Third-graders Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny sneak in to see an R-rated movie starring a Canadian comedy duo. At that film they are “introduced” to every possible swear word in the English language. And a few not in the English language. Mimicking what they hear, they swear at each other, at their parents and at their teachers. Of course their mothers become outraged by this abusive language and form a protest group called M.A.C. (Mothers Against Canadians). The result is a ground swell of outrage against Canada for generating “filthy” entertainment. One thing leads to another and the U.S. and Canada go to war. The comedy duo responsible is scheduled for public electrocution. Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein (a cut-out photograph is used instead of typical South Park-style animation) has died and gone to hell. He and Satan strike up a heated, at times sickeningly intimate homosexual relationship. Kenny also goes to hell after he is brutally killed. He discovers a plot hatched by Satan and Saddam to take over the world after the U.S. military executes the two Canadians.
Positive Elements: None.
Spiritual Content: Satan is referred to as God and profane insults are thrown at God. A third-grade boy referred to as “Mole” rails against God in numerous hate-filled diatribes. All incidents are too vile to describe. Every insult imaginable is tossed skyward, intertwined with the most vulgar obscenities. When Kenny flies up to heaven he is greeted at the gates by realistically drawn nude “angels.” During his first “ascent” (before he is rejected and sent down to hell), he sees a sign that indicates that heaven’s total population amounts to just over 1,500 people. In the end, Satan—who is portrayed as a deeply sensitive and misunderstood loner—”wins” and restores peace and tranquility to the earth.
Sexual Content: A realistic-looking penis-shaped sex toy is shown twice. It is not animated. Saddam begs Satan to let him use it. A giant pink mound which refers to itself as a clitoris instructs one of the boys how to end the war and “win the girl.” In fact, a recurring theme in the film is a frantic search for the “clitoris”—the discovery of which promises the “only sure way to make a woman fall in love.” The boys watch pornographic movies on the Internet. South Park vomits up a bottomless cesspool of sexual innuendo and insults.
Violent Content: Kenny’s blood-splattered death is gory beyond description. The war fought between the U.S. and Canada features explosions, decapitations and many brutal depictions of violence and death. In this film, the animation does little to minimize the impact.
Crude or Profane Language: Literally hundreds of f-words and s-words ravage the dialogue. The f-word is used repeatedly to describe explicit sexual acts such as sodomy, bestiality, incest and other forms of abuse. Friends, parents, teachers and God are all addressed with such vulgar insults as “f—ing b–ch.” Very few words are spoken in this film that are not accompanied by a profanity of some type.
Homosexual Content:“Big Gay Al” makes an appearance as emcee for a U.S.O. function. He sings a song that celebrates being gay. The gist of the lyrics is that the only thing Al has to be happy about in life is his “gayness.” Satan and Saddam’s trysts have already been mentioned.
Other Negative Elements: Where to begin? One thing worth noting here is the abundance of racial slurs and insults. Jews and blacks are singled out.
Summary: Matt Stone and Trey Parker set out to intentionally make this South Park movie the vilest film ever. They deliberately selected the most offensive jokes, story lines and images they could find. Three times the MPAA slapped them with an NC-17 rating before granting an R following minor edits. The MPAA should have stuck to its guns and insisted on the NC-17. Stone boastfully told Entertainment Weekly, “We’re spending tons of Paramount’s money to do a big middle finger to the MPAA. We’re trying to offend the MPAA. This film is really nothing more than getting our own satisfaction in knowing that the MPAA has to sit and watch this.” That said, Stone and Parker (along with the entertainment companies that backed them: Paramount, Time/Warner and Comedy Central) should be shamed for producing such a vulgar product. But that shame falls doubly on the head and every single person who pays money to wallow in it.
