TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE

US, 2004, 98 minutes, Colour.
Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Kristin Miller, Masasa Moyo, Daran Norris, Phil Hendrie, Maurice La Marche.
Directed by Trey Parker.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone have had an extraordinarily long career with their animated series on television, South Park. They had touched on all kinds of satirical subjects for two decades. They have been able to offend so many audiences – but have also tantalised audiences with their characters, the voices, the children in their series and their seeming sophistication and innocence, and touching on all kinds of political issues, the range of presidents from the time of Bill Clinton to Donald Trump, satire on Hollywood and actors, especially the Baldwins, and international leaders from Saddam Hussein, pictured as Satan, to the Korean leaders and the nuclear threats.

They also had extraordinary theatre success and awards with The Book of Mormon.

With their creation of Team America and the release of their film of 2004, they brought their satire into the cinema.

Everybody seems to be the target. The film opens with an American intelligence, a flying squad of men and women, who show that America is the greatest even when they are destroying all kinds of sacred monuments from the Eiffel Tower to the pyramids and the Sphinx.

Romance is in the air with one of the main agents, Carson, in love with Lisa – and proposing to her after the destructive mission against terrorists in Paris and his suddenly being shot, and urging her to seek someone else.

In the meantime, there is a huge computer I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E and its administrator Mr Spottswoode. He is particularly taken by an actor, Gary, performing in a Broadway musical, Lease (a parody of the songs, sets and themes of Rent). He is recruited by Mr Spottswoode to be an actor, infiltrating himself into terrorist cells. The rest of the Team are on his side except for one who is continually suspicious.

In the meantime, we are taken to Korea where Kim- jung Il is in collaboration with Middle Eastern terrorists with a plan to take over the world. Quite a lot of the film is spoof and satire on the Korean leader, his personality, his ambitions and tactics.

As with South Park, there is a lot of satire at the expense of Hollywood actors including and Adam Baldwin, Samuel L. Jackson, Helen Hunt, Sean Penn, George Clooney, Liv Tyler – all in the name of the Film Actors Guild (F.A.G. often in prominence). They are recruited by the Korean leader, and are vocal in their wanting negotiations rather than warfare, a call to an important meeting in Korea with a clash with Team America, most of them being spectacularly mown down and killed.
At various times, the characters burst into song to illustrate their characters and give the audience some breathing space.

Gary infiltrates a cell in Egypt but is taken away in a truck through the desert, gesticulating wildly to be extricated but this is not understood by the fellow agents. There is a huge attack – and the destruction of the ancient Egyptian monuments.

Gary is dismayed by his seeming to let the side down, hides himself, drinks, until he is recruited again by Mr Spottswoode who demands fellatio as a sign of complete trust, with some very blunt South Park dialogue about this. Gary complies and returns to action.

In the meantime, there are romantic tangles and jealousies in the team, Joe in love with Sarah, Sarah in love with Gary, Lisa in the middle.

All this comes to a head with a terrorist and Korean attack, I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E going out of action, Mr Spottswoode thought to be dead, planes going down into the ocean, support from the hostile agent in a submarine, and the team all captured and interrogated -and, ultimately supporting Gary.

But, this is America, and there is heroic rescue and everything comes right at the end.

As with South Park, most of the voices are from Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

While the film came out in the aftermath of 9/11 and the posturing of North Korea, it would probably find a new audience in the era of Donald Trump, North Korean tests and the ensuing threats to the rest of the world. And the question of Donald Trump will make America great again.