2004 / 107 Minutes / R
Reviewed by Dale Nauertz

The fact that there has been this much serious discussion about the political message and possible political ramifications of an action movie starring marionettes should go to show anyone how surreal and insane the atmosphere of our country has gotten. Yes, it does concern the War on Terror and yes, it does poke fun at the celebrities who take a stand against the War on Terror. But it also makes equal fun of sex scenes, dumb action movies and the clichés within, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il, and pretty much everything it can make fun of within its running length. It may have some political overtones, but I think the main message Trey Parker and Matt Stone (creators of “South Park”, as probably everyone knows by now) are trying to deliver with this film is that the climate of this country has gotten so ludicrous over the last four years that making a movie about it involving obvious puppets only seems slightly strange, and everyone needs to look at their outrageous behavior and see how far out of hand they’ve gotten. That was my interpretation of it, anyway.

The plot involves a super team of terrorist fighters that jet around the world stopping terrorists and thwarting their nefarious plans, usually while causing more destruction than the terrorists themselves could ever hope to achieve. After stopping a group of terrorists in Paris (and destroying the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and that Freedom Arch thing) they recruit a new member to their ranks: Gary Johnston, an actor from the Broadway Show “Lease”. As the best actor in America, apparently, Gary’s acting skills are being sought by Team America. Soon, Gary finds himself infiltrating a terrorist cell in a bar in Egypt and, shortly thereafter, questioning everything that he stands for. In the midst of such philosophical concerns, and a tryst of kinky marionette sex with another member of the group, the Team must also confront the threat of Kim Jong Il (presented as a mixture of an early, shark-loving Bond villain and South Park’s own Eric Cartman), who is not only supplying terrorists with weapons of mass destruction but is also unveiling a scheme of his own that could threaten the way of life for everyone in the world.

“Team America” strikes a tough, uber-patriotic pose on terror that reminds one of 1980’s action movies like “Rambo” and its ilk. It also put me in the mind of action-packed, America-loving 80’s cartoons like “G.I. Joe”. And, of course, its reliance on clichéd dialogue and situations and shoehorned romantic aspects definitely spoofs any film bankrolled by Jerry Bruckheimer. It even has a hilarious Maverick/Iceman sort of rivalry between two members of the Team America team. I’d say it makes more fun of action movies and their inherent clichés than it does world politics, but don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of satiric bite to go around. Gays, overbearing liberal celebrities, Arab stereotypes, Broadway shows, 60’s marionette series, and almost everything else attacked before the end credits roll, and the jokes all work brilliantly. I like “South Park”, but my main complaint is that sometimes the show tries so hard to be offensive that it forgets to be funny. There is no such problem here. Is this movie offensive? To quote the “Team America” ass-kicking theme song: “Fuck Yeah!” The film is gleefully offensive, to be sure, but it’s also the funniest film I’ve seen in ages. There were moments that I was laughing with tears in my eyes and my stomach was hurting from the exertion of it. The film works on a satirical level (with the satire ranging in subtlety, but most of the time remaining exceptionally broad) but it also works on a gut-busting, belly-laugh level. And the decision to cast this film with marionettes was an ingenious move. There’s just something inherently funny about the lame way these puppets move, despite the hours of hard work and dedication put into their movements. It puts an extra level of humor into watching a person stumble drunkenly out of a bar when you can see the strings controlling their drunken progress. And the fact that this film contains one of the kinkiest sex scenes in the history of film and the participants don’t even have genitals is also hilarious. Besides that, I’m sure there is a hidden layer of parody about modern politics in having all the film’s actors dangling from strings.

At any rate, “Team America” is a refreshing piece of cinema. I’m probably more Democrat than I am Republican and even I was happy to see the liberal media get skewered for once. And the fact that the film skewers the War on Terror, those who support it, those who make irritating country songs about it, and the filmmaking of Jerry Bruckheimer made it all that much sweeter. “Team America” goes after many targets, but it never misses its aim and it never goes soft on anyone. It’s a nearly ingenious, multi-layered and, yes, often quite juvenile film. But it’s also a nice reminder that we, as a country, really need to lighten the hell up.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 15th, 2004 at 1:06 pm and is filed under Dale's Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.