Team America: World Police

Year: 2004

Grade: B

Country: USA

Director: Parker

Review

when i first saw the trailer to this film i thought it looked like a dumb film, and then the credits came up and i saw it was a parker/stone collaboration and my mind was changed instantly. actually, i still thought it looked dumb, but i had resolved to see it despite my first impression. it’s not nearly the genius that south park the movie is, but it’s a fine film on its own. first of all you should stay away from this film if you have any problem with racist jokes. there’s a lot of stereotyping in the film – americans are brash and arrogant, asians can’t pronounce words collectry, and arabs speak gibberish. i don’t personally have a problem with that, but be forewarned. one gripe i did have with the film is that while they were making fun of everyone (from alec baldwin to osama bin laden) they neglected the right wing wackos. it was a little disconcerting to see whack jobs like pat robertson, bill o’reilly and the like get a free pass while michael moore and janeane garofalo got raked over the coals a bit. i couldn’t quite figure that out. i’m down with making fun of michael moore and left-wingers so long as it’s balanced. maybe i’m hypocrite, or maybe i just expected more from the generally equitable south park creators. at any rate, the film had some brilliant moments, grew a little old by the end, but was worth watching once.

Watched in theater