20th Anniversary TLDR: Team America: World Police (2004)
Team America has once again pissed off the entire world.
Plot: When North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il orchestrates a global terrorist plot, it’s up to the heavily armed, highly specialized Team America unit to stop his dastardly scheme. The group, which has recruited troubled Broadway actor Gary Johnston, not only has to face off against Jong-il, but they must also contend with the Film Actors Guild, a cadre of Hollywood liberals at odds with Team America’s ‘policing the world’ tactics.
Direction & Screenplay: Trey Parker and Matt Stone aren't really my guys, largely because South Park was never really my thing. I definitely see the appeal, however, and commend them for pushing the envelope every chance they've had for 30 years. Inevitably, that means that a ton of stuff isn't going to age well. Remember when they had to do some pandemic/racial awakening-era rewrites for Book of Mormon? I think they'd have to throw out this whole thing. But damn, it's funny.
Performances: You'd be amazed at what puppets can do. And they didn't have to do Susan Sarandon like that.
Best Moment: Everyone talks about the NC-17 scene (and for good reason), but the joke right before that is really funny.
Music: Everyone talks about "America, F*ck Yeah" (and for good reason - I still find myself singing it when something particularly and egregiously jingoistic happens in our country), but the country parody "Freedom Isn't Free" really isn't bad.
Fun Fact: This review was supposed to run in the days after the election but it seemed in bad taste at the time. It's only been two weeks and I already don't care anymore.
Everything is too long! Is it too long? 98 minutes? Surely this could've made 90.
Rating: Unfortunately, I laughed the entire time.
Credit: Plot synopsis from Letterboxd via TMDb.