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	Team America: World Police
	Trey Parker Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Kristen Miller, Daran Norris, Phil Hendrie, Paul Louis, Dian Bachar, Elle Russ 2004		They struck the mother lode with their rude, crudely animated, invariably funny cartoon series "South Park." Even the feature-film version of "South Park" rocked with a fusion of no-targets-sacred social satire and gleefully gross slapstick, plus a musical's worth of clever tunes. But creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have yet to match its success or its profane hilarity with any other TV or movie project. "Team America: World Police" — a wildly uneven, often lowbrow parody of big-budget action blockbusters, with marionettes rather than live actors — continues the Parker-Stone streak of less than sterling stuff such as the White House sitcom "That's My Bush" or the baseless comedy "BASEketball." In "Team America," the strings are visible as a lunkheaded, patriotic strike force pursues grotesque caricatures of terrorists, while traitorous Hollywood celebrities give aid and comfort to the enemy. The obvious use of puppetry in "Team America" apes the style of "Thunderbirds," the British kiddie TV show of the '60s, offering a lot of options for pointed humor that are squandered by director Parker and his co-writer Stone. A scene of puppet porn aside, the novelty of clumsily moving marionettes wears off quickly. When they're taken from their detailed scale-model world and plunked into real full-sized settings, it's gratuitous. And who could forget the dull, witless songs of "Team America"? Anyone.


	Wednesday, December 18, 2024





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