I saw TEAM AMERICA last weekend...

[Kid_A]

Was it funny? Yes.

Was it the "Funniest Movie Of The Year"? Hell no, that was ANCHORMAN.

Was it offensive? Hell yes.

Was I offended? Hell no.

This movie was funny in the same way that "The Onion" is funny. It goes after EVERYONE, and by doing so, doesn't really offend anyone (or at least it shouldn't). I've heard people on this site complain about how it exclusively mocks liberals while ignoring conservatives. I ask them: What movie were you watching?

Yes, the movie mercilessly ridicules activist celebrities (Michael Moore blows up Mount Rushmore), but the ridicule is so over-the-top that I can't really be offended. And seeing a Danny Glover puppet get eaten by a cat is hilarious.

But the movie also targets conservatives, albeit not as directly. The heroes of the movie are caricatures of the gung-ho, pro-war people who make America look bad through their indifference to the damage they cause in fighting terrorism. The team's theme song is "America (Fuck Yeah!)", and if I ever meet a person who thinks the guys who wrote that song are on their side then I'm gonna punch them in the face. Hard.

The point of this movie was to piss off EVERYONE, so it really doesn't make much sense to get all that pissed off. Plus, anyone who leaves the theater and still takes the movie seriously enough to even BE offended is a fucking moron.

[trotsky]

1. Completely agree.

I saw it last weekend and laughed my ass off at some scenes. The opening scene in Paris clearly mocks the "blow 'em all up" attitude that the right wing is in love with.

[lynx rufus]

2. it sounds like an awful movie, more irritating than anything

moreover, this is no time to be critical of Democrats in any way shape
or form.

[FunBobbyMucha]

5. Oh please.

Hmm, who else can I think of that shrouds himself with only adoration, so as to not even give off the impression of dissent?

Oh, that's right, the Chimp.

About the movie, you either like Trey and Matt or you don't. I think they're funny as hell, and don't get my kulots in a bunch about it. I don't think they're any worse on the Left than The Daily Show is (Jon Stewart coined the Kerry campaign slogan "Do Not Resuscitate"), and I think the general feel of the movie, like most of South Park, leans slightly more left than right.

[StClone]

3. I sort of agree but point out

The general "kill 'em all and break things" theme was a general jingoist commentary as was two songs "America F**k Yeah" and that hick country patriotic ditty. The identified and graphic depiction of Moore and assorted stars was a calculated wet dream thrown out for the Right-wingers.

I left thinking that these guys are not really on the level in their political views. I don't really care but having Limbaugh, or some other specific Right-winger, blown apart would have made me think otherwise.

[Lautremont]

4. Haven't seen the movie yet, but it occurs to me that

by ignoring right-wingers and not even having a Bush puppet in there, Parker and Stone are expressing their desire to make a movie that doesn't seem dated mere weeks after being released, which is to say after Novermber 2nd. In other words, they clearly think that strident liberal celebrities have a longer satirical shelf-life than unfunny conservative half-wits. And they're right, and that's what undercuts any accusation that they're just shilling for the right.

They're satirists, and the job of any satirist is to go after the status quo. If they think that liberals are the status quo rather than repukers, then great. That's an excellent sign.

I soundly reject any notion that Democrats are not allowed to be made fun of. It just takes a little more work. Making fun of republicans is like falling off a log.

[baldguy]

6. Lets see: Republican President, Republican House, Republican Senate...

Republican Supreme Court, the majority of governorships are Republican, the majority of state legislatures are Republican, the majority of news media is Republican, people are ridiculed, fired from their jobs and assaulted for being critical of Republicans, etc etc...

Seems to me that Republicans are the status quo. Also seems to me that the President (that is, ANY President) has historically been a prime target of satire - except with Parker & Stone.

When freedom is consumed by fascism, there are those who fight it and those who go along with it. Those who go along may be wonderfully talented or extremely funny, but that doesn't excuse their actions.

After all, Leni Riefenstahl was a cinematic genius.

[trotsky]

7. Parker & Stone did take on Chimpy - "That's My Bush"

It tanked horribly. I watched it once or twice, it just wasn't funny.

[baldguy]

11. Yeah, "That's My Bush" was trashed by the critics.

But people watched it, since it was from the creaters of "South Park" then IT MUST be good! Right? And they kept it on until 9/11.

After that, they followed to horde and drank the Kool-aid. *ANY* critcism of the President is now verboten.

I may change my mind if they bring back "That's My Bush", but I won't hold my breath.

[trotsky]

12. I didn't make the 9/11 connection - that's interesting.

But seriously though, I did watch it, and it sucked eggs. I sat through an entire episode, thought I would look for a glimmer of hope that it might evolve into an entertaining show. But no, it was not to be.

[TrogL]

8. Dubya will go down in history

One way or the other, nobody is going to forget this administration either from being laughably stupid (after the mess gets sorted out) or monumentally, arrogantly stupid (after the US gets its collective head handed to it).

We still tell Raygun jokes, don't we?

I see no potential for this material becoming "dated".

[Lautremont]

10. Haven't heard any Raygun jokes lately,

and if I did, they'd by definition be dated. (Unless they have to do with this Son of Star Wars debacle.) Dated doesn't mean bad or irrelevant; but I tend to think it's not the sort of thing the Team America dudes were going for. It seems like it's supposed to be as here-and-now as possible for as long as possible.

Still, I take your point, and having not seen the movie I should probably just back away quietly.

[el_gato]

9. I just don't find them funny

Even south park has gotten lame lately.