My Favorite Movie of 2004: Team America: World Police

2004, what a year! There were great movies, there were shitty movies (like every year), and then there was Team America: World Police. I have to start off by saying my 2nd favorite movie that year was The Aviator. The only reason Team America took the #1 spot is because I have yet to memorize the entire script of The Aviator. From the twisted minds of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, Team America is mostly a satire on how American culture has changed since 9/11, but the main themes are more generally an acceptance of how American foreign policy is something of a necessary evil. Released only a month before the 2004 general election, many people expected the film to be mostly topical humor bashing both George W. Bush and John Kerry or maybe even Al Gore with his recent documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.

Surprisingly enough, in the world of the movie, the American government seems to be governed only by Team America, an organization made up of Lisa, a psychologist, her boyfriend Carson, Sarah, an alleged "psychic," Joe, a former high school quarterback from Nebraska (making him a natural born leader), Chris, the greatest martial arts expert from Detroit, their leader Spotswoode, and a computer named I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E. (No, it's never stated what it stands for). The movie opens with Team America foiling a terrorist plot in Paris, France (while destroying the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and the Louvre), but sadly a terrorist manages to kill Carson just as he has finished proposing to Lisa. Seeking a replacement for Carson, Spotswoode finds talent in Gary Johnston, a Broadway actor currently starring in the play Lease. After eventually convincing Gary to join, the new Team America flies to Cairo, Egypt to foil another terrorist plot.

The rest of the movie proceeds to deal with Hollywood's reaction (specifically the Film Actors Guild, or F.A.G.) to Team America recklessly killing civilians and destroying historical landmarks just to kill a few terrorists who aren't even the masterminds of all the terrorist acts around the world. There are more terrorist attacks and more satire, but the real source of satire are the endless songs parodying animated movies like the South Park movie did.

Team America stands the test of time because it is not simply a criticism of the Bush Administration's policies, but American attitude toward foreign culture, American foreign policy since the 50s, and the overbearing attitude of far-left liberals and far-right conservatives. Next week its time to get a little sexual and dirty with a movie that made us re-examine our attitudes on sex, The 40-Year-Old Virgin.