The South Park boys strike again.
For their second feature film (after the brilliantly funny South Park: Bigger, Longer,
Uncut), Trey Parker and Matt Stone have decided to tackle…just about
everything. Global politics, and the United States' role within it are viewed
through their hysterically skewered point of view, and the whole deal is done
with puppets, literally. Fans of Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds series might
appreciate--or be appalled by--the liberal use of the Thunderbirds' style that
Parker and Stone have borrowed for their superhero team. It's basically puppets
on strings, with no effort made to hide the strings, or the fact that these are
just puppets. This results in a really funny scene early in the film where one
of the Team America members takes on a terrorist in hand to hand combat, and the
puppets are merely bashing into each other, with their strings getting tangled
up above their heads. And any movie that opens with a shot of a puppet giving a
puppet show to little puppet French kids is a film demented enough to be worth
sitting through.
As for the plot it's reminiscent of a typical Thunderbirds episode, in which a
special squad of super heroic soldiers go al over the world to combat evil in
its many forms. After foiling a terrorist plot in Paris--and blowing away much of
the City Of Lights in the process--Team America discovers that the terrorists are
receiving weapons of mass destruction, which they plan to deploy all over the
world. And so Spotteswoode, the wise and father-figure leader of Team America,
goes to Broadway to recruit the latest addition to the team: Gary Johnston,
actor. For it is only an actor of Gary's skills who can infiltrate the
terrorists' cell in Egypt and find out where they're getting the weapons of mass
destruction. After blowing away most of the terrorists--along with a good chunk
of Cairo, the pyramids and the Sphinx--Team America ultimately finds out the
terrorists are being armed by the North Koreans, whose leader, Kim Jong-II, has
a penchant for breaking into musical numbers where he bares his tender,
misunderstood soul.
While Team America: World Police makes fun of just about everyone, and
everything, under the sun, the main thrust of the film--the central parody that
drives the whole narrative is taken from such lame-o summer blockbuster flicks
as Armageddon, Con Air, and other air-headed action films, which are not so
much created, but designed, and are not plot-driven but formula driven. Team
America deftly lampoons these films by following a typical plot from one of those
pot-boilers where the heroes make stuff blow up real good with a self-righteous
fury, accompanied by an empty-headed music soundtrack (the songs, written by
Parker and Stone, are just as funny as the movie, including one ditty called
"The Montage Song" and the customary rousing anthem known as "F**K YEAH!").
There's even a moment where the hero doubts his abilities, only to build himself
back up just in time to take part in the film's customary explosive climax.
As deliriously funny as this movie can be, bear in mind that it is NOT for kids.
I reviewed the Uncensored And Unrated version, and it is filled with swear words
(which is sort of sublime, the sight of puppets cursing like sailors) and
graphic sexual terms. The Unrated version of the film even has a naked sex scene
between two of the puppets that is almost as sick as it is side splittingly
funny to watch. While there's no commentary, there are plenty of behind the
scenes featurettes that detail the production of the film. Model kit builders
will be interested in this section, since the film utilized extensive miniature
sets that recreated various locations as Paris, Cairo and North Korea. If you
are one of these folks who are easily offended, then don't waste your time. But
if you can take a joke, then sit back, relax and enjoy the epic adventures of a
band of puppets that fight the good fight to save the world…with strings attached.
--SF
Main Review Page | Comedy Films |Email Me |Team America: World Police - Unrated
