For each television series of South Park that passes year after year, it would seem to be getting more and more surreal, downright bizarre and occasionally so puerile you would imagine that the creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker could sink no lower. Somehow, they do. However the sentiments of this 1999 film is not only as different as it's possible to get from its TV equivalent, it also displays all the traits of an all-time classic musical. The songs performed are nothing short of wonderful and would delight lovers – and haters - of musicals alike.
Let's be totally honest: it is also one of the rudest films of all time, introducing the world to a whole new lexicon of swearing, insults and crude, colourful language. It is, naturally, very, very funny.
But it is not just the swearing and trademark makeshift animation that escalates this film to cult status. The plot is nothing short of magnificent (and, writing in 2003, eerily prophetic). Without giving too much away, the four lads in the film (Cartman, Kenny, Kyle and Stan) sneak into a cinema to watch a smutty film starring two Canadian comedians, Terrance and Philip. The effect it has on their behaviour sends their parents up in arms, and a full-scale war with Canada develops. Satan and a dead Saddam Hussein feature, the latter having been killed by a pack of wild boars.
Not only was 'South Park' as controversial as it got a few years back, the furore surrounding this film at the time perfectly mirrored its plot within. Such is the cunning and near-genius of Parker and Stone. But it is not just a juvenile cuss-fest - its anti-war, anti-censorship, pro-family message, as well as its shrewd political commentary about race relations and the American military, makes it absolutely exemplary. It is a liberal's dream, a bigot's worst nightmare and, although it may not be one of modern cinema's crowning achievements, it sure feels like it is.