Wildly inventive, clever and funny.

Rating: 9/10 (23 October 2003)

9/10 South Park is one of those terrific little films that people (and by people, I mean critics) find it hard to like. But like they did, only with the reservation that they were liking something that uses the f-word far too often for it to be clever. Who would have thought that this South Park creation would be getting a rating of 83% on rottentomatoes.com? It turns out that Trey Parker and Matt Stone have churned out an absolute gem of a movie. What surprised most people is that, basically, we have an eighty minute long musical. With this premise, Stone and Parker managed to create an incredibly original and funny political satire. Yes, that's right, political satire AND musical all in one; even if the satire is not exactly subtle. They pushed the boat out, trying to see how far they could go in this day and age. A brave move to make, and a move that paid off in abundance.
The best jokes come from a weird and wide variety of contexts, one example being the Satan/Saddam Hussein love affair. Stone and Parker have done well not only create something that is consistently funny but also to create a FILM - not just an extended episode of their series. You get the feeling that this story line would only work at the cinema, which is a massive achievement.
Although this is not life changing, nor is it one that will break all rules in film-making, it is extremely funny and inventive. In 1980, 'Airplane!' was released and provided a fresh look to comedy - taking slapstick to a whole new level. The jokes were certainly not subtle, and could easily be considered crass. The same goes here. And whilst the jokes have a little more depth (are Trey and Matt telling us that TV and films have gone too far or that peoples objections to TV and film go too far?) they don't have the same impact that the ones in Airplane! did all those decades ago.
For those that like to laugh at clever fart jokes (maybe this film has finally told us that a clever fart joke doesn't need to be an oxymoron) this is for you. For those that are offended by the use of swearing in movies, perhaps you should go see Toy Story 2. I gave this film 9/10.