“Team America: World Police” will stand the test of history for those not-easily-offended-by-silly-stuff types. It harps on much of what the world is going through, and look! Even today, there’s still trouble in Pyongyang as Kim Jong Il still worries world leaders. A lot of personalities are also smacked upside the head. First it’s America, for believing that it can rightfully police the world just by the nature of its arsenal. But even with the opinion that we shouldn’t be so gung-ho on worldwide law-thrusted adventures, they still believe that our land still kicks a*s. And indeed it does. Members of Hollywood’s wrapped-tight community also get what they deserve in that just because they appear on screens all around the world and experience film shoots that make them feel like prisoners of war doesn’t mean they’re qualified to take on world issues or even speak about them. Doesn’t stop them, but the stupidity grows faster than Audrey the plant’s appetite. People will look at this creation and see not only what we the people have seen during these years, but also the marionettes, the outright creativity that both smartasses have mustered to make at least one Hollywood film entertaining.
Funnily enough, the marionettes are playfully poked at just by their nature. A scene during the opening sequence has one of Team America’s members fighting a terrorist in a way that recalls those cartoons where an all-out fistfight turns into a dust cloud with flying fists occasionally poking out. In the midst of the topical tunes written for the movie, there’s a new national anthem that should be adopted right away, proclaiming, “America, f**k yeah!” Look, The Star-Spangled Banner is important. It shows where we were at that time in the country’s relatively young life. Bombs bursting in air, a flag still standing, and a country that always remained strong. The Parker/Stone anthem is a little too confident in America being able to save the day right away, but the spirited energy conveys that we still rock and rule. This is how the nation should be boosted today. Imagine it being sung at all kinds of sporting events, and on national 4th of July broadcasts. Besides everything previously mentioned, and the correct bashing of action movies, the puppet sex is also a hilarious piece of material. Sex works any way in the movies and at least in “Team America”, it’s made fresh again.
In fact, that’s the entire reason for this “Uncensored and Unrated” edition. The puppet sex scene is here entirely, including a golden shower and a few more moves that made the MPAA look like such prudes. There’s the Spice Channel, Playboy, and racks of porn at a favorite video store. We’re fine at home. Just show us what we know without argument or attempt to “purify” the country. At least DVDs dish out that opportunity and while it injects no more laughs than when it was first seen in theaters, it’s at least here so we can get on with our lives knowing that puppet sex is finally intact for all.
The DVD gives good loving through all its enjoyable featurettes. All the sets are featured here along with all it took to make this work and even some minor frustrations and exasperations among members of the crew whom are both bewildered and amazed with working on “Team America”. After all, marionettes are bound to take some time and it’s admitted that Parker and Stone didn’t have much of an inkling of what marionettes could and could not do, so when they suggested something that seemed outside of puppet possibility, the crew tried to bring it as close as they could to what Parker wanted. Every possible point of the movie is mentioned, from getting these marionettes made, to filming the Hollywood explosion at 144 frames a second, and right into a bunch of deleted scenes and outtakes that continue with the hilarity. A dressing room test and puppet test show the dedication inherent in making all this work, adjusting when necessary. In short, just enough information and footage is on display enough to satisfy curiosity about the nature of this production.
So gather a few close friends and watch it any way desired, with bottles of booze or Coke or anything to munch on or smoke. This is the good comedy of today and it’s why laughing is still fun.
