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Chad
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Posted: May 21, 2005 at 12:00am
As the movie opens, we watch as Broadway singer Gary Johnston performs a moving rendition of his song "Everyone Has AIDS" in front of a packed house. The show is a success, Gary receives a standing ovation, and everything is great in his life. He heads back to his dressing room, where he meets a man who introduces himself as Spottswoode. The two chat for a bit, and it's revealed that Spottswoode is the head of Team America... a group dedicated to stopping all of the terrorists and evil organizations of the world. Spottswoode came to Gary because they needed an actor to infiltrate a terrorist group and find out the location of their weapons of mass destruction, and since Gary is the best damned actor around, he's the one getting the job. After a bit of persuasion (and a touching montage), Gary decides to join the team; along with his new-found partners Chris (the actor-hating bad-ass of the group), Lisa (the hot blonde), Sarah (the clairvoyant lady) and Joe (the pathetic loser), the mission carries out without a problem. Without a problem, that is, until they find out that what they just stopped was a very minor part of evil Korean dictator Kim Jong II's grand scheme for world destruction. If that wasn't enough, Team America also has to put up with the various politically-minded celebrities from the Film Actors Guild... and the FAG's are almost as vicious as the terrorists.
Once again, Trey Parker has struck gold outside the world of South Park. As is the case with his other movies, that same style of humor that we've come to love from South Park is found throughout this film; however, also like his other movies, this one feels nothing like an episode of South Park. Sure, a few of the voices are from various South Park characters (which may or may not have been intentional... after all, it is the same guys doing the voices), but the movie never feels like an episode of South Park with new characters. Unlike certain other writers and directors, Trey (and Matt Stone) can both keep the style of humor that made them famous and bring something completely new to the table in their movies. Those who have watched South Park should pretty much know what to expect going in to this one; if you enjoy the humor and offensive jokes that South Park provides, you'll love this one, and if you hate those redeeming qualities of South Park... well, chances are pretty high that you'll probably hate this as well.
Another thing that's great about this is the fact that Trey doesn't side with any political group or organization... therefore, the liberals and the conservatives are both parodied in equal amounts. This movie definitely isn't sided towards either the blue or red states, though if you're easily offended and a strong supporter of either side, you may want to steer clear of this movie as both sides get brutally raked across the proverbial coals. While, as I just got through explaining, the liberals aren't treated any better or worse than the conservatives in the parody department, they certainly have the funniest scene going for them (or would that be against them?) in the form of Michael Moore. I'm not sure if the rumors about Trey and Matt being pissed off about Moore's deceptive use of their names in association with the cartoon found in Bowling For Columbine are true, or if they just picked him because he's an easy target (both are likely scenarios)... but whatever the reason, they really did a great job making his "character" out to be the complete moron, in what made for some of the better scenes of the movie. The celebrities that make up the FAG's (Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Helen Hunt, Matt Damon, Susan Sarandon, among others) also receive the heavy parody treatment... it very quickly becomes apparent what Trey and Matt's opinion of celebrities dealing in politics is, and those thoughts are captured wonderfully. Even some of the more popular films of recent years receive minor parody treatments; scenes from both The Matrix and Kill Bill make their way into the feature film.
Fans of South Park or any of Trey's other films certainly can't go wrong with this one. It's political without being preachy, it's offensive, it's crude, and most importantly, it's hilarious. Just try not to shed tears of laughter during Gary's speech about the dicks, pussies, and assholes of the world, and just try not to get that "America, Fuck Yeah" song stuck in your head... both feats are damned near impossible. 9/10.
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BuryMeAlive
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Posted: June 20, 2005 at 10:52am
Trey Parker and Matt Stone is the shit. But this movie was not, fun for the moment, but not much then that.
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dadarulz
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Posted: July 23, 2005 at 6:40am
It was pretty hilarious at the theater (I cried two times) but it was way less enjoyable the second time.
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Ginose
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Posted: December 31, 2005 at 8:15pm
This movie is funny as hell. I couldn't stop laughing! Only a person with absolutely NO connection to current events could dus-like this movie. Laugh a second movie. 9/10
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bluemeanie
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Posted: May 3, 2006 at 1:58am
I hated this film. Generally, I enjoy Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but this film just left me cold. I didn't find the writing either original or humorous, I thought they really didn't capitalize on the satire in making fun of most of the celebrities, and I just thought it was overall very disappointing. 3/10.
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Edd
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Posted: April 21, 2008 at 3:48pm
I loved the AIDS play.
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Mr. Mistoffelees
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Posted: April 21, 2008 at 4:43pm
Oh man this was a fun movie from beginning to end. There was a lot to be said for the songs and their meanings, the quick quips that you have to catch (he's heading southeast on bakalakadaka street!) and the utterly ridiculous threats from Joe. I give this one a 9/10.
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Lucid Dreams
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Posted: November 22, 2010 at 3:06am
Meh, not their best work, but I enjoyed most of it. 7/10
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