South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut - 1999

"South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut" - 1999
Dir. by Trey Parker - 1 hr. 21 min.

Official Trailer

by Clayton Hollifield

In the time since "South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut" hit theatres, it's become less uncommon for a TV show to spin off into a movie.  "Beavis & Butthead Do America" was ahead of "South Park" on this curve, but "South Park" did more with the change in format than any other film I can think of.  In retrospect, it might not seem as big of a deal, but at the time, "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were pretty much viewed as potty mouths, and not much else.  Sure, they were funny, but it had yet to be proven that their writing was anything more than a gleeful celebration of toilet humor and foul language.

And since that was the case, Parker and Stone rolled with that opinion, and upped the ante by creating a hard-R musical.  The boys of South Park (Kenny, Kyle, Stan, and Cartman) go see Terrance and Phillip's new movie, "Asses of Fire," itself being little more than a mash-up of farts and swearing.  The boys pick up a few new phrases, which quickly raises their parents' ire.  Instead of brushing it off, or reacting reasonably, the parents do the obvious: blame Canada.

This prompts an all-out war between the United States and Canada, once the United States takes custody of  Terrance and Phillip, with the intention of executing them.  If this is accomplished, Satan (and his lover, Saddam Hussein) will return to Earth, and rule over everyone.

This film is the point where Parker and Stone showed the ability to write with more depth and insight than most people would have expected.  They used their own battles with the MPAA, and turned it into a feature film.  "South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut" is a biting satire of parents who focus more energy on causes than on their own children, as well as the tendency to periodically overreact to "indecency."  But even more than that, this is a filthy, funny film.  The first forty minutes or so are flawless; the pacing is tight, there's one insanely funny song after another, and you'll never get the songs out of your head.  That's fine if you're humming the tune, but when you find yourself absentmindedly singing "Uncle Fucka" in public, you'll understand why censorship doesn't work.  You can't beat a good joke over a catchy hook.

If you're squeamish about language (or Satan having a gay relationship with Saddam Hussein), I can see why you'd have a problem with this film.  It's not one to watch around the kiddies, but then again, the message of the film is aimed at adults.  And what's a blue word or three-hundred between adults?  This is one of the funniest films I've ever seen, and it holds up just as well a decade later.  Watch "Kyle's Mom is a Bitch," and tell me I'm wrong.

5 / 5 - Blu-Ray