Matt Stone and Trey Parker
Added 2023-08-21 19:51:41 +0000 UTCMy mom invited me to go see The Book of Mormon on stage with her a few weeks ago. I'm normally a bit of a musical purist, and so I don't really ever enjoy the modern ones. But knowing the South Park guys were involved the year the show initially premiered, I had always been very curious, and tracked the success of it closely. But as I watched it finally in 2023, of course the style and sense of humor was very similar to South Park. So it has led me down a South Park rabbit hole of content, where I am reminiscing with old episodes I loved as a kid, and catching up on the new ones I've missed in the last few years. I forgot how much it impacted my life growing up, and so many around me. Big fan of Stone/Parker and always have been. I never thought I would live to see the day where I showed my mother South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut...but it has happened. She seemed to enjoy it. It had been a while since I had watched it...but I still think it's one of the better movie musicals to come out in my lifetime. What do you guys think of it if you have seen it? And what's your opinion on Stone/Parker in general?
Comments
They certainly didn’t pull any punches 😥
LazyDoomShine
2023-08-29 06:50:51 +0000 UTCThat episode made me feel so sad :(
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-29 03:25:35 +0000 UTChighly recommend it
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-22 06:38:57 +0000 UTCOh I love Daria. That one thankfully has really gotten a resurgence. That's awesome that you kept up with it for so long!
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-22 06:38:37 +0000 UTCI watched it all from the beginning through to the release of the film then slowly stopped, however I had a friend who never stopped and he would occasionally make me watch it and over time I caught up with the bulk of the episodes, I've seen most of it up to maybe the last season or two, although it has on and off periods it's quite amazing that the satire has mostly remained razor-sharp over the years. I have another friend who still quotes from the film. The 90's really nailed animated satire considering several of the shows that started then are still going today. I actually went back and watched a show I missed entirely the first time round called 'Daria' earlier this year - that show is another superb satire that has aged really well. I'll have to try and find time to do a full rewatch of South Park at some point, it really does deserve it.
Ross Skilton
2023-08-22 05:19:44 +0000 UTCI saw South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut years ago, but I remember it well. One of the best animated comedies to this day. I admire uncompromising sense of humor of these guys. However, to be honest, somehow I rarely watched a TV show with no particular reason. I just didn't. Only lately some clips on youtube and apart from that, some fragments in the distant past. I've never seen a full episode. A lot to catch up.
Oskitello
2023-08-22 05:14:34 +0000 UTCYou’re in for such a treat. I think in particular “double down” is maybe the most insightful and genuinely thoughtful commentary on the Trump presidency that I’ve personally seen from a comedy format at least.
LazyDoomShine
2023-08-22 04:02:07 +0000 UTClol...my best friend and I used to sing that song at the top of our lungs all the time the moment our parents left to go run errands. And yes, I'm going into these new seasons and it's interesting to see how they are changing. And yet it's really astonishing how much they remain true to themselves. So many shows lose themselves. Even the best of them. Not south park.
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-22 03:10:53 +0000 UTCSame. They remain consistent, intelligent, and refreshing even after all these years.
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-22 03:09:26 +0000 UTCI’ve listened to Book of Mormon and I’ve been itching to see it on stage, but yeah, I’m a die hard fan of South Park and Stone/Parker. The whole team has done such a great job pivoting to more serialized storytelling for the past 6 seasons while keeping the South Park spirit alive. The movie is awesome - to this day I’ll catch myself humming, “Shut Your Fucking Face Unclefuckerrrr”
Jared Angcanan
2023-08-22 02:30:09 +0000 UTCIn this current climate, where comedy has become a crime, I admire the outlaws like Matt and Trey
Tyler Olson Films
2023-08-22 02:06:38 +0000 UTCOh yes...I am realizing we all have these stories. I watch now and can remember each time I would watch, hoping to God my parents wouldnt catch me. I can see how people may think South Park is juvenile but...I think she would probably love it if she liked Book of Mormon. They really are quite similar in style/structure. South Park just goes harder imo. And yes I agree there's something very genuine about Matt and Trey compared to other show runners that is refreshing. I've never played the games but I'm realizing that they are quite popular. But now that I see your recommendation, I will maybe check it out soon!
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-21 22:57:42 +0000 UTCI just added it to my watchlist.
Shane Palamara
2023-08-21 22:53:17 +0000 UTCOkay so...I am right around where you said. I just finished season 19 and I agree...a run of golden episodes with fantastic ideas. And...wow yes...season 20 is a mess. I think they made a lot of mistakes here, and it really shows. But I think they've learned from that, and a lot of people did at the time. I'm excited to get through 21. I just started!
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-21 22:24:04 +0000 UTCYou nailed it. You get what they are going after. If you love the show, then I highly recommend the film. It's really fantastic, and I rarely approve of tv shows that decide to do a movie. But here it works for me.
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-21 22:22:37 +0000 UTCAnd yes, I remember the episode with Randy so so well omg....that episode was burned into my memory for a good long while. I agree...I love randy. An underrated character.
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-21 22:21:53 +0000 UTCIt's a satire. Seeing it through the eyes of children is part of the point, which is why the innocent humor matched with the brilliant commentary on the world, works so well
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-21 22:21:21 +0000 UTCThe songs work for me because they are done in the style of the oldschool musicals. Rogers and Hammerstein and the like. I agree with you. I stopped watching sometime in high school and fully in college. Not for any reason. It was still great. I just moved on and I think a lot of people do at a certain point. But yes, I agree. WAtching some of the newer seasons...they absolutely still have it. I love this kind of humor. It's childish, but adult at the same time. And that to me is a combination of the greatest insight.
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-21 22:20:55 +0000 UTCModern satirists that have only gotten smarter (I think) as time goes on. I don’t know where you’re at in your catch-up, but season 19 for me is kind of a golden run of episodes. They chose to tackle gentrification from as many angles as they could, and they pulled it off pretty beautifully. Season 20 is an interesting trainwreck, but then 21 is absolutely stellar.
LazyDoomShine
2023-08-21 22:18:29 +0000 UTCYah, they make fun of everyone. That's why I love it.
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-21 22:17:59 +0000 UTCXD...I approve of this. Tis a catchy song. And yes...you should! It's totally worth a rewatch. Holds up very well imo
Deepfocuslens
2023-08-21 22:17:26 +0000 UTCI have a friend who works in Vancouver as an animator. Anytime he’s having a bad day our joke is “Blame Canada!” Outside of that Ive only seen the film once and remember it being pretty funny. Now I want to rewatch it.
Stephen
2023-08-21 22:09:42 +0000 UTCI was raised Jewish, so in middle school and high school I resented Stone and Parker because they basically made it cool for kids to make fun of Jewish people lol. But I still like their comedy for the most part
Henri J. Mertens
2023-08-21 20:53:18 +0000 UTCThat show was forbidden by my mother when I was a kid. I was at an arcade once at a very young age and I played a South Park pinball machine. I just did it because I loved pinball and would play it wherever I could find it. When my mom found me playing, she took me off it immediately because it was South Park and she knew exactly what it was. I didn't understand why she stopped me from playing a pinball machine at the time and if there was any of the vulgarity, I don't remember it and it didn't affect me at all. My mother was semi strict on what I could watch or play until late high school and I was a good son so I never developed any interest in the show and I still feel that way. From what little I've seen, it's one of the grossest shows I've seen and you know my opinion on gross out humor. It could do its satire just fine without being nauseating to watch. I'll give you the "annnd...it's gone" guy from the bank. That was pretty good.
Wolfman Brandon
2023-08-21 20:45:08 +0000 UTCI loved South Park while growing up. I didn’t care that they held nothing sacred, so much that their humor was outrageously funny. One of my favorite episodes was the one where Randy (best character on the show, imo) gives himself testicular cancer in order to get a prescription for marijuana. His balls grow so big that he starts to use them as a hoppity-hop to and from the dispensary. By the end of the episode, he’s got all the men of South Park bouncing their balls on the sidewalk. It’s hilarious. I think I stopped watching sometime during high school. Not because it got bad, but because…I suppose I just got tired and moved on from it. It happens even to good shows. But I recently caught the episode where they went after Harry and Meghan and I can say that they still got it. As for the movie, I laughed my ass off when I first saw it. I couldn’t believe how far they took things when given the freedom of the R rating. I remember that time, it was the summer of ‘99, and the MPAA was under fire for their pressuring films to trim content in order to secure R ratings. American Pie and Eyes Wide Shut went through that arduous process and people were crying censorship. South Park not only had to deal with the ratings board as well, but they made their movie about that very subject. The result was a very hilarious satire on American censorship. And yes, the songs were very well done. Trey Parker is a very skilled songwriter and it was no surprise that he and Matt Stone went on to make an acclaimed musical.
Bennett Oliver
2023-08-21 20:25:59 +0000 UTCI haven’t seen the film in its entirety but the clips I have watched were funny. I love the show overall. It’s my second favorite animated show ever, right after The Simpsons. I think it has great storylines that begin with an innocent set-up and always turn bat shit insane by the third act, usually involving government agents or country leaders. I also admire its boldness at being able to offend everyone equally. No one is safe which makes it that much better. Most shows are afraid of offending people nowadays.
Shane Palamara
2023-08-21 20:15:07 +0000 UTCFell out of South Park my senior year of high school probably? Also was a huge part of my life as a elementary and middle schooler. Got in trouble a couple of times when my parents caught me watching it in a very Christian household. Huge fan of the movie. My fiance is a huge musical theater person. We went and saw Book of Mormon together, had a great time and I've been trying to get her to watch Bigger, Longer and Uncut ever since. She has that point of view that South Park is just edgy, juvenile humor which is kind of true but I keep telling her the songs are genuinely fantastic and the humor does have a satirical edge that is smart. I've always appreciated how the duo have no sacred cows in their writing. It's also really admirable how they always put themselves on the line with their risky jokes or shit they know they'll get flack for by putting their voices at the front of the characters. I really hope they do another musical (live or filmed) one day cause I think their sensibilities both musically and comedically are just one of a kind. Also, highly recommend you check out the two South Park games, particularly The Stick of Truth. Just a treat as a fan and so very funny.
Tyler Shobe
2023-08-21 19:59:13 +0000 UTC
