by quoting a news reporter as heard in the movie itself :
[Covering a bloody war] : "It doesn't matter if it's loaded with violence, as long as there's no foul language, then the MPAA says it's safe for children."