Team America *Contains Dialogue Spoilers

[Mesh]

Ebert says stuff about Team America, all of it wrong.  Like here:

If I were asked to extract a political position from the movie, I'd be baffled. It is neither for nor against the war on terrorism, just dedicated to ridiculing those who wage it and those who oppose it. The White House gets a free pass, since the movie seems to think Team America makes its own policies without political direction.

Hey, assmunch, Team America is said to be run by "corporate sponsors" several times in the film.  Listen.  [And that, incidentally, makes the F.A.G. further worthy of ridicule since they're basically employees of the kind of corporations large enough to sponsor such an endeavor.]

Annnnnnd here:

I wasn't offended by the movie's content so much as by its nihilism. At a time when the world is in crisis and the country faces an important election, the response of Parker, Stone and company is to sneer at both sides -- indeed, at anyone who takes the current world situation seriously. They may be right that some of us are puppets, but they're wrong that all of us are fools, and dead wrong that it doesn't matter.

It doesn't just laugh at "anyone who takes the current world situation seriously."  It laughs at literally everyone.  That's two different things.  Also a nihilistic film would've killed off everyone, made no side "win." In this movie, Team America fucking wins.  Kim Jong Il loses; the actors lose, too.  If anything, Parker/Stone end up saying that as idiotic as "our" War on Terror is, it's going to have its victories and its going to keep right on going...... no matter who's in the White House.

[Pubrick]

let's analyse his review for another two pages.

[SiliasRuby]

let's analyse his review for another two pages.

Sounds like a plan. I saw this the oher night and thought that the songs were one of the huge highlights of this absurdly silly satire.

[modage]

saw this today.  it was occasionally hilarious, but seemed to run out of steam a little in the middle before picking back up again at the end.  i kind of wish, also, the movie had made more use of the satire instead of falling back on all the 'dirty jokes'.  the songs were great, a lot of it was very funny.  i dont think it was as good or thought-out as the south park movie.

[UncleJoey]

Hey, assmunch, Team America is said to be run by "corporate sponsors" several times in the film.  Listen.  [And that, incidentally, makes the F.A.G. further worthy of ridicule since they're basically employees of the kind of corporations large enough to sponsor such an endeavor.

Any statement made in the film about Team America being run by "corporate sponsors" loses any bite because this claim is pretty much only made by the liberal "activist" actors as they're being ridiculed. How can we be expected to take this seriously when the film's main targets (arguably) are making the same argument? To me, it just seemed like any knocks on conservative ideology were done half-heartedly as an attempt to make things appear even. Often, these criticisms lose their bite because of how the film uses them as motivating factors for the Hollywood actors in the film. For example, I really enjoyed how Team America destroyed virtually every historical landmark within a 100 mile radius during their missions, but this statement about America's carelessness lost quite a bit of weight when the wishy-washy Hollywood morons in the film used it to start their campaign. It seemed like the filmmakers made a few statements about American conservatism and war, and then used liberal characters to devalue the statements they made by dealing with these errors foolishly. It just didn't seem evenhanded to me. I came out of the theatre thinking that the only criticism the film successfully landed on the political right was its consistent mockery of misguided patriotism and nationalism. Also, I think the fact that not one single conservative individual was mocked is a real shame, but this has already been pointed out.

Of course, all of this is OK if the entire point of this film isn't to make fun of "everybody". I suppose, technically, it does, but I don't see how it's even close to evenhanded. Plus, the movie stops being very funny after the first 30 minutes or so, when it starts getting lazy and stops being creative (with a few exceptions). This is the most important thing: the film just isn't that good and really a disapointment considering the talent of Stone and Parker. South Park is a brilliant show, but this film is just only above average.

[Ravi]

My friend was right when he said that Parker/Stone are hit and miss.  South Park is brilliant, but their movies leave something to be desired.

[modage]

Also, I think the fact that not one single conservative individual was mocked is a real shame, but this has already been pointed out.

i think conservatives have been mocked enough this year.

[Mesh]

Hey, assmunch, Team America is said to be run by "corporate sponsors" several times in the film.  Listen.  [And that, incidentally, makes the F.A.G. further worthy of ridicule since they're basically employees of the kind of corporations large enough to sponsor such an endeavor.

Any statement made in the film about Team America being run by "corporate sponsors" loses any bite because this claim is pretty much only made by the liberal "activist" actors as they're being ridiculed. How can we be expected to take this seriously when the film's main targets (arguably) are making the same argument?

I've read this like 4 times and I can't make any sense of it.

[Ravi]

i think conservatives have been mocked enough this year.

Conservatives can never be mocked enough.

[UncleJoey]

Hey, assmunch, Team America is said to be run by "corporate sponsors" several times in the film.  Listen.  [And that, incidentally, makes the F.A.G. further worthy of ridicule since they're basically employees of the kind of corporations large enough to sponsor such an endeavor.

Any statement made in the film about Team America being run by "corporate sponsors" loses any bite because this claim is pretty much only made by the liberal "activist" actors as they're being ridiculed. How can we be expected to take this seriously when the film's main targets (arguably) are making the same argument?

I've read this like 4 times and I can't make any sense of it.

Fair enough. I'll try to clarify. The film attempts to make the joke that Team America is sponsored by corporations. There we have a jab at the current administration. However, the main voices for these statements are members of F.A.G. Are we supposed to take anything they say seriously? No, of course not. Everything they say is ridiculed. So, how exactly is Team America's "corporate sponsorship" actually mocked? It would be different if a voice of reason or authority was making these statements, but instead we have the characters the film spends the most energy ripping on saying it. It's like having Charles Manson speak out against child abuse (extreme example - I know). What he's saying might be right, but nobody is going to listen to him because he's such a ridiculous person. If this still doesn't make any sense, don't worry because it really isn't that important - and I'm an idiot.

As for conservatives being mocked enough this year - perhaps. But I was just hoping that the film would be a little more even. I don't think it was. Team America was used to show how dumb action movies are (for the most part). Virtually everyone else was used to show how dumb liberals are, with the occasional obligatory slap on the wrist for conservatives. Again, this is fine if the whole point of the film isn't to make fun of "everybody".

[MacGuffin]

Stone Tells Undecided Voters to Stay Home

"South Park" co-creator Matt Stone has a message for all you undecided voters.

"Stay home," said Stone. "It doesn't matter who you're gonna vote for. If you really don't know who you're gonna vote for, or are uninformed, or haven't really thought about it? Just stay home."

Stone and Trey Parker have teamed up for the puppet parody "Team America: World Police," which debuted in third place at the box office this weekend with $12.3 million. A parody of 1980s action movies, the film ridicules both Democrats and Republicans.

In person, Stone has little patience for those on the political fence.

"If you really don't know or you're just going to vote for George Bush because he's already in office, or you're gonna vote for John Kerry because he's on the cover of Rolling Stone, don't do that. That's lame. Just stay home. That's all we ever said," Stone told the San Francisco Chronicle in Sunday's editions.

[SHAFTR]

Stone Tells Undecided Voters to Stay Home

"South Park" co-creator Matt Stone has a message for all you undecided voters.

"Stay home," said Stone. "It doesn't matter who you're gonna vote for. If you really don't know who you're gonna vote for, or are uninformed, or haven't really thought about it? Just stay home."

Stone and Trey Parker have teamed up for the puppet parody "Team America: World Police," which debuted in third place at the box office this weekend with $12.3 million. A parody of 1980s action movies, the film ridicules both Democrats and Republicans.

In person, Stone has little patience for those on the political fence.

"If you really don't know or you're just going to vote for George Bush because he's already in office, or you're gonna vote for John Kerry because he's on the cover of Rolling Stone, don't do that. That's lame. Just stay home. That's all we ever said," Stone told the San Francisco Chronicle in Sunday's editions.

America tells Stone that no one cares what he says

[Pozer]

This movie had balls.
I like balls.

[MacGuffin]

South Korea Likely to Shun 'Team America'

"Team America: World Police" and its harsh parody of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il will almost certainly not be coming to South Korean theaters, but don't blame politics. Rather, the omission stems from a highly competitive film market that has increasingly seen local releases squeezing out Hollywood product.

"There are no plans to release 'Team America' at this time," said Douglas Lee, general manager of United International Pictures Korea, which handles the distribution of Paramount Pictures releases.

High-profile films such as "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," "Bringing Down the House" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" have missed out on theatrical releases in South Korea . Even the "Austin Powers" series performed poorly.

"A few years ago, these kinds of films would have been automatic releases," an American film company executive said. "American brands that think they can just stroll into town need to wake up. Not all Korean kids want to smoke Marlboros and wear Levis."

Korean films have accounted for more than 58% of the local box office sales from January-September, with Hollywood barely making up 40%. The trend toward local films is even more pronounced in the countryside, where Korean movies make up well over 60% of ticket sales.

Although South and North Korea are still technically at war, the South has pursued a more open approach to dealing with the North. However relations remain prickly. The South often bristles at what it perceives as insensitive or provocative actions taken against the North, such as when President Bush labeled the North part of an "Axis of Evil."

[ono]

There's a shocker.

but don't blame politics. Rather, the omission stems from a highly competitive film market

Uh-huh.  Right.