Just saw Team America (1 Viewer)

[Robert Anthony]

well, if the movie is failing to make you laugh, you gotta move onto the other aspects, yunno?



I'm not so sure the fact Puppets are in it automatically means it shouldn't be analyzed as much as we analyze any other movie, animated, SFX-fest or otherwise.

 

[Brian_J]

quote:But in this case, Matt and Trey have basically spent an entire movie at least partially crapping on other people for doing the exact thing they're doing by making this movie. And that's a joke they missed. badly. They're taking themselves too seriously, I think.

You are really bending over like a pretzel to make this claim. How exactly can people who make a movie about puppets which simultaneously lampoons Hollywood, Washington, the Middle East and North Korea be taking itself too seriously?



Brian

 

[Robert Anthony]

quote:You are really bending over like a pretzel to make this claim.

I don't think so. read some recent interviews with these guys. Like i've said, they've always presumed to stand on a pedestal of intellectual superiority in their comedy--it's what gives a lot of the funny it's bite. And most of the time, I appreciate it. It's just this time the comedy doesn't work, so what you're left with is their failed satirical elements, and then you've got to look at the statements by themselves, and it's obvious that sense of intellectual superiority is now overinflated.



It's a misstep, that's all.



I'm not saying the MOVIE takes itself too seriously. I'm saying the faults of the movie are a result of the CREATORS taking themselves too seriously THIS TIME OUT. That's all.

 

[Pete-D]

I enjoy South Park, but I don't agree with the "actors should shut up about politics", becauase it could easily be stretched to say "well animators should just shut up and make cartoons for kids".



That said I do think Team America looks funny, but I'm wary of plucking down $10 to see it at the theater. I really haven't found any of their non-South Park stuff to be funny (Orgazmo, BASEketball, or Where's My Bush).

 

[Jeff Gatie]

quote:I'm not saying the MOVIE takes itself too seriously. I'm saying the faults of the movie are a result of the CREATORS taking themselves too seriously THIS TIME OUT. That's all.

Maybe the critics are the ones taking it too seriously. I sense from some of the critics that a few sacred cows (*cough-celebrityactivistsspeakingoutaboutwar-cough*) are slaughtered, butchered and put in the meat window by Matt and Trey.



C'mon. Funny is funny, and Barbara "holier-than-thou" Streisand getting blown to pieces of puppet goo is fricken' funny! The only time it ceases being funny is if you take what is being lampooned too seriously and begin to take personal offense. If this is the case, it states more about the offended than it does about the offendee. Matt and Trey speak a lot of truth to both sides of the aisle and to dismiss a portion of their work because it hits too close to home is close minded. The best of satire does not amuse, it bites, and that bite is what requires us to turn the eye inward if we really want to be entertained. Well, at least more entertained than we would be by listening to some actor or pop star drone on about their "feelings".

 

[TheLongshot]

quote:They've always crapped on Hollywood types that take themselves too seriously.

To be honest, they crap on anyone who takes themselves too seriously. I'm sure they'd crap on Ebert and Wells for taking their movie too seriously, to try to politicize a movie where that isn't the point. The more I read about the film, the more I think that the political aspects of the film aren't there nearly as much as some of us thought when we first heard about this film.



I think it is just that everyone gets uptight in an election year, particularly when opinion is so divided, and that there have been so much taking sides in the media as well.



I'm still looking forward to seeing it, and I probably will laugh my ass off.



Jason

 

[Pete-D]

In a way people love to snub their nose down at Hollywood (politicians especailly), but really they're all in line every Friday to see whatever new movie is opening.



The place that Hollywood has in society is quite an interesting one. In one way they yield an incredible amount of power because pop culture is really now replacing "culture".



On the other hand, Hollywood can be treated like a step child to be thrown away when it goes against the grain.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

quote:On the other hand, Hollywood can be treated like a step child to be thrown away when it goes against the grain.

Just like Matt and Trey, except I think they revel in it, unlike the average hollywood type who goes into convulsions after one bad review (or write nasty, profanity laced letters to artists they formerly liked right up until the artists target them).

 

[Robert Anthony]

I'm not dismissing the work because it hits too close to home. that's a weird little strawman that I dont' think you can pull out of my complaints. I'm dismissing their failures in this movie because they didn't make me laugh. There are parts of the movie that are very funny, as I've already admitted, but they're far outnumbered by old gags not made funnier, and new gags that don't have any real meat to them. It ceased to be funny to me because it simply wasn't well done, not because they're tipping over sacred cows I hold dear. All I'm doing is trying to give my opinion as to WHY they failed.

To me, this is more like when their mentors, The Zucker Bros, turned out "Top Secret." This is their "Top Secret" to me. Nice little curiosity, but not them hitting like they could and should be.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

quote:that's a weird little strawman that I dont' think you can pull out of my complaints.

Actually, I was not talking about you, just critics in general.

 

[Robert Anthony]

My bad. Sorry man.

 

[Pete-D]

Just like Matt and Trey, except I think they revel in it, unlike the average hollywood type who goes into convulsions after one bad review (or write nasty, profanity laced letters to artists they formerly liked right up until the artists target them).





In a way people basically make celebrities to maintain the "high school system" ... in high school there's always the popular kids, but the other kids revel in obsessing about the popular kids or making fun of them ... the celebrity culture over here has sort of warped into a twisted version of it.



People pretend to hate it, but in a way it makes them feel comfortable. Then ten minutes later they'll talk about how hyped they are to watch the next Mission: Impossible or something like that.



The thing is though I feel sometimes it gets out of hand. If you say you live in Los Angeles (which I did for two years), people look at you like you've ventured to some alien planet or something.



There are hard working (gasp!) regular joes in Hollywood too.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

quote:My bad. Sorry man.

No problem. To be honest, I was specifically talking about Ebert's comments. I think we all know his take on the film may have something to do with a few "cows" he holds near and dear to his heart. Sean Penn, too!

Edit: Just to make sure nobody thinks I am a hypocrite myself - I tend to lean to the right and I thought "That's My Bush" was hysterical. I don't mind my cows skewered, as long as you barbecue it afterwards!

 

[Alex Spindler]

Oddly, I actually like Top Secret more than Airplane (although it's a horse race that often flip flops positions).

Perhaps I've been lax on my South Park viewing to not be disappointed by the film, but I found it extremely funny and well crafted in just about every way.

There are some spoilers, but as this is a discussion of the film on release day, I'd think it would be okay.


I found their use of the Hollywood actors to be somewhat funny to begin with, but when they twisted the plot around to where the Hollywood Film Actor's Guild actually worked for Kim-Jong, I was dying. It was such a perverse take on the 'If you're against (Team) America's actions, then you must be with the Terrorists' that I couldn't help but be impressed. I found they massive collateral damage caused by Team America in the course of helping people to be also very well done. Nothing like seeing the ancient landmarks blown away to a casual remark of 'Damn, missed' to have me rolling.

That isn't even to touch on the great stuff they were doing with the fact that they were using puppets. Their excellent emphasis of the limits of puppeteering (puppet show put on by a puppet, dancing, kung fu fighting) was hilariously topped by their extremely explicit sex scene. If they just bumped two puppets together, it wouldn't have been funny. The genius is to have them work so hard to emulate something like that when they still hop around when they walk. That they didn't skimp in the last on the explosions and blood while still having strings be obvious was icing on the cake.

I also thought their 'What would Jerry Bruckheimer do?' mentality to crafting the film was also genius. Making their hero be a 'I'm the best ____ in the world' (in the mold of Bruce Willis' best driller, Nic Cage's best chemical weapons expert) and make it acting was so good, as was their follow through in the movie attesting to his superior 'skill'. I've always wanted to make a movie where someone is remarked to call for the 'Best Accountant in the World' and have him say, "If you don't know your actuarial tables, you're as good as dead".


I guess I just have a hard time faulting them for making a shoddy movie when they took what looks like a cheap and silly concept (puppet movie) and advance it to a higher level. I didn't find it to be a rehash of the South Park series either because of how they geared everything in the movie towards what I found to be a funny and fresh perspective. Having Alec Baldwin as the greatest actor in the world, twisting his goals so he works for a North Korean dictator, having an acting standoff to decide the fate of the world, and then commenting on how much he sucks during the credits is hard to beat in my book.

 

[David Galindo]

Just saw it, and I liked it. Its much better than the South Park movie, and the sets are incredible. Very funny humor, and a hilarious speech by the guy in the bar (the one about the 3 kinds of people).

/ of 4

 

[Steve_AS]

I agree to an extent with Robert Anthony, in that I thought it was mostly *very funny*, but not as funny or clever as the South Park movie. Not sure it will hold up as well to repeat viewings. One big diff is that the songs here don't really touch the brilliance of the stuff on the previous movie...or even the show. Parts of it also dragged a bit -- could maybe have been cut by 10 minutes or so.



Then there's Parker & Stone's obsession with taking down Hollywood liberals. Not only is that an easy, lazy target, it seems rather too 'inside' to me, and not enough to run a movie on. It's not exactly a cutting-edge target...it's rather trivial, even. Even though P&S have a history of skewering the Baldwins, Streisand, etc, I just don't think many people outside of L.A. give quite *that much* of a shit what that crowd says, as P&S appear to. Maybe they've been in Hollywood too long, and think it's the whole world. Nor do I think it will date well, for that reason. Will anyone even *know* who Jeanine Garofalo is , in 20 yrs time?



Some reviewers I've seen -- Hank Stuyver in the Washington Post, for example, who can be pretty funny himself --found the satire a little too lenient on the conservative side, and a little too dependent on 'fag' and ethnic jokes. For a fact, you don't see any recognizable Republicans or conservatives getting reamed in this one, the way for example Michael Moore is. And I've actually read fretting on the left that people will *embrace* the jingoism rather than laugh at it. Personally I think any American who didn't get the *joke* of a song with a chorus that goes 'America -- FUCK YEAH!!" is a hopeless idiot, and I'd hate to have to worry about *them*. I also don't imagine P&S's political 'insights' really hold up to sustained critique, and I'd hope that they'd be the first to agree.




Btw, I don't recall seen Streisand blown up in this movie, or even appearing in it -- though Helen Hunt and Susan Sarandon do figure prominently.

Finally, I had to wonder and laugh when I think of what "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il, who is a *huge* movie buff, will make of this!

 

[Laurence Price]

quote: Nor do I think it will date well, for that reason. Will anyone even *know* who Jeanine Garofalo is , in 20 yrs time?

I think Matt and Trey are well aware of this. Team America was conceived with the notion and intention of lampooning pop culture and current world and political issues (War on Terror, outspoken liberal actors etc.). The chances are slim that this movie could look or be perceived as fresh or even that relevant anyway if critics were to reflect on it 20 years from now. The movie will definitely date poorly but, that does not matter in the long run because the impact and effect is supposed to occur immediately and not gradually over a long period of time.



Matt and Trey most likely did not set out to produce a movie that would necessarily endure throughout generations with ease. Instead they chose to create a controversial film that would get instant publicity and grab the attention of the media and public while at the same time delivering the hearty laughs and outrageous humor that we have all become familiar with that is associated with the creators of South Park.

I hate to admit it but, even the classic spoof Airplane!, though still hilarious, is now dated.

 

[ThomasC]

There were some funny moments, but for the most part, this movie was a disappointment. I love South Park and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

:star:1/2

 

[WillG]

quote:Some reviewers I've seen -- Hank Stuyver in the Washington Post, for example, who can be pretty funny himself --found the satire a little too lenient on the conservative side

So what, I say. Let the conservatives have this one. They get hammered everwhere else in the industry. The Left got the biggest documentary of all time and now, one of the biggest DVDs of all time. I just wish the critics would give it a rest where something out of Hollywood might be "gasp!" slighly right leaning.

quote:Then there's Parker & Stone's obsession with taking down Hollywood liberals. Not only is that an easy, lazy target, it seems rather too 'inside' to me

Come one, it might be an easy target but they put themselves out there for it and frankly, they have been getting off criminally easy. When was the last time anyone saw something out of Hollywood that has criticized the outspoken left leaning celebrities? Finally something comes along that has the balls to give some comeuppance and proclaim that these celebs may not be quite the experts on govenment that they like to think they are. I think many parts of the film were brilliant.

 

[Ernest Rister]

I was in pain I was laughing so hard. Funniest movie I've seen in a theater in a long, long time.