Fri. October 15, 2004
Who would have thought that marionettes could emote? The team that brought us “South Park” – Matt Stone and Trey Parker – are back in the satirical spotlight with “Team America: World Police.” The movie is funny – in many cases, just absolutely hysterical in its callous equanimity as it sarcastically sends up the basest follies of humanity: physical, political, and egotistical. The puppetry is remarkably detailed, the artistry intense; and despite some severe weaknesses, the film will no doubt be a favorite of “South Park” aficionados and the politically disenfranchised alike.
The story follows a group of American commandoes as they race from their headquarters in Mount Rushmore on missions determined to track down and kill enemies of freedom. They emerge, ala the Thunderbirds, in aircraft to perform heroic deeds. Unfortunately, their deeds have an alarming tendency to wreak havoc on the cultural and physical landscapes of the countries they mean to rescue – France, of course, the initial benefactor of their questionable antics, with Egypt and North Korea not far behind. And as they hunt down nemesis Kim Jong II (what ever happened to bin Laden?) with their stirring theme song as counterpoint (it goes: “America, fuck yeah!”) and their commander Spottswoode in determined control (he believes wholeheartedly that it’s a sign of dedication to “go down” for one’s country), they spare no efforts to save the world.
You would think, from the trailers, that “Team America” is a satirical statement on terrorism; and its subtitle “World Police” along with the hyperactivity of the team’s egoism bears out the top side of that intent. But somewhere along the way, Stone and Parker delivered less an indictment of the Bush administration’s arrogant cowboy-ish foreign policy… and more a statement on the vanity of American culture.
It’s most evident in the continued string of liberal-minded movie stars they lambaste – in this film, Alec Baldwin, Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Janeane Garofalo, and Tim Robbins. In the world of “Team America,” this cadre of artists belongs to the “Film Actors Guild” – F.A.G. The film also features a pastiche of Broadway’s “Rent” in which the musical’s showstopping anthem has been replaced with a song called “Everyone has AIDS.” There is rampant homophobia here for sure… and yet I firmly believe that Parker and Stone are deriding the culture of fame, not the culture of gays. At once they mock the powers that sent America into the world on our (arguably hopeless) mission to police it, and at the same time they jeer those who stand against the policies created therein. We are left to stare at the commonalities, and not the political or moral differences, between these two bodies – because it is America, in this picture, that wars against itself. A more dismal (if potent) statement is rarely found in such a dichotic format.
When the film is funny, it’s downright hysterical. A scene in which two of the marionettes have sex in every conceivable position will have you rolling, and the simple sight gags – including a vomit-fest that will go down in history – are delightfully wicked. The “South Park” team is less funny, however, when they take the film into the realm of personal vendetta, as when they sneer at both Moore and Penn (both men who caused affront to the “South Park” team at one time or another). And the real weakness of the film is its lack of a satirical focus that resonates with the critical issues of today; its political fence-sitting undermines what strengths it has. The film is effective in its ability to make us laugh… but in the end, the tremendous effort of bringing it to the screen never pays off by galvanizing its profanities into its own worthwhile mission.
F*ck yeah.
Related: Win a Team America Nerf Missle
This article originally appeared on EdgeBoston.com. Republished with permission.
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