Posted: 10/19/2004

Team America: World Police

(2004)

by Clint Fletcher

Its about friggin time! At long last, the South Park gang returns to the big screen with a follow-up to one of the filthiest movies ever made: South Park-Bigger, Longer and Uncut. And what do you know? Their film arrived just in time… right before the upcoming Presidential election. While 2004 has had its share of enticing comedies such as The Girl Next Door and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, dare I say it… Team America takes the cake.

That’s right, folks. Team America is the new reigning champ for funniest movie of 2004.

Trey Parker’s voice stars as Gary, a stage actor (loved the AIDS song… I’m going to Hell) who is recruited by a Government agent to lead Team America, a covert anti-terrorism team that spends its days kicking terrorist ass all across the globe. Once Gary gets sucked in by the luscious Lisa, he then goes undercover as a terrorist to infiltrate a band of baddies that may possibly be carrying weapons of mass destruction. Gay jokes, racist gags, consistent vomiting and puppet sex ensues. Judging by the publicity surrounding this puppy, TA should be pretty cut and dry for most people. If you are easily offended by political incorrectness or cock jokes, then stay the hell away from this movie and keep your mouth shut, for you should know better. But if you have a dirty little sense of humor like I do and really get a kick out of the South Park guys, then you’ll love this movie so much that you’ll be quoting it for the next six months (as I have these past few days).

Parker and Stone do a terrific job with spoofing every cliche action movie out there, aiming specifically at Jerry Bruckheimer’s films. Ranging from Top Gun to Armageddon to Pearl Harbor, no film in the world of modern Hollywood cinema is safe from these guys. This includes actors as well. Boy, what the hell did Alec Baldwin and Matt Damon do to piss these guys off? While this film succeeds on all levels of comedy, I’d say the strongest comedic aspect of the flick is its soundtrack. For those of you out there who have ever seen South Park: The Movie, you already know that Parker and Stone know how to write some hilarious music. With songs such as “America, Fuck Yeah!” and “Pearl Harbor Sucked, But I Miss You”, you’ll be rolling out of your seat faster than Michael Moore at a Republican Convention (who is also parodied in the movie). Noteworthy moments that deserve the upmost recognition include a vomiting scene that never seems to let up, and the most graphic sex scene of the year (and its with puppets!). This was the puppet scene that had to be edited twelve times to get an R-rating? Not even God knows that the NC-17 version must’ve been like.

To wrap things up, I was laughing so hard at this flick that I nearly passed out and my friends had to carry me home. If you’re incredibly fat and are looking to lose some weight, then Team America is the perfect diet for you. If you have a shred of any sense of toilet humor in your body then you will fall in love with this movie immediately. Kudos, once again, to Trey Parker and Matt Stone for their hard work and dedication for three years on this film, which (not surprisingly) has turned out to be the most ballsy movie of 2004. America…. FUCK YEAH!!!

Clint Fletcher is a reviewer and filmmaker who knows what it’s like to kick puppet ass and take names.

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