Reviews

This movie is the second most feeble attempt by Stone/Parker (see my review of Orgazmo). With this film, I think the two dunderheads were going for genuine satire but what they achieved was another pointless, puerile piece of mediocrity that belongs in the trash instead of your DVD player. The plot is awful, which would be all right if the humor was there, but in most cases it's not. There were a few redeeming qualities, such as the soundtrack, the infamous vomit scene, and the subtle parody of that God-awful abomination "Rent," but most of the film relies on Parker/Stones witless sense of humor that somehow takes the random and shocking and makes it trite, mundane, and just plain unfunny. Instead of even remotely resembling a clever satire of American jingoism, (this movie was so poorly written, I'm not even sure that's what they were going for), this movie is reminiscent of a ten-year-old Rush Limbaugh's wet dream. And I had the misfortune of renting the unrated DVD with the extended puppet sex scene... disturbing at best. Don't see this movie, there are much better ways to spend 90 minutes.

I'll admit, when I got together with a few friends to watch this movie, my expectations were very low, even for a comedy. Since all I knew about the film was that it reeked of Trey Parker's childish brand of tasteless, banal humor, I didn't think it would be on par with some of the funnier movies of the nineties. Man, I hate being right all the time. During the first three quarters of the movie (that's all my friends and I could stomach before turning it off), I think I might have chuckled once. I can't believe Parker had actually improved on his mediocre, juvenile, body of work with South Park and Team America: World Police. This film didn't even have shock value, a seemingly must-have for Parker. It chronicles a Mormon missionary's transformation into a male porn star. Sound stupid? It actually plays out worse than it sounds. But it's not the plot that drives a decent comedy, it's the humor, right!? I wish it did. The "jokes" in this movie are so witless, it makes South Park look like Frasier. Running gags that aren't funny the first time are rehashed again and again in the same pointless manner. Instead of making satirical jabs at the porn industry or the Mormon religion, Parker makes dimwitted toilet jokes and calls his sidekick "Choda boy." That's not even funny! Which brings me to the other downsides of this movie. Other than an unfunny, trite script and a stupid story, the cinematography is horrible, even for a comedy flick, the characters range from annoying to detestable, and the poor production quality makes this movie even worse than it already is. The only thing shocking about this movie is that Trey Parker wasn't lynched for making it. If I could, I would give this movie negative stars. Avoid at all costs. Rent Billy Madison, Wayne's World, or Tommy Boy instead. Don't waste your money on this witless wonder.