Trey Parker and Matt Stone fans are on high alert for this weekend's release of "Team America: World Police." The creators of Comedy Central's hit cartoon "South Park" test the limits of tactlessness in their new comedy, crossing world politics with puppet sex.
But Parker and Stone conduct the onscreen magic necessary to make a puppet puke, leaving absolutely nothing to the audience's imagination.
The film, directed by Parker, tells the tale of a fictitious group of superhero puppets that call themselves Team America. Team America tries to get to the bottom of the next big terrorist attack and figure out who is responsible for the proliferation and deployment of weapons of mass destruction.
After a team member dies, Spottswoode, the head of intelligence, is forced to look for the best actor that he can find and he does so in Gary Johnston, an acclaimed Broadway performer. Johnston is to use his acting abilities to find out where the terrorists might strike next. However, he learns much too soon the harsh reality of mixing work with pleasure. Gary falls in love with another member of Team America and chaos breaks loose amongst the group and the outside world.
The group learns Kim Jong Il, the North Korean dictator, has plans of his own for world domination. This torrid situation sets up what might be the most dramatic ending in the history of puppetry.
Something that stuck out throughout the film was Parker and Stone's signature songwriting. Those who enjoyed the soundtrack in "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" will enjoy the music in "Team America: World Police" as well. The songs contained more than abundant obscenities and took cracks at some high profile people in Hollywood such as Ben Affleck and Michael Moore.
The most impressive aspect of the whole film was the realistic design of the puppets. Every character was a puppet and every place was a perfect model of the respective city. There were detailed mockups of New York City, Cairo and Paris. This display of aesthetic accuracy in both the puppets and cities made the picture that much more hilarious.
"Team America" has the unique quality that someone could enjoy it and be offended by it at the same time. Paris gets blown up. Stereotypical foreign accents are mocked. Even the topic of AIDS isn't left alone. Parker and Stone get away with making a mockery of an incredible array of issues.
Alec Baldwin, George Clooney, Susan Sarandon and Matt Damon all make puppet cameos. Baldwin was sarcastically made fun of in the film as being the "greatest actor of all time." Matt Damon spoke in third person repeatedly. This assembly of actors formed a group known as the Film Actors Guild, or F.A.G., which was led by Baldwin. No one got off easy.
The film did not hold back one bit. The ending may be the best part of the movie. Parker and Stone had an original idea and rolled with it. Anyone or anything that came to the creators' minds paid the price and added more fuel to their fire.
Even though many will view this film as offensive, the artistic value is something incredible in its own right. "Team America" is still pretty funny and may teach people a few new curse words and obscene gestures.
