Team America: World Police is the best movie of the year. I know you’re probably thinking, “Who the hell are you? Some chick with a web site who thinks she knows it all?” But my response to that is this: if you don’t like random people giving pointless opinions about trivial things, get the hell off the internet.

            Anyway, back to my point. Team America is excellent, absolutely brilliant. I’ve seen reviews which referred to it as a political movie, a satire which skewers world leaders and makes a political statement, but I wonder if these people were seeing the same movie as me. Yes, there are political elements in the film, but overall, this is a movie about Hollywood. It covers the ripe-for-parody genre of action films, primarily of the Jerry Bruckheimer persuasion, and the ridiculousness of uninformed actors making political endorsements as if they’re world renowned scholars.

          The movie was made in the peak of the War on Iraq Bush-bashing by Hollywood and challenges this situation with incredible precision. If you read the Wonkette article referenced in the links section, you know what I mean when I say that some people are so anti-Bush, for such stupid meaningless reasons, that it almost makes you feel sorry for the guy. You want to start saying nice things about Bush, just to stick it to these whiney uninformed douches. I can’t stand that. I hate Bush, I think he’s an awful president, and I don’t like when people make me want to like him. That’s what’s at the heart of Team America. When so many celebrities, who clearly have no idea what they’re talking about, start making statements about government policies, it makes you want to vomit for seven hours.

I appreciate the fact that people like P.Diddy want to take a break from encouraging kids to wear gaudy bling-bling and dance around in tiny bikinis to encourage them to take interest in real world issues and vote.  It’s a good idea. But, “Vote or die”?! That’s just so… well… stupid. I saw an interview with Matt and Trey (if you don’t know who they are, you don’t belong on Trashwire) in which they said they think “Vote or die” is stupid because it tells young people to vote, even if they have no clue about the actual issues. Telling uninformed Americans to cast votes because it’s the cool thing to do is just wrong. If people don’t know anything, and don’t care to, that is their choice as Americans. This country was founded on the basis that you can choose whether or not to give a shit about something.

The movie attacks people like Sean Penn, and Janeane Garofalo who “read things out of the newspaper and then repeat it like it’s [their] own opinion.” Exposing the total hypocrisy of Hollywood activism, how could anyone not like that? It’s not like I’m saying these celebs are bad people, I personally think Janeane Garofalo is pretty funny, but they are really just actors, not politicians, or scholars, or representatives of America. Most famous people barely have high school educations, so they’re probably not the best ones to base your vote on.

That’s the point of Team America. Don’t vote for someone just because Alec Baldwin tells you to. Vote because you care, and you agree with what the candidate stands for. I also think this goes along with the idiots that voted for Bush because they thought “his wife was nice” or “he seems more friendly”. Those are stupid reasons to make someone the leader of the country. An informed voter would not choose a president because his hair was better. That’s how we choose our movie stars, not our decision makers. It’s that message that makes the movie so awesome. They’re able to convey their total disdain for actors, without really jamming it down your throat. They give you the greater meaning, but they keep the jokes coming too.

My favorite part about Team America is the music. As someone who’s seen nearly everything Trey Parker’s ever made, I must say I was really impressed with this work. If you thought South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut was good, you’ll love the songs in Team America. The primary song, and the one you’ll be singing in you head for days, is “America, Fuck Yeah!” It’s a fast paced action movie song that pumps up the team of marionettes as they race off to save the world. The best part is the long shout outs at the end hailing such characteristically American topics as baseball and slavery. Next up is the country ballad “Freedom Isn’t Free” in which we learn the true cost of freedom. Trey’s vocal abilities are amazing. His voice can fit any genre and style, and he’s infinitely talented at creating hilarious lyrics. My favorite song of the film is listed on the soundtrack as “The End of an Act”. This is a brilliant pop ballad we hear when Gary, the main character, has broken up with his love interest Lisa and is missing her “more than Pearl Harbor sucked”. Again, Trey’s voice is absolutely beautiful, but the Ben Affleck bashing lyrics are what make the song great.

Anyone who saw the Aspen episode of South Park will be thrilled to hear the infamous “Montage” in, what a coincidence, a montage sequence of the film in which Gary is training to be able rescue his captive teammates. Any Trey Parker fan knows that if you want to go from just a beginner to a pro, you need a montage.

Little inside jokes are Trey and Matt’s style. They know the best way to make sure your audience has a great time at your movie is to make them feel totally in on it. One reviewer wrote that as he sat in the theatre, people were laughing around him at parts he didn’t realize were jokes. He felt like he wasn’t part of the club, but desperately wanted to be. That’s why people like me can enjoy a Trey Parker movie on so many levels. It’s really funny if you’ve never seen anything by Trey, but it’s fucking hilarious if you get all the obscure references.

I rarely just promote something on this site, but I really want to encourage everyone to see this movie. I’m not going to tell you that you have to always vote democrat (though that’d be nice) but I am going to tell you that you have to see this movie. You’ll be happy you did. Then you too can be part of the little Trey and Matt club.

 

 

Check out the Team America: World Police website http://www.teamamerica.com

 

Download or preview the soundtrack on iTunes http://www.apple.com/itunes