FUNNIEST FILM OF THE YEAR!

I'll get right to the point, Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Team America: World Police is the funniest film I've seen this year, and one of the more hilarious movies I've ever seen, period!  Who'd have thought that a send-up of action movies that cleverly satirizes both America's military cock-swinging and the liberal Hollywood masses that hate it equally well, with puppets, could work so well?  The guy that was running the Press screening in Sacramento I attended chuckled after it was over, aware of my non-stop yukking throughout the film, and said, "Well, I know what YOU thought of the movie!"

Of course, if you like South Park, you'll without a doubt love the film.  But if you can appreciate a good laugh (or tons of them) you'll find something to love about Team America, too.  Taking the cue from the 60s puppet adventure shows (that used the patented "Super-Marionation" process) Team America manages to pull off an action packed comedy completely devoid of actual people.  It's a funny throwback to see marionettes dangling on strings giving better performances than the human cast of The Day After Tomorrow did.  Just as Parker and Stone are able to breathe life into shoddy construction paper cutouts in South Park, there's brilliant humor and biting commentary with these goofy puppets, as well.

The story involves a team of super-cops who all purport to have special talents to fight terrorism, but when they get into the thick of things, those talents pretty much mean blowing the fuck out of everything standing, living or dead.  In the opening sequence, while trying to shoot a few terrorists in Paris (who use authentic language like "Dirka dirka dirka, Mohammad Jihad!"), manage to destroy The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumph, and just about everything else.  It's a not so subtle jab at America's own real-life "Don't worry, we'll save you" attitude.

But unlike Fahrenheit 9/11, which relentlessly attacks our conservative leadership, the liberal "pussies" in the acting community are fair game as well.  A virtual who's who of today's hottest actors band together to use their talents to bring peace to the world in their own fashion.  And that means becoming unwitting pawns of North Korea's mad dictator Kim Jon Il in the process.  I'd love to be at the premieres watching the reactions of Matt Damon, Helen Hunt, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon (who are just a handful of the Hollywood elite within) as their puppet doppelgangers make them look like idiots.

It certainly brings up a good point as to why the media gives actors so much of a voice when it comes to speaking out about current events.  As if they have more to say about the war than you or I.  Many folks seem to think this is a misguided liberal-bashing movie (including Sean Penn, who isn't spared in this film), but I think they aren't used to a mainstream film that attacks BOTH sides.  If you've seen South Park, you know Parker and Stone are equal opportunity offenders.

The jokes never stop coming.  I won't tell you about any of them, because they're brilliant and sometimes surprising.  Some of them are ridiculously over the top and repulsive, but you're bound to find 10 or 20 things to laugh out loud at, no matter what level your humor sinks to.

And the underappreciated songwriting talents of Trey Parker click on all cylinders throughout the movie.  From Kim Jong Il singing, "I'm So Ronery" to the team's anthem, "America, FUCK YEAH!" the tunes are clever and side splitting.  It's a shame that the soundtrack doesn't come out until November 2nd, cause I'd love to buy it right now.

Anyway, believe me with this one, folks!  I'm ready to see it again!  Let me know what you think!

-Robert Berry
rberry@retrocrush.com

retroCRUSH RATING

FIVE out of FIVE MARTINI GLASSES

WATCH FOR THE TEAM AMERICA WORLD POLICE SOUNDTRACK COMING NOVEMBER 2nd!