Just saw Team America (1 Viewer)

[Kevin M]

quote:While comedy is subjective, I think those 2 guys were conditioned to laugh at every single line in the movie, and it just seemed sad/forced to me.
My point is that these kids are laughing at all the scatological "humor", and I doubt they are getting a lot of the subtext. Try listening to such snickering for the entire movie, it ain't fun.

Or they were stoned out of their minds. It would answer a few things now wouldn't it?

 

[Patrick Sun]

Hey now, I'm not the one saying you have to be stoned to really enjoy this movie.

I think Parker and Stone missed an opportunity:

Just after Gary is done proving his loyalty/trust, they should have had his hair "gelled" up a la "There's Something About Mary".

 

[Cory B]

quote:I mean Matt Stone was IN a Moore film (BFC). They are clearly not after him because he makes political satire. They went after him because he has become more party oriented and is aggressively going after a candidate far beyond just being a filmmaker.

Actually, I believe they stated they were pissed at Moore for inserting South Park-esque animation after the interview with Stone in BFC, making people think that Parker and Stone had done the segment for Moore.

 

[Jesse Blough]

"Actually, I believe they stated they were pissed at Moore for inserting South Park-esque animation after the interview with Stone in BFC, making people think that Parker and Stone had done the segment for Moore."



yes, I totally thought Parker and Stone did that animation since it comes RIGHT AFTER the segment about South Park. I didn't realize they didn't do it until just a few days ago. It's this kind of crap that makes me hate Moore's recent films. I wish he would go back to stuff like The Big One.

 

[Quentin]

I was also a teen in the '80's...and, I saw "Top Gun" a whole mess of times (but I saw "Aliens" more times!).



Ernest is right on one account - Parker and Stone (being of the same approximate generation) are riffing on '80's action films (more of the Golan/Globus and Canon variety than "Top Gun" - "Top Gun" didn't have commie sympathizers...just commies) and satirizing the hell out of them.



But, IMO, the reason the 'meaning' behind the humor isn't hitting everyone is twofold: 1) Parker and Stone really ARE annoyed by loudmouth liberal celebs who speak out. The truth of their beliefs seeps out a bit too much in the joke. 2) The film also satirizes Bruckheimer/Bay movies...which are practically a joke in themselves because of the lack of evolution they show from '80's action flicks ("Top Gun" is Bruckheimer). "Top Secret" satirizes espionage flicks by taking the cliches to the extreme. "Airplane" does the same with disaster flicks. But, "Team America" has to do this with a genre (action flicks of the '80's/'90's) that is STILL being taken to the extreme (but with a serious look on their face) by Bruckheimer/Bay.



I still think the movie is dang funny.

 

[Mark Leiter]

I have to say after seeing this movie yesterday evening that I was dissapointed in it. I just had a hard time getting into the dolls. This suprised me since I really like watching SP when I have the oppertunity to do so.



I will admit the Love scene, America....*** yeah, and the definition of there being only three types of people in the world made the price of admission worth while. There were some other fun parts there as well, but those were the highlights as far as I saw it.



I know that a good portrion of this movie was a satire of movies such as Top Gun, Independance Day etc. however, seeing obviously fake citys get blown up and seeing action sequences with obviously model planes, cars and the like just didn't come of as funny to me.



I wonder if having this type of humor stretched out over 2 hours is just a little too much. Maybe Stone and Parkers brand of comedy just works better for me in 1/2 hour doses.

 

[Ian_H]

quote:yes, I totally thought Parker and Stone did that animation since it comes RIGHT AFTER the segment about South Park. I didn't realize they didn't do it until just a few days ago. It's this kind of crap that makes me hate Moore's recent films. I wish he would go back to stuff like The Big One.

A lot of people have said this. I didn't think it was myself but that kind of manipulation in Moore's recent works has made me do more research on my own, which is a good thing IMO. The worst was in BFC when he spliced together two different Heston speeches and presented them as one. You can see Heston's tie change.



Saw on a Team America Yahoo article talk of an unrated DVD, hope it is true!!



--Ian

 

[Robert Anthony]

quote:No, they are mocking how "liberals" were treated in 80's action films

Actually, no, they've gone on record several times as far as their intention goes. the actors in this movie aren't there as a sort of symbol of how "liberals" were portrayed in 80's movies. They're there because, as they've said pretty explicitly--they HATE those actors for speaking up. That's basically the reason. SOME of em get a pass--the Matt Damon character is just goofy.



they justify it by saying they only go after people who abuse their celebrity to get up on the pulpit, and speak instead of using their art to send the message they want to send, which explains why they left Bruce Springsteen alone (their example)



...except that kind of ignores the fact they crap on Toby Keith (who I think SHOULD be crapped on, I can't STAND that guy's music--hell, I wrote an article about that jackass last year) with their parody of his song--and he uses his music to express himself, not speeches. Same with Michael Moore, who has been using both books AND movies to express himself, although he does give speeches as well. There's some contradictions in the excuse they give, which pretty much leads back to their earlier statement--they honestly just dont' like most of the actors they're crapping on.



There's no real deeper meaning than that as far as the actor-hate goes. I can see why you'd want to see it, but they've actually gone on record themselves as saying that part of the movie is pretty straightforward.



Which is fine, because the actor-hate part isn't so much a focus of the movie as the bruckheimer spoofing is. It's just that they did both kinda "blah."

 

[Seth Paxton]

Maybe you are right and we don't agree. I agree that a substantial portion of the film is a parody of those types of action films, which frankly are not limited to production in the 80's (a point made by many people). But based on the recent SP episode I cited in which they point out the strengths and weaknesses of both sides I'd say it was also based on making fun of more current situations.

Heck, the reused "Montage" song specifically cites ROCKY as one film its joking about..."Even Rocky had a montage". They may have written it for SP but obviously they felt that sort of joke was appropriate for this film as well. Of course that episode was making fun of mostly 80's teen comedy (very specifically it made fun of Cusak films from that era), but again the features of those films were not limite to that period.

And a person might point out that the clear Thunderbirds reference at the center of it all is definitely not an 80's gag.

For all the film's 80-ness it also lacks any reference to the Russians or really any counter-espionage or nuke missle attacks, etc. I think you are equating the America gung-ho action image with the 80's, when in fact it extends far beyond that in both directions.

As an anchor point, yes. As an era that was clearly marked by such one-sidedness, yes. But based on what Matt and Trey have made fun of in all other arenas I'd say that their hard attacks against the left aren't just some over-the-top joke actually making fun of the right and how it portrayed the left in the 80's. These guys have stood behind such views on many other occassions, mocking the false stands that appear from the rich, elite left as harshly as anything they attack from the right.

IMO, they equate the right with that 80's macho film flag waving ideal of the Reagan era. But they equate the left with the feel good, let's not hurt anyone, touchy-feely Oprah era. And on a regular basis they point out the flaws of being one-sided with either view.


I could follow your lead and say that they really aren't making fun of the right which is why its so "subtle", and in fact are making fun of how the left portrays the right in the 90's as gun-slinging cowboys with no respect for other cultures. Maybe the jokes in both cases are just what they are, Matt and Trey making fun of those sides by amplifying their faults in parody...all placed within a Top Gun or Armageddon setting.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Now less suprisingly I totally agree with Quentin's post just up the page (#105).

 

[Jason_Els]

quote:Seriously, they were laughing at every utterance of dialogue for the entire movie. Nothing is *that* funny.

Recreational chemicals can have that effect.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Okay, so I describe some of the scenes from this movie with co-workers, and obviously the setup of the scenes is funny, because one guy had to contend with stuff coming out of his nose from laughing heartily. I think the novelty of the scenes is funny, but it works better in smaller doses, as Mark L. suggests as well.

 

[Pete-D]

Yeah, I think it might have been better if the movie was about 10 minutes shorter. Like the South Park movie it becomes almost exhausting to watch because there's so many jokes.



Some of the stuff doesn't even have tork on any type of deep level anyway, I mean I have to admit it's just funny when you see a puppet Korean dicator telling a blonde woman to "shut the f--k up". It's just so ridiculous it's hard to take all that seriousry ... err, seriously

.



I'm surprised they didn't grill on Johnny Depp for his comments last year.



To be fair to actors, a lot of times the journalists will goad them into politically loaded questions and they're simply just responding with their honest opinion.

 

[Steve_AS]

Really, Will, is it your impression that Hollywood liberals talking politics get *anything like* a free pass in our culture? Come on! That's sheer angry-conservative-guy talk. Every time one of them speaks up, you can be *sure* there a guy like you taking them down in some public forum. That's why I said it's an easy target. Hollywood liberals talking politics were *already* figures of derision in much of our media culture. Including of course on Comedy Central's own 'South Park', where Streisand & Co had already been eviscerated.



Parker and Stone appear to be libertarians, who have been more or less even-handed in their bashing of both political sides. They did after all create 'That's My Bush'. But the only justification I've seen then give for the focus of their new flick seems quite inane -- something to the effect that Sean Penn spouting political bullshit was just as bad as George Bush doing same, and that's why they were inspired to go after the Hollylibs. Apparently the fact that Bush actually, like, *runs the country*, whereas Alec Baldwin and Tim Robbins do not, escaped them. It's the sort of dumbass rationale I'd expect from a pair of 15-year olds, not putative adults. Or from people who have just been in and around Hollywood for too long. ( I read this in a brief interview conducted in some mag I was perusing on the stands this weekend...so if you want the cite, you'll have to wait)

 

[Steve_AS]

quote: Susan Sarandon's talent is fading with age

Except, it's not. That zinger was just gratuitoustly nasty.

 

[Steve_AS]

quote:"But yeah they are harping on celebs for voicing their opinions as well."



No, they are mocking how "liberals" were treated in 80's action films and in (let's be honest) right-wing books like Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan novels. It is almost too-perfect a satire on 80's action cinema...so perfect a lot of people are missing the joke.

Nice try, but I think it's pretty clear from South Park episodes and their utterances to the press, that they simply find politically outspoken actors to be ridiculous, period. (Makes one wonder why the current governor of California got a pass, though).

 

[ThomasC]

quote:Makes one wonder why the current governor of California got a pass, though

Because he *is* a politician.

 

[RobertR]

quote:Makes one wonder why the current governor of California got a pass, though

Arnold has never taken himself too seriously. He poked fun at himself in films such as Last Action Hero, which helps to defuse potential satire. I think it's the tone of an opinion that makes the difference, not the fact that opinion is being expressed.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Also, Parker and Stone stated in this month's Premiere (Tom Hanks on the cover) that TA was their take on the big Bruckheimer blockbuster action films. Whatever 80's slant the viewer sees probably due to whatever baggage the viewer brings to the theater.

 

[WillG]

quote:Really, Will, is it your impression that Hollywood liberals talking politics get *anything like* a free pass in our culture? Come on! That's sheer angry-conservative-guy talk. Every time one of them speaks up, you can be *sure* there a guy like you taking them down in some public forum. That's why I said it's an easy target. Hollywood liberals talking politics were *already* figures of derision in much of our media culture. Including of course on Comedy Central's own 'South Park', where Streisand & Co had already been eviscerated.

I wasn't necessairly talking about Society in general. I was refering more to material that comes out of Hollywood. South Park does it, but it's Parker and Stone's show, so that's a moot point. I don't see much else besides that. Perhaps I'm missing something



I'm not trying to sound angry, or anything like that. But, if you do lean right, your beliefs do get hammered in the entertainment industry to a disproportionate degree so I just found certain aspects of the film refreshing. I just did not want to put too fine a point on it.