You know, when a movie’s rating box alerts you that the film has been “Rated R for Graphic, Crude and Sexual Humor, Violent Images and Strong Language, All Involving Puppets”, you can’t help but be sucked in. When you know the movie comes from the demented minds that bring us South Park, you can’t help but be curious. But when you hear that the movie almost got the dreaded NC-17 rating because a puppet sex scene was too much, well damn it, I’m in!

Yes, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, those purveyors of adolescent bad behavior on South Park, bring us Team America: World Police, a movie that will offend everybody. It’s not a great movie, because it doesn’t always seem to know who it’s real target is: Terrorists? Way too politically active activists? Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay? But in a way it is a great movie because it has the balls to be all puppets all the time! And hey if it beats up on some people who are too full of themselves, then so be it.

I have to say, I laughed throughout this movie, but I have to admit that it was mostly an embarrassed groan, not a heartfelt guffaw…especially during the puppet sex scene. Shameful, but funny!
I have to give it up to these two guys. Sure they only know about three voices between them, but you get so tied up listening to the words spewing from the mouths of these two foot tall puppets, that it doesn’t matter if everyone sounds similar, or even that the main villain sounds almost exactly like Eric Cartman.
And all things considered, the movie looks pretty good. A lot has been made out of the fact that the movie was filmed by acclaimed cinematographer Bill Pope. And the sets and backgrounds are very nicely put together.
And the music…it was a pleasant surprise. I mean, yeah, a song about how everybody has AIDS might not be funny to everybody, but within the context of the movie…hilarious. I thought all the songs were pretty great.

This movie definitely isn’t for everybody, but it’s entertaining and rude and fun!