June 'Nick's Pix:' SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER & UNCUT & Book Signing

Once again, it’s time to talk about my monthly 'Nick’s Pix' screening at the beautiful Lake Theater in Oak Park, and this month I am unbelievably excited because we are bringing back to the big screen one of the funniest, smartest, most outrageous, most offensive, and most brilliant movie musicals ever made.

Yes, on Wednesday, June 10th at 7:00 p.m. at the Lake Theater in Oak Park, I will be hosting a screening of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s absolutely genius 1999 animated musical comedy masterpiece.

And let me tell you right now: this movie is not for kids. Then again, if you know anything about South Park, you already know that.

One of the Best TV Shows Ever

For nearly thirty years, South Park has been one of the funniest and most fearless television shows ever created. It remains one of the sharpest satirical voices in American popular culture. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have spent decades offending people, making people laugh, making people angry, challenging authority, mocking politicians, attacking hypocrisy, and refusing to follow any rules whatsoever.

They have taken on religion, politics, celebrities, movies, television, censorship, music, social trends, world events, and pretty much every sacred cow imaginable. Nobody is safe in the world of South Park. And somehow, after all these years, it’s still relevant.

The animation is still crude. The humor is still vulgar. The language is still shocking. The satire is still razor-sharp. And underneath all the profanity and outrageousness, there are often surprisingly thoughtful messages about freedom, hypocrisy, censorship, and common sense.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve always loved South Park. It’s not just funny. It’s smart.

And the movie version took everything that made the television show great and somehow made it even bigger, even funnier, and even more ambitious.

A Classic Film

The story follows Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny after they sneak into an R-rated movie starring Canadian comedy icons Terrance and Phillip. After the boys start repeating the profanity they hear in the film, the adults completely lose their minds.

Parents launch campaigns against Canada, politicians get involved, America declares war on Canada, and before long the entire world is spiraling into chaos. Meanwhile, Satan and Saddam Hussein are plotting the apocalypse from Hell.

Yes, that’s the plot. And it is absolutely hilarious.

What makes South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut so remarkable is that it works on every level. It’s a terrific extension of the television series. It’s a brilliant satire about censorship and moral panic. It’s an incredibly funny comedy. And maybe most surprisingly of all, it is a genuinely great movie musical.

A lot of people went into this movie in 1999 expecting a feature-length episode of the TV show. What they got instead was a full-blown Broadway-style musical. Trey Parker and Matt Stone love musicals, and that love is all over this movie.

The songs are phenomenal. The staging is brilliant. The musical references are smart. The entire film works as both a celebration and a parody of classic movie musicals.

And honestly, I’ve always believed that Trey Parker is one of the great creative geniuses of our time. Now, Matt Stone deserves tremendous credit too, but Trey Parker has always struck me as the driving creative force behind South Park. He writes. He directs. He composes. He performs. He creates. Every episode of South Park bears his fingerprints.

And, It Prophesied THE BOOK OF MORMON

The incredible success of The Book of Mormon didn’t surprise me one bit because South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut was already proving twenty-five years ago that Trey Parker understood musical storytelling as well as anybody working in entertainment.

The songs in this movie are unforgettable. "Blame Canada" became such a phenomenon that it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Think about that for a second. A song called "Blame Canada" from a filthy animated comedy about foul-mouthed children got nominated for an Oscar. That alone is one of the funniest stories in movie history.

SOUTH PARK at The Oscars

And then, of course, there was the legendary Academy Awards appearance where Trey Parker and Matt Stone showed up dressed in outrageous gowns (including Trey wearing the famous Jennifer Lopez green dress) and composer Marc Shaiman was dressed as a pimp. And, reportedly, they attended the ceremony while under the influence of LSD. That is peak South Park. You simply cannot make that stuff up.

The movie itself remains one of the funniest films ever made. The songs are incredible. The jokes are relentless. The satire is fearless. The animation may look simple, but it’s actually remarkably effective. The voice work is terrific.

And somehow, amid all the profanity, fart jokes, and outrageous humor, the movie manages to say something genuinely meaningful about censorship, blame, personal responsibility, and freedom of expression.

Most importantly, it is still laugh-out-loud funny. And honestly, I think we could all use some laughs right now. That’s why I’m so excited to share this movie with you.

So here’s the deal.

SOUTH PARK: LONGER, BIGGER AND UNCUT, A 'Nick's Pix' Screening:

• Wednesday, June 10th. 7:00 p.m.

• The Lake Theater in Oak Park.

• Tickets are just $9 for adults and $7 for seniors.

• You can get them right now at classiccinemas.com/nick.

I’ll be there to introduce the movie beforehand, talk a little about its history, and celebrate one of the greatest animated comedies ever made. Then after the movie we’ll do what we always do: some Q&A, some trivia, some discussion, and I’ll be giving away prizes including T-shirts, movie passes, and other fun stuff.

And, It's a Book Signing!

Before and after the movie, I’ll be in the lobby selling and signing copies of my book 40 Years, 40 Films from Eckhartz Pess. It's my autobiographical journey through four decades as a professional film critic, featuring essays on my favorite film from every year since 1985.

It includes forty essays, references to more than four hundred films, and countless stories from my life at the movies. I’m incredibly proud of it, and I would love the opportunity to sign a copy for you.

So come out and join me.

Let’s celebrate one of the funniest movie musicals ever made. Let’s celebrate Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Let’s celebrate South Park. Let’s laugh until our sides hurt.

And when we’re all done, if anybody asks who’s responsible for all of it, well...

We can always blame Canada.

I hope to see you on Wednesday, June 10th at the Lake Theater.

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