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Bit 1
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South Park opens with the town coming to life and its quarters and
citizens introduced with a "morning" song. An inattentive mother hands over
movie money to a child, although he clearly asks for money to go and see "a
porno movie from Canada". The rest of the South Park gang are
collected, Kenny's mother warning that if he misses church and goes to Hell,
he will have to answer to Satan.
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Bit 2
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By bribing a wino to buy their tickets, the gang get in to see the adult
movie, Asses of Fire, starring Canadian comedians Terrance and Phillip.
The duo's foul-mouthed and scatological comedy drive most of the audience
out of the cinema, while the members of the gang remain mesmerised in their
seats.
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Bit 3
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Once the show is over, the South Park gang start to imitate
everything they have seen and heard, resulting in trouble at school and at
home. School rehabilitation fails, the PTA meets and blames Canada, and the
action group Mothers Against Canada is formed. Terrance and Phillip, on
whom the entire economy of Canada relies, don't help their case with an
appearance on the Conan O'Brien Show, and, as things escalate, even
the United Nations assembly is convulsed by the funny way Canadians talk,
particularly the way they pronounce "about". After Terrance and Phillip are
put on trial for corrupting American youth, Canada retaliates by bombing the
Baldwin Brothers' mansion, and the U.S. declares war on Canada.
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Bit 4
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Meanwhile, an attempt to copy a Terrance and Phillip gag results in Kenny's
incineration, and he goes to Hell to witness a sub-plot involving Satan and
Saddam Hussein. This strand dealing with the romantic couple (the second
romantic couple, following a South Park junior association)
confirms what I believe the White House has already suggested, namely that
Saddam Hussein is in bed with the devil. If Terrance and Phillip die, Satan
and Saddam Hussein will ascend from Hell and rule the world.
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Bit 5
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Of course obstacles and misunderstandings have to divide the couple, and
here Satan fears Saddam Hussein is just using him, and doesn't really love
him. All audience sympathy is for the devil, as when Saddam's crude teasing
reduces the devil to tears, and he accuses Saddam of only wanting him for
sex, and wonders why they don't talk anymore.
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Bit 6
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Amid the well-publicised controversy over this movie's reception, with its
fans firmly convinced the four-letter words and rude jokes are greatly
daring, radical, and subversive, and its opponents equally convinced that
these elements are morally outrageous and grounds for restricting its
screening to adult viewers only, the biggest joke of all is that South Park:
Bigger, Longer, and Uncut is a classic example of something that
many venerable squares know a great deal about, and, what is more, value
highly.
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Bit 7
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This is what many judge to be that pinnacle of both American musical theatre
and film musical forms, namely the integrated musical, where the numbers
advance the plot, as mastered by Rodgers and Hammerstein. South Park:
Bigger, Longer, and Uncut has all the classic types of musical
number, in all the classic places, within a classic three-act structure. In
the film, the close of each act is marked by a "curtain" in the form of a
blackout; in fact, the structure is emphasised during the third act, when we
see a sign bearing the legend "Third Act: The Ticking Clock".
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Bit 8
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Clearly, Trey Parker could write a stage (or film) musical any time he
wanted; but why go through all the struggle of getting backers and all those
out-of-town tryouts to get a berth on Broadway alongside Sir Andrew Lloyd
Webber, when a full-length parody, with already-established cartoon
characters, is the quickest road to the top?
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Bit 9
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Once word gets out that viewers are watching a classical integrated musical,
under the smokescreen of rude words and bottom jokes, the jig is up for Trey
Parker, and his playground cred is gone.
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Bit 10
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Fans may even come to think they have been taken for a ride. Who
knows, South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut may even create a reaction
similar to the Bing Crosby effect, where a venerable recording of Bing's
classic crooning has proved to deter teenagers from loitering at shopping
centres.
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Bit 11
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Details
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, by Warner Bros. 1999.
Director: Trey Parker.
Screenplay: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady.
Director of Animation: Eric Stough.
Music and Lyrics: Trey Parker.
Score and Additional Music and Lyrics: Marc Shaiman.
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Bit 12
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Citation reference for this article
MLA style:
Shane Lewis. "The Bing Crosby Effect: 'South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut'." M/C Reviews 24 July 99.
[your date of access] <http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/southpark.html>.
Chicago style:
Shane Lewis, "The Bing Crosby Effect: 'South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut'," M/C Reviews 24 July 99,
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/southpark.html> ([your date of access]).
APA style:
Shane Lewis. (1999) The Bing Crosby Effect: 'South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut'. M/C Reviews 24 July 99.
<http://www.uq.edu.au/mc/reviews/screen/southpark.html> ([your date of access]).
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![[image]](http://www.southparkmovie.com/img/splash.poster.jpg)