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When my friends and I saw a preview
for this movie, by the creators of South Park, our first thought was: “We
must see that movie! It’s gonna rock!” Team America: World Police looked
like it would be a fabulous spectacle, sure to entertain and shock just as much as Trey
Parker and Matt Stone’s other endeavors have—and it did not disappoint.
Parker and Stone set out to create a stereotypical world based on how some
Americans think other parts of the world really are. Paris is full of street artists, the
children singing “Fere Jacques” in the streets while eating croissants; Cairo looks as if
it’s straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark; Panama looks like Mexico, only with
a canal. Their estimations are spot-on.
The story revolves around an
“elite” group of anti-terrorism specialists, each member with his or her own specialty.
There’s a martial arts expert, a born leader motivating-type, a psychologist, and an
empath. When the original “spy” member of the team is killed, they must find someone to
replace him. The group’s boss, Spotswood, recruits Gary Johnston, a Broadway actor, to
replace the fallen member. Gary must “act like a terrorist” to gain entry into a cell and
root out who has the Weapons of Mass Destruction. The movie follows the traditional
action movie equation, with tension between the new guy and another member, a romance
between the new guy and a hot female member of the team, and a big, over-the-top plot to
take over the world by the villain—in this case, Kim Jong-Il. Team America swoops into
each locale, wreaking havoc in pursuit of the terrorists and WMD. They stand over the
destruction, saying, “It’s all right! We got the terrorists! You’re safe!” It’s a
light-hearted poke at American foreign policy and at other world leaders—their take on
Kim Jong-Il is simply hilarious. There
are also “cameos” by various Hollywood actors
and personalities—none of which were authorized by the real people, of course. Stone and
Parker have made no secret about how much they hate actors, and I think they delight, in
their own way, in hanging many of them in effigy.
I’ve long held the
opinion that Parker and Stone are geniuses—often unjustly dismissed as a couple of
over-grown adolescents obsessed with cursing and potty humor. Their decision to make a
blockbuster Hollywood action film entirely using marionettes and miniature sets was, in
my opinion, brilliant. Some of the funniest parts of the movie come from watching the
puppets try to run, fight, and yes, even have sex. The sets are intricate, the explosions
and stunts are amazing considering the medium, and the dialogue is laugh-out-loud funny.
Make sure to watch the DVD’s special features, where you can view the
original trailers, see deleted/extended scenes, and watch how the movie came to fruition.
It’s fascinating to see how the puppets were created and manipulated by the puppeteers.
All in all, this was one of the best movies of last year—but not for the
faint of heart or the easily offended. Adults might think that it’s suitable for
children, since it involves puppets, but trust me—this one is strictly for grownups.
