South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (1999)

Daniel Cohen: Much like The Simpsons and Beavis & Butt-Head, when South Park first came onto the scene, it was viewed as just another stupid, obscene television show corrupting America’s youth. When the movie came out in 1999, that’s when it all changed.  The film even got nominated for an Oscar. This is when South Park became SOUTH PARK in capital letters. What separates the South Park movie from so many other TV to film adaptations is it felt like you were getting something more than just a long episode of the show.  You got your money’s worth, and the reason for that is because it was a musical.  Yes, the songs are totally ridiculous, but Trey Parker and Matt Stone really made it feel like a big time Broadway production, and I have no doubt that’s how they approached it.

I was fifteen when I saw this film, and there wasn’t anybody my age who didn’t sing “Uncle F**Ker” incessantly the following Fall when everyone returned to school. I love every song in this film, but the funniest for me was the one that actually got nominated, “Blame Canada.” Robin Williams performing that song is still one of my favorite Oscar moments of all time, mostly because it was just so out of place.  But aside from all the songs, it simply had great gags all around. The midget in a bikini. Conan O’Brien jumping out the window. Bill Gates getting shot by the hard boiled army General as he tries to explain Windows ’98. And aside from all the South Park regulars who were all hilarious, I loved all the supporting characters. The Mole to this day is still one of my favorite one-off South Park characters, and to my knowledge, he’s never returned. Other than the music though, the lifeblood of this movie was the romantic relationship between Satan and Saddam Hussein. That’s the kind of brilliance you dream about concocting as a comedy writer.

I hope we get a South Park movie sequel, and from everything I’ve read, that is going to happen at some point. What I really admire about this film is how easy Trey Parker and Matt Stone made it look. With a TV to movie adaptation, there is so much pressure to “go big,” and while The Simpsons movie is solid, you can blatantly tell there’s an obvious effort in doing that. With South Park, it felt natural. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut is a classic that gets overlooked at times, mostly because of how much the show itself evolved, but please never forget this musical gem of genius.

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