The Puppet Masters

Team America: World Police

By Lindsay Bianchi

• ****

Super-marionation, the dubious process which gave the world such classics as “Thunderbirds” and “Fireball XL5” has been usurped by America’s two most scathing satirists, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and pushed way over the limit. If you thought “South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut” was beyond the pale, think again. “Team America: World Police” has given puppetry its due and then some.

Never intended for small children, “South Park” has always made mince meat of every subject and celebrity they touch. Just watch their recent skewering of Michael Jackson or Rob Reiner from last season and you will see the “nothing is sacred” approach in action.

Now the action has gone 3-D on the big screen with a plot cut and pasted from today’s headlines. The Taliban, North Korea, and Hollywood’s political elite become entwined in a ridiculous globe-circling farce that mows everything down in its path. And best of all, it’s all set to music.

Another collection of tasteless tunes dots “Team America.” An absurd “Rent” parody named “Lease” starts things off with a song about AIDS and it’s all downhill from there, but what a ride!

The audience I sat through this with was mostly young guys in their early to late twenties. They were in hog heaven laughing continuously through out the movie. I was right there with them giggling at every excess and every tasteless detail. Watching the wind being kicked out of so many overblown icons and sacred cows has a certain appeal. It’s nice to know that there is something laughable left out there. You don’t have to be a cynic to enjoy this film, you just have to laugh like one.

Not for the young and innocent, “Team America” has great big teeth and bites over and over again. Don’t let these doe-eyed puppets fool you. They have more attitude and big screen charisma than anyone in the Film Actors Guild (FAG), the fake, but incredibly lifelike group of concerned stars fighting for everything Hollywood.

Alec Baldwin gets lambasted again, along with Helen Hunt, Matt Damen, Tim Robbins, Janine Garafalo and too many others hotshots to name here. Even Michael Moore is used to good effect. It’s not a flattering picture, just a very strange remake of the world as it is today.