With rumours abounding that South Park the TV series is on the wane, not reaching the giddily brilliant heights of the first series and losing viewers at an alarming rate, the concept of stretching it to feature length is one to be greeted with caution.
But the outcome is surprisingly agreeable. In its fun’n’filthy feature-length form, it provides more than enough choice comic moments to suggest that movies might be the way forward for this particular franchise. And of course a theatrical outing offers flexibility for a string of gags guaranteed to offend almost every audience member at some point. And swearing. Lashings of it.
It’s the latter that forms the basis of the plot, as Kyle, Stan, Cartman and Kenny, having been’influenced’ by the movie debut of flatulent Canadian comedy duo Terrence And Phillip, begin turning the air blue, much to the annoyance of their folks. Soon Kyle’s mom launches an anti-Canada campaign which culminates in the arrest of the twosome on national TV and, subsequently, Canada going to war with its American cousins. Meanwhile Kenny, having suffered the inevitably painful death, finally gets his kit off.
Creators Parker and Stone use their clever plot to take prescient sideswipes at everything from censorship and parental control to internet porn and Jar Jar Binks, interlaced with a string of perky, hilarious musical numbers which could have come straight off the set of a Disney movie. Like the TV series, when it works (Cartman’s anti-swearing V-chip implant, a fabulous ER send-up featuring the voice of George Clooney), it’s outstanding stuff. However, like a lot of scatological humour, it suffers from a hit-and-miss quality; a subplot featuring Satan and Saddam Hussein as lovers is dragged out far too long, while the absence of key show characters (Jesus, Mr. Hankey, Pip the English kid, etc.) is sorely noticeable.
Like the creators’ previous movie outings BASEketball and Orgazmo, South Park movie will annoy and delight in equal measures, before vanishing from memory within seconds of the closing credits. As such it’s best enjoyed late at night surrounded by a large group of show devotees. Preferably ones who know all the words to Kyle’s Mom’s A Bitch.
