Screening: "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut"

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

Directed by Trey Parker

Written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Pam Brady

Starring (the voices of): Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, Isaac Hayes, George Clooney, Eric Idle, Dave Foley, Mike Judge, Brent Spiner, Minnie Driver, Toddy Walters

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song ("Blame Canada")

 

Fathom Events presented South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut on the big screen this month as part of its Classics series and to mark the film's 25th anniversary. In addition, it was presented as a "sing-along", with lyrics subtitled onscreen in all their expletive-laden glory.

Released in 1999, this film gave South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone the opportunity to run wild without having to consider Comedy's Central censorship guidelines. And boy, did they deliver. Produced in tandem with the show's second and third seasons, not only was the film South Park on steroids, it's also a full-blown musical.

Responsibility for the effects of foul language, sexual imagery, and violent imagery in film and TV on children versus the influence and responsibility of parents were hot topics back in the late 1990's, and Parker and Stone did their usual fine job of parodying the issue. Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny sneak into a showing of "Asses of Fire" starring their beloved Terrance and Phillip, Canadian comics whose material is largely composed of farts and fart jokes, along with off-the-charts profanity. After emerging from the theater, they begin exercising their newly acquired four-letter vocabulary to the horror of their parents and teachers.

The adults of South Park become increasingly angry with the undue influence of the foul-mouthed film on their children, and they lay blame on Canada in general and Terrance and Phillip in particular. As they get more and more carried away with their crusade, not only are the kids neglected, but the parents set in motion war between the U.S. and Canada, and the release of Satan (accompanied by his gay lover, Saddam Hussein) to rule over the earth. Their misguided approach and lack of personal responsibility are articulated in the song "Blame Canada" ("We must blame them and cause a fuss/Before somebody thinks of blaming us!") and Sheila Brovlofski's line, "Remember what the MPAA says: Horrific, deplorable violence is okay, as long as people don't say any naughty words!"

I was a big fan of the film when it was released in 1999, having been a huge fan of South Park since Day 1. I hadn't seen it in a while and it was great to see it back on the big screen.

The Fathom screening was preceding by an introduction by film critic Leonard Maltin, who reminded the audience that he made one of the earliest celebrity appearances on South Park (episode 112, "Mecha-Streisand"). Apparently he's a fan of the show, his appearance on it, and indicated that he and his family loved the film.

 

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut facts and trivia:

• Paramount wanted a PG-13 rated film, but Parker and Stone refused. They would only make it if the studio agreed to an R rated film. Paramount eventually agreed.
• The Guinness Book of World Records cited South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut as having the most profanity of any animated film. There were 399 swear words in total. This was intentional as 400 words would have automatically triggered the dreaded NC-17 rating. In addition, it includes 128 offensive gestures and 221 acts of violence.
  
• The Oscar-nominated song "Blame Canada" was performed at the ceremony by Robin Williams. The award went to Phil Collins for "You'll Be in My Heart" from the Disney animated film Tarzan.
• The film was named "Best Animated Feature" of 1999 by the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. Parker and Stone won Best Musical Performance from MTV's Movie + TV Awards for the Terrance and Phillip song "Uncle Fucka".
  
• This film marked the first time Kenny's face was ever shown.
• The film grossed $80+ million world wide. It was the highest grossing R-rated animated film until 2016 when it lost the title to Sausage Fest. 
  
• In the end credits, all of the songs performances are attributed to the characters singing them, not the actors.
• The film was originally titled South Park: All Hell Breaks Loose, but the MPAA refused to allow the word "hell" in the title. Parker and Stone then gave it the double entendre title it was released with. In fact, the bitter battles between the MPAA and the filmmakers was the stuff of legend back when it was released.
  
• Rumor has it that when the U.S. military captured Saddam Hussein in 2006, soldiers forced him to watch this film, in which he's portrayed as residing in hell as Satan's gay lover. Stone apparently confirmed this, adding that the military sent him and Parker an autographed photo of Hussein.  
  

Sources: South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut on imdb - South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut on Wikipedia

Holy, moly, I'd forgotten how amazing this was! RIP Robin 😭