Brilliant and biting satire... and hilarious comedy too!

Rating: Null/10 (27 January 2000)

Well, where to start? South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut was one of the funniest movies of 1999. It has the same weird 2-dimensional animation, the same foul-mouthed characters and the same bizarre plotlines that have made the TV show so popular, but Parker and Stone have taken it to a whole new level with this movie. And surprisingly, the humour isn't just Howard Stern-esque, lowest-common denominator type stuff, despite what you may have heard. South Park is absolutely the most blistering, insightful and explosive social satire to appear on the big screen in years. And its funny too.
Does this movie shock the viewer with almost unbelievable levels of profanity and vulgarity? Yes, that's the point. But is it funny? Absolutely. If you can get past the surface stuff, what's underneath is a very intelligent, and very needed, skewering of American people and politics today, especially those who represent the so-called "right wing."

Good satire has to be shocking to be effective and understood. Swift's "A Modest Proposal" in the 18th century shocked contemporary audiences by proposing that the poor be used as food for the rich. It was an effective way of pointing out the inequalities of life in Britain at the time. In the same tradition, Parker and Stone point out the absurdities of American politics through shock tactics with this film. And they also make a hilarious movie.
As a Canadian, one of the "victims" of Stone and Parker's film, I find it extremely amusing to read all the comments posted by outraged Americans warning all of the dangers of this "filthy" movie. To me (and many others, it would seem, judging from the movie's popularity) it is obvious that by putting down Canadians (and everyone else) Stone and Parker are actually making fun of Americans. Most especially (though by no means exclusively, everyone gets ripped here), they are poking merciless fun at the mainstream, white, middle-class conservatives in the United States today. You know, the kind that complain about violence and swearing in movies and then go bomb Serbian civilians.
One of the messages of South Park is that kids get their values from their parents, not from movies. In the wake of Littleton and the resulting knee-jerk reaction from American politicians of every variety to blame the tragedy on the media, guns, Marilyn Manson or whatever, this message is even more effective. Too many Americans blame everyone but themselves for their problems. The South Park parents' overreaction to the "crisis" of Terrence and Philip and their declaration of war on Canada satirizes the similar attitudes of those the movie is making fun of. And yet everyone but these people get the joke! They just see the violence and swearing in these scenes and declare that South Park should be banned! Its influencing our children! And they fail to see that they are behaving exactly like their cartoon counterparts! Here the movie is absolutely brilliant, and so accurate its almost sad.
So there you have it: South Park is a cutting, iconoclastic social commentary that's also extremely funny. I haven't laughed as hard watching a movie in years as I did when watching South Park. Its hilarious, and there is an important political message to it. So ignore the naysayers, go see this movie, and give it an honest chance. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 9.5/10