surprisingly good

Rating: Null/10 (10 July 1999)

I am not a big fan of "South Park" and actually groaned when I saw the trailer a few months ago. How could this flimsy show turn into a feature film? But based on the strong reviews for the movie, I checked it out and was pleasantly surprised at how good it is. (Well, as pleasantly surprised as you can be about a movie that puts Satan and Saddam Hussein in bed together.)
The movie's first two-thirds is delivered at such a breakneck pace that it's hard to keep track of all the jokes. Highlights include the opening song and the take-off of "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." Parker and Stone have dispensed of the '90s way of making comedies, in which the humor is telegraphed to the audience moments ahead of time. (Example: Austin Powers and the Fat Bastard stool sample.) Instead, "South Park" fires its jokes like a machine gun; in fact, the story flows so quickly that it might best be viewed on a VCR with a good freeze-frame function.
This is a profane, over-the-top movie, but it's also the funniest thing I've seen in ages.