Musical

Rated: R
Release Date:1999
Running Time: 81
My Rating: 0/5
Directed by: Trey Parker
Starring: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, Isaac Hayes, Jesse Howell, Anthony Cross-Thomas, Franchesca Clifford, Bruce Howell, Deb Adair, Jennifer Howell, George Clooney, Brent Spiner, Minnie Driver, Dave Foley, Eric Idle

OK, let's get all the disclaimers out of the way first. Despite its colorful (if crude) animation, "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" is in no way meant for kids. It is chock full of profanity that might even make Quentin Tarantino blanch and has blasphemous references to God, Satan, Saddam Hussein (who's sleeping with Satan, literally), and Canada. It's rife with scatological humor, suggestive sexual situations, political incorrectness, and gleeful, rampant vulgarity. And it's probably one of the most brilliant satires ever made. The plot: flatulent Canadian gross "meisters" Terrance and Philip hit the big screen, and the South Park quartet of third graders--Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman--begin repeating their profane one-liners ad infinitum. The parents of South Park, led by Kyle's overbearing mom, form "Mothers Against Canada," blaming their neighbors to the north for their children's corruption and taking Terrance and Philip as war prisoners. It's up to the kids then to rescue their heroes from execution, not mention a brooding Satan, who's planning to take over the world.
To give away any more of the plot would destroy the fun, but this feature-length version of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Comedy Central hit is a dead-on and hilarious send-up of pop culture. And did we mention it's a musical? From the opening production number "Mountain Town" to the cheerful antiprofanity sing-along "It's Easy, MMMKay" to Satan's faux-Disney ballad "Up There," Parker (who wrote or cowrote all the songs) brilliantly shoots down every earnest musical from "Beauty and the Beast" to "Les Misérables". And in advocating free speech and satirizing well-meaning but misguided parental censorship groups (with a special nod to the MPAA), "Bigger, Longer & Uncut" hits home against adult paranoia and hypocrisy with a vengeance. And the jokes, while indeed vulgar and gross, are hysterical; we can't repeat them here, especially the lyrics to Terrance and Philip's hit song, but you'll be rolling on the floor. Don't worry, though--to paraphrase Cartman, this movie won't warp your fragile little mind. Unless you have something against the First Amendment. "--Mark Englehart"

Date added to my collection: 22 Oct 2005

My Comments: Animated

Rated: PG-13
Release Date:2003
Running Time: 113
My Rating: 0/5
Directed by: Rob Marshall
Starring: Taye Diggs, Cliff Saunders, Clive Saunders, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger, Dominic West, Jayne Eastwood, Bruce Beaton, Roman Podhora, John C. Reilly, Colm Feore, Rob Smith, Shawn Wayne Doyle, Steve Behal, Robbie Rox

Bob Fosse's sexy cynicism still shines in "Chicago", a faithful movie adaptation of the choreographer-director's 1975 Broadway musical. Of course the story, all about merry murderesses and tabloid fame, is set in the Roaring '20s, but "Chicago" reeks of '70s disenchantment--this isn't just Fosse's material, it's his attitude, too. That's probably why the movie's breathless observations on fleeting fame and fickle public taste already seem dated. However, Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones are beautifully matched as Jazz Age vixens, and Richard Gere gleefully sheds his customary cool to belt out a showstopper. (Yes, they all do their own singing and dancing.) Whatever qualms musical purists may have about director Rob Marshall's cut-cut-cut style, the film's sheer exuberance is intoxicating. Given the scarcity of big-screen musicals in the last 25 years, that's a cause for singing, dancing, cheering. And all that jazz. "--Robert Horton"

Date added to my collection: 22 Oct 2005

My Comments: With the right song and dance, you can get away with murder.