Review: Team America: World Police (**)

TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): **


Isn't the spread of AIDS funny? Funnier still would be a large scale attack
by terrorists with nuclear weapons, right? And to top it all off, how about
all manners of oral, anal and other sex between puppets, gay and straight?
With non-stop and repetitive bathroom humor, TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, by
the creators of "South Park," seems designed to appeal to teenage boys
everywhere since all of the above and more, much more, is in this kitchen
sink of an over-the-top comedy.



In addition to the rather significant point that TEAM AMERICA is a comedy
that never had me laughing, the movie raises an important and troubling
point. How far away from the last major attack in a war does one have to be
to see it all as one big joke? How effective would filmmakers have been
with a comedy in 1944 that poked fun at the action of our troops and the
whole idea that a war was even necessary? Certainly TEAM AMERICA, which
ridicules both sides of the war on terror, would not have gotten any
significant audience in 9/11's aftermath. And if, God forbid, 10/16 or
10/20 or some other date in the near future similarly gets etched in history
with a nuclear or biological attack, one suspects that theaters showing the
movie will be as desolate as ground zero was after the World Trade Center
collapsed.



Many viewers, however, as our audience proved, will embrace this film's
outlandish humor, all done with puppets. Reportedly the movie was
originally rated NC-17 for graphic puppet sex -- an oral act between two
guys -- but was re-rated R after the scene was altered so that it is obvious
but no longer explicit. The heterosexual sex is still very explicit.



The story's central premise is that a macho group of commandos, called "Team
America," are destroying the world in order to save it from the terrorists.
In the opening sequence, Arabs with suitcase bombs are chased all over Paris
as our side obliterates every major historical landmark in town in the
process of eliminating the bombers. When people die in the film, blood and
realistic guts are spilled everywhere.



TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, however, is far from a bad movie. The sets, the
music and the lighting are all amazing and full of imagination. The film's
craftsmanship is simply extraordinary.



But when it comes down to it, even if a pompous Michael Moore decides to
blow himself up as a suicide bomber in order to fight American fascism and
even if the F.A.G. (Film Actor's Guild) decides to save the world through a
naive scheme of world peace that puts its trust in a North Korean despot,
the movie just isn't cute enough to overcome its fundamental subject matter.
And, no matter how much vomit the puppets produce, their actions just aren't
funny.



TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE runs 1:38. It is rated R for "graphic, crude and
sexual humor, violent images and strong language; all involving puppets" and
would be acceptable for older teenagers.



My son Jeffrey and his friend Dustin, both age 15, gave the film ****. They
thought it was side-splittingly funny. Their favorite parts were the songs.
Jeffrey said that he especially liked it when Moore blew himself up. In
fact, his only complaint was about the long and realistic vomit episode,
when a lake of puke is produced.



The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, October 15, 2004.
In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century
theaters and the Camera Cinemas.



Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

Email:



************************************************** *********************



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The lady from MSNBC calls it the Funnies movie of the year.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6235411/



"Steve Rhodes" wrote in message
ink.net...
TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE
A film review by Steve Rhodes

Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes

RATING (0 TO ****): **


Isn't the spread of AIDS funny? Funnier still would be a large scale
attack by terrorists with nuclear weapons, right? And to top it all off,
how about all manners of oral, anal and other sex between puppets, gay and
straight? With non-stop and repetitive bathroom humor, TEAM AMERICA: WORLD
POLICE, by the creators of "South Park," seems designed to appeal to
teenage boys everywhere since all of the above and more, much more, is in
this kitchen sink of an over-the-top comedy.



In addition to the rather significant point that TEAM AMERICA is a comedy
that never had me laughing, the movie raises an important and troubling
point. How far away from the last major attack in a war does one have to
be to see it all as one big joke? How effective would filmmakers have
been with a comedy in 1944 that poked fun at the action of our troops and
the whole idea that a war was even necessary? Certainly TEAM AMERICA,
which ridicules both sides of the war on terror, would not have gotten any
significant audience in 9/11's aftermath. And if, God forbid, 10/16 or
10/20 or some other date in the near future similarly gets etched in
history with a nuclear or biological attack, one suspects that theaters
showing the movie will be as desolate as ground zero was after the World
Trade Center collapsed.



Many viewers, however, as our audience proved, will embrace this film's
outlandish humor, all done with puppets. Reportedly the movie was
originally rated NC-17 for graphic puppet sex -- an oral act between two
guys -- but was re-rated R after the scene was altered so that it is
obvious but no longer explicit. The heterosexual sex is still very
explicit.



The story's central premise is that a macho group of commandos, called
"Team America," are destroying the world in order to save it from the
terrorists. In the opening sequence, Arabs with suitcase bombs are chased
all over Paris as our side obliterates every major historical landmark in
town in the process of eliminating the bombers. When people die in the
film, blood and realistic guts are spilled everywhere.



TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE, however, is far from a bad movie. The sets,
the music and the lighting are all amazing and full of imagination. The
film's craftsmanship is simply extraordinary.



But when it comes down to it, even if a pompous Michael Moore decides to
blow himself up as a suicide bomber in order to fight American fascism and
even if the F.A.G. (Film Actor's Guild) decides to save the world through
a naive scheme of world peace that puts its trust in a North Korean
despot, the movie just isn't cute enough to overcome its fundamental
subject matter. And, no matter how much vomit the puppets produce, their
actions just aren't funny.



TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE runs 1:38. It is rated R for "graphic, crude
and sexual humor, violent images and strong language; all involving
puppets" and would be acceptable for older teenagers.



My son Jeffrey and his friend Dustin, both age 15, gave the film ****.
They thought it was side-splittingly funny. Their favorite parts were the
songs. Jeffrey said that he especially liked it when Moore blew himself
up. In fact, his only complaint was about the long and realistic vomit
episode, when a lake of puke is produced.



The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, October 15,
2004. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the
Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.



Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com

Email:



************************************************** *********************



Want free reviews and weekly movie and video recommendations via Email?

Just send me a letter with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.

"Jason Stanley" wrote in message
...
The lady from MSNBC calls it the Funnies movie of the year.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6235411/

I read lots of movie reviews and besides Steve's review I've only seen one
other negative review. A few are mixed but most like the movie. I'm going to
see it, but then again I've got a really twisted sense of humour.

Plissken wrote:
I read lots of movie reviews and besides Steve's review I've only
seen one other negative review. A few are mixed but most like the
movie. I'm going to see it, but then again I've got a really twisted
sense of humour.

Same here. And as for the sex...it may be explicit sex, but it's STILL
PUPPET SEX!

There's probably a whole puppet-sex-fetish subculture going crazy over this
film...

tristyn