FOLIO
“Hollywood’s Darkest Secrets Stolen!” blares The National Enquirer. “101 Stars Exposed in North Korea Hack Attack on Sony,” a bubble declares beneath the title. Framed by photos of angry celebs, the cover captions their outrage: “A-Listers LIVING IN FEAR as Their Private Files Are Leaked: Who’s Cheating? Who’s Broke? Who Hates Who?”
It’s understandable, I suppose, that the proofreaders of the Enquirer ignored good grammar toward the end in their evident glee to capitalize on the hullaballoo surrounding The Interview, the Seth Rogen/James Franco film that — despite the threats, cancellations, online streaming and eventual release — prompted all the nonsense in the first place, including a much-publicized gaffe by Barack Obama who, at his censorious best, referred to Franco as Flacco, an NFL quarterback.
(A personal observation: If James Franco doesn’t disassociate himself soon from Seth Rogen and the stupid movies they’ve been making together lately, his career will likely be even more mauled and forgettable than just his name.)
As for the precious princes and princesses of Hollywood, it’s hard to really give a flip. For most of us, I suspect, the foibles and travails of the pampered rich and famous are rather funnier than The Interview (by most counts, a truly dreadful effort at “comedy”). I was reminded of Ricky Gervais’ tweet regarding those celebrities whose “personal” nude pictures were similarly hacked and leaked: “Celebrities, make it harder for hackers to get nude pictures of you from your computer by not putting nude pics of yourself on your computer.”
Now that’s funny, even though Gervais rarely is.
Recovering from the flu over the holidays and with absolutely no desire to see The Interview, I opted to revisit Trey Parker’s Team America: World Police (2004), which featured North Korea’s Kim Jong Il as the Mastermind of Evil, plotting to unleash a hail of WMDs upon the world. Defending the Free World are the stalwart members of Team America, dedicated to wiping out terrorists everywhere (and in the process, accidentally destroying the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Sphinx and most of Egypt’s pyramids).
Outrageous in every way — mostly for the better — the creators of South Park (Parker and Matt Stone) use awkward marionettes for their featured cast, thus making the film even more hilarious and the satire even more pointed. (The tagline is “Freedom Hangs by a Thread.”) Nothing is sacred as everything (and everyone) is skewered. The conservative right and liberal left are targeted, as are several Hollywood icons, including Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, Martin Sheen, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon and others who end up going to literal bloody battle against the heroes of Team America in the film’s finale. Kim Jong Il’s metamorphosis is complete when he’s transformed into a scurrying roach.
Other brilliant satiric moments, bolstered by clever songs (as in Parker/Stone’s Book of Mormon), are directed at movie clichés (such as the overworked montage), Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor, and the stage musical Rent.
The DVD features the unrated director’s cut with even more outrageous scenes that weren’t shown in theaters. Be warned, and enjoy!
Follow FOLIO!