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#239 - Team America: World Police
Trey Parker, 2004
Follows the titular squad of elite American commandos as they try to stop acts of international terrorism by any means necessary.
It's been about a decade since I first saw Team America: World Police. It cracked my top 20 in a Top 100 thread I made back in 2005, then dropped to the 91-100 part of my next version of that list in 2013. Chances are it'll be off the list completely next time, but nostalgia is an unpredictable thing and will guarantee that Team America: World Police will always be a favourite in one way or another. Of course, that's neither here or there - let's see how well it holds up after a decade.
At the very least, despite the uncanniness that is part and parcel of marionette puppets, the puppets are of good enough quality to underscore much of the humour based around their limitations. There's also the pitch-perfect parodying of big-budget blockbusters, especially those made by the notorious Michael Bay. Everything from effects-heavy extravaganzas (and the film itself has the practical effects to back up its mockery) to awkwardly shoehorned romances are skewered not just by the inherent silliness of the puppets, but also the crackling yet immature dialogue. The film's humour also manages to hold up reasonably well - though there are aspects that do date the film pretty severely, they don't do much to make the film any less funny. Otherwise, it's about what you'd expect from the partnership of Trey Parker and Matt Stone - though I've learned in recent years not to take their work at face value and actually criticise their own attempts at criticism, I still find it amusing enough. The film does showcase their usual attempts at libertarian impartiality - though it's debatable as to how well their political views serve the film (or vice versa), on the surface it's still damned hilarious.
While Team America: World Police does edge closer to guilty pleasure territory with each passing year, I'm not sure it'll ever quite get there. There is some genuine quality underneath its incredibly fake and crass surface that still makes me think of it as a sincere favourite. Though both rating and ranking have dropped, it still manages to work on just about every level. An appropriately grandiose soundtrack, an extremely twisted but not too offensive sense of humour, and an impressive visual aesthetic all contribute to one of my favourite comedies of the 2000s.
Trey Parker, 2004
Follows the titular squad of elite American commandos as they try to stop acts of international terrorism by any means necessary.
It's been about a decade since I first saw Team America: World Police. It cracked my top 20 in a Top 100 thread I made back in 2005, then dropped to the 91-100 part of my next version of that list in 2013. Chances are it'll be off the list completely next time, but nostalgia is an unpredictable thing and will guarantee that Team America: World Police will always be a favourite in one way or another. Of course, that's neither here or there - let's see how well it holds up after a decade.
At the very least, despite the uncanniness that is part and parcel of marionette puppets, the puppets are of good enough quality to underscore much of the humour based around their limitations. There's also the pitch-perfect parodying of big-budget blockbusters, especially those made by the notorious Michael Bay. Everything from effects-heavy extravaganzas (and the film itself has the practical effects to back up its mockery) to awkwardly shoehorned romances are skewered not just by the inherent silliness of the puppets, but also the crackling yet immature dialogue. The film's humour also manages to hold up reasonably well - though there are aspects that do date the film pretty severely, they don't do much to make the film any less funny. Otherwise, it's about what you'd expect from the partnership of Trey Parker and Matt Stone - though I've learned in recent years not to take their work at face value and actually criticise their own attempts at criticism, I still find it amusing enough. The film does showcase their usual attempts at libertarian impartiality - though it's debatable as to how well their political views serve the film (or vice versa), on the surface it's still damned hilarious.
While Team America: World Police does edge closer to guilty pleasure territory with each passing year, I'm not sure it'll ever quite get there. There is some genuine quality underneath its incredibly fake and crass surface that still makes me think of it as a sincere favourite. Though both rating and ranking have dropped, it still manages to work on just about every level. An appropriately grandiose soundtrack, an extremely twisted but not too offensive sense of humour, and an impressive visual aesthetic all contribute to one of my favourite comedies of the 2000s.