South Park - the Musical!

Rating: 7/10 (6 June 2006)

I'm not going to start this comment by talking about the swearing, but instead about the music. South Park as a TV programme has never struck me as being especially music-driven, but I seriously think Trey Parker and Matt Stone should consider renaming it South Park - The Musical. Strange as this comparison sounds, there were a few moments that reminded me of the recent version of Chicago (and I never thought I'd ever draw a parallel like that). Also, Satan's song - maybe it's the way Satan's drawn - is like a moment from a Walt Disney film.
Look past the swearing and the violence (which I'll return to) and - if you know how to look - you can almost see very mundane truths about life. The Blame Canada song is a great example - it's a brilliant interpretation of mob mentality (and, dare I say it?, perhaps it's even applicable seven years later) and it also reminds me of that classic parent-child battle - if you ban it then the kids just try harder to see it or do it.
I didn't see this film until earlier this years, so I wonder if Trey Parker and Matt Stone had a sixth sense when they put this film together - the declaring war part and the inclusion of Saddam Hussein seem spooky watching it in 2006.
A final bit I can't allow to get away is about poor Kenny. South Park being what it is, I suppose it was inevitable that he had to die but I don't think I've seen him do it so graphically before. The ghost of Kenny is a nice touch - for the first time ever we see a continuation of his death, but I don't feel that he deserved to go to Hell.