Warning: This movie is not for everyone and it is definitely

not for kids, despite what some of the parents at the screening

I saw the other day thought.

Now, on to the review. "Team America: World Police" is

that puppet movie about combating terrorism and stupid celebrities

who think that because they read a paper, they know exactly how

to fix the world. The film was written and directed by Trey Parker

and Matt Stone, who also write and direct the tv show "South

Park." Like "South Park," "Team America" can

be vulgar, violent and vicious with a biting satire but it is

also screamingly funny, even-handed with regards to the issues

and a brilliant use of a crude art form ("South Park" looks

like construction paper and you can see the strings in "Team

America").

The plot of "Team America" focuses on a five man team

of warriors (think The A-Team) that save the world from terrorists.

When they hear rumors about a big terrorist attack, they hire

Gary, the top actor on Broadway, to join the team and go undercover

to get more information on the attack. Team America defeates

one grop of terrorists only to discover that there was another

figure behind the mayhem, North Korea's Kim Jong Il, sounding

like the guy who runs City Wok on "South Park", threatening

the world and dropping Hans Blix into a shark-infested wall aquarium.

"Team America" follows almost the exact same formula

as the popular Jerry Bruckheimer action movies and it spoofs

that formula as well as satirizing the opposing views of America

as a world cop. Though the language and the excessive puppet

violence (and the one very excessive puppet love scene) is funny,

the funniest parts for me were Parker's ingenious songs.

From the Team America theme song, "America, F-Yeah," to "Freedom

Costs $1.05" and Kim Jong Il's "I'm So Ronery," Parker

deftly maneuvers through every type of song heard in a typical

action movie, while also touching on songs from other musicals.

Parker has always showcased his musical talents (Please see "Cannibal

the Musical" and the Oscar nominated song "Blame Canada" from "South

Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut") and they are in full effect

in "Team America." I think there may be another Oscar

nomination in Parker's future and seeing Celene Dion sing "I'm

So Ronery" would be incredible.

Last but not least, many of the laughs come from the fact that

the film is done entirely with puppets, specifically marionettes

like one would see on "Thunderbirds." Their moves are

clunky, their eyes are just a little freaky and they kind of

reflect how wooden some performers in typical action movies can

be. Some of the celebrity puppets look more like their real counterparts

than others. For example Michael Moore is dead on and parodied

to always have a hot dog in each hand, while Matt Damon's

looks nothing like him and then gets spoofed for not looking

like him.

So, should you go to this movie? If you don't get easily

offended by coarse language - and this movie has far less than

the "South Park" movie which allegedly averaged a profanity

every 12 seconds - or excessive puppet violence, then yes, by

all means, see this movie. It may be the most enjoyable film

you see all year. It's definitely the most creative one

and, strangely enough, it might also be the most thought provoking.

***

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