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Remember when South Park seemed like the coolest, freshest thing on television? I myself got into it around 2012, and what better time to get into South Park than when you're 13 years old? Keep in mind, this was before the likes of Rick and Morty existed, and I hadn't known about either Archer or Family Guy at that time, so the only thing I had to compare it to were the Simpsons. And even that was a stretch - South Park was like the perfect piece of entertainment, tailor-made for my teenage sensibilities. The episodes I first saw on television were the show's last real flashes of quality: Fatbeard, Poor and Stupid, Scrotie McBoogerballs, and so on. I would later catch up with its true greatest hits, and of course, the movie, on the internet.
What you gotta understand about South Park is that you can divide its run into 4 parts:
-The humble beginnings, when the show struggled to find an identity besides ''the cartoon that swears''
-The golden age, when the show had perfected its shtick and ushered in some of its best episodes, the first of which being Osama Bin Laden has Farty Pants.
-The age of decline, when it seemed to be running out of steam, and started using politics and pop culture as a crutch. It kicked off around that Fishsticks episode.
-The disgrace you see today, which started with the introduction of PC Principal.
With that considered, where does the movie fall in? It was made in 1999, so that puts it firmly in the ''humble beginnings'' era, and it shows. Though it's the first time South Park was animated on a computer rather than by hand, the look is still very choppy and quaint. That's the best way I can describe it as a fan - quaint. Not just the look, but how Butters is just a background character, how it's about Stan building up the confidence to ask out Wendy, how Mr. Garrison is still using Mr. Hat, and most of all, how it's fully aware of its reputation as ''the cartoon that swears''. In fact, it's what drives the whole plot.
To my knowledge, this film is the first time South Park got full-on political. The story is that the boys learn to swear from a Terrance and Phillip movie, and it drives Kyle's mom into a frenzy which inadvertedly brings about a war between America and Canada. No doubt addressing whatever controversy the show might've stirred up, the message is clear-as-day anti-censorship stuff, but there's some cues within the music numbers that hint at a more complex opinion on Matt and Trey's part. For example, the opening song ''Mountain Town'' contains the verse ''Because movies teach us what our parents don't have time to say'', and Kyle's mom's number ''Blame Canada'' ends on the verse ''We must blame them and cause a fuss before somebody thinks of blaming us.''. It's very basic delivery, but this was before they really got into social commentary, and I appreciate how they just say what they mean upfront.
A lot of the humour is also very quaint, 20th century South Park. For the most part, that's a good thing. You gotta love how unapologetically dumb it is. When I was in 8th grade, that classroom swearing scene knocked me dead. On the other hand, some jokes can seem very basic by today's standards, e.g.
''What's the password?''
''Bacon?''
''Ok, you're in.''
The best parts of the film, both in terms of comedy and in general, are the music numbers. Matt and Trey are unironically great musicians. I listen to South Park music numbers like I listen to Primus. Big Gay Al's ''I'm Super'', the boys' ''What would Brian Boitano do?'' and Satan's ''Up There'' are super catchy and can be played over and over again, ''Blame Canada'' was a perfect way to introduce Sheila as a plot element, and you can only imagine how hard I laughed at ''Uncle Fucca'' and ''Kyle's mom is a bitch''.
The one area where I have to knock the film is in the story. Stan's romance with Wendy was pretty uninteresting, and until I started writing this review, I actually forgot Saddam Hussein was in the film. The conflict between Kyle's mom and Canada was pretty entertaining, but the other stories feel like placeholders. Completely forgettable.
You can argue that this kind of film doesn't need an amazing story, and I'd agree it's not 100% essential, but it is just a nice thing to have. I'd argue that, for example, Beavis and Butthead do America wouldn't be as good if the parts with Muddy and Dallas weren't so interesting.
So, to conclude, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut isn't the greatest material South Park has to offer, but there's certainly something to like here, from its great music numbers to its dirty humour. I might be blinded by nostalgia, but I say if you can get into the mindset of a 13-year-old, you'll love it. If not, you'll just like it.
South Park, Bigger, Longer and Uncut
Remember when South Park seemed like the coolest, freshest thing on television? I myself got into it around 2012, and what better time to get into South Park than when you're 13 years old? Keep in mind, this was before the likes of Rick and Morty existed, and I hadn't known about either Archer or Family Guy at that time, so the only thing I had to compare it to were the Simpsons. And even that was a stretch - South Park was like the perfect piece of entertainment, tailor-made for my teenage sensibilities. The episodes I first saw on television were the show's last real flashes of quality: Fatbeard, Poor and Stupid, Scrotie McBoogerballs, and so on. I would later catch up with its true greatest hits, and of course, the movie, on the internet.
What you gotta understand about South Park is that you can divide its run into 4 parts:
-The humble beginnings, when the show struggled to find an identity besides ''the cartoon that swears''
-The golden age, when the show had perfected its shtick and ushered in some of its best episodes, the first of which being Osama Bin Laden has Farty Pants.
-The age of decline, when it seemed to be running out of steam, and started using politics and pop culture as a crutch. It kicked off around that Fishsticks episode.
-The disgrace you see today, which started with the introduction of PC Principal.
With that considered, where does the movie fall in? It was made in 1999, so that puts it firmly in the ''humble beginnings'' era, and it shows. Though it's the first time South Park was animated on a computer rather than by hand, the look is still very choppy and quaint. That's the best way I can describe it as a fan - quaint. Not just the look, but how Butters is just a background character, how it's about Stan building up the confidence to ask out Wendy, how Mr. Garrison is still using Mr. Hat, and most of all, how it's fully aware of its reputation as ''the cartoon that swears''. In fact, it's what drives the whole plot.
To my knowledge, this film is the first time South Park got full-on political. The story is that the boys learn to swear from a Terrance and Phillip movie, and it drives Kyle's mom into a frenzy which inadvertedly brings about a war between America and Canada. No doubt addressing whatever controversy the show might've stirred up, the message is clear-as-day anti-censorship stuff, but there's some cues within the music numbers that hint at a more complex opinion on Matt and Trey's part. For example, the opening song ''Mountain Town'' contains the verse ''Because movies teach us what our parents don't have time to say'', and Kyle's mom's number ''Blame Canada'' ends on the verse ''We must blame them and cause a fuss before somebody thinks of blaming us.''. It's very basic delivery, but this was before they really got into social commentary, and I appreciate how they just say what they mean upfront.
A lot of the humour is also very quaint, 20th century South Park. For the most part, that's a good thing. You gotta love how unapologetically dumb it is. When I was in 8th grade, that classroom swearing scene knocked me dead. On the other hand, some jokes can seem very basic by today's standards, e.g.
''What's the password?''
''Bacon?''
''Ok, you're in.''
The best parts of the film, both in terms of comedy and in general, are the music numbers. Matt and Trey are unironically great musicians. I listen to South Park music numbers like I listen to Primus. Big Gay Al's ''I'm Super'', the boys' ''What would Brian Boitano do?'' and Satan's ''Up There'' are super catchy and can be played over and over again, ''Blame Canada'' was a perfect way to introduce Sheila as a plot element, and you can only imagine how hard I laughed at ''Uncle Fucca'' and ''Kyle's mom is a bitch''.
The one area where I have to knock the film is in the story. Stan's romance with Wendy was pretty uninteresting, and until I started writing this review, I actually forgot Saddam Hussein was in the film. The conflict between Kyle's mom and Canada was pretty entertaining, but the other stories feel like placeholders. Completely forgettable.
You can argue that this kind of film doesn't need an amazing story, and I'd agree it's not 100% essential, but it is just a nice thing to have. I'd argue that, for example, Beavis and Butthead do America wouldn't be as good if the parts with Muddy and Dallas weren't so interesting.
So, to conclude, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut isn't the greatest material South Park has to offer, but there's certainly something to like here, from its great music numbers to its dirty humour. I might be blinded by nostalgia, but I say if you can get into the mindset of a 13-year-old, you'll love it. If not, you'll just like it.