Rating: 
Summary: One of the funniest movies I've seen.
Review: Let's build a snowman. We can make him our best friend. We can name him Tom, we can name him George. We can make him tall or we can make him not so tall. Snowman. He'll have a happy face, happy smile, happy point of view. If you build me a snowman then I'll build one for you. I don't about any of you but I can't think of a better song to sing when your about to starve to death. This movies great so just buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Nifty and neat, NOT a family treat, but it can't be beat!
Review: Okay, I went all Seussical on you, but I figured that this film was worth it. Now, I have read several of the reviews which were written for this movie, and I'v heard the complaints, but here's what I have to say: This movie is unique. This movie is the kind of movie(s) which is dying out now. First off, it is a musical. This genre, whose sole supporter for the last few years (Disney) has almost completely left, is one which I in particular treasure. Sure, it's goofy to imagine that someone could suddenly burst into song in the middle of their heartache (or their triumph, or when describing what it's like to be a trapper :), but musicals speak to something within us, making the world just unreal enough to love. It's unique in the movie business in that it's surreal ways can increase the closeness someone has with a movie by being engrossed by the songs. Secondly, it's an Indie...a GOOD indie. A COMEDY/SLAPSTICK indie. And while there are no lack of sophmoric comedies availble, no one does it with such gusto, imagination, or daring as Trey Parker. The last indie with such imagination and zest that I'd seen was from Sam Raimi and Kevin Smith...and look at them. This film is unique. It's subtle in alot of ways, with alot of points to make which can been seen in more then one viewing only. True, sometimes there are periods without specific jokes, but if you watch the movie, you realize that the whole damned thing is one big joke. Plus, the music is simply amazing in it's fun and catchiness. In short, movies like this and Orgazmo (another of my favorites which has it's own brand of humor and much of the same cast) are gems to be treasured. They shouldn't be thrown out because they were made by two young college guys without any experience... Or two young guys with a well known TV show that many people have preconceptions about... To be honest, if Mel Brooks or another veteran had decided to undertake on this project, they probably wouldv've been applauded. So I applaud Trey Parker (this was truly his baby is you read the credits) for his genius, ingenuity, bravery, and wonderful singing voice. Shpadoinkel!
Rating:
Summary: Why don't people ever get the satire?
Review: People put it down for it's "numerous fart jokes" (which is greatly exagerrated), "crass humor", and "horrible" acting. What they don't realize is that the horrible acting is the joke. It's the 90's version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's making fun of every bad musical ever made, just like Rocky Horror was a parody of ever single b-movie ever made. And in true Rocky style, they made it so bad that it was comical. The style is of a movie that is trying to be serious but desperately fails (you know the type I'm talking about.) Everyone knows that the "facts" about the movie are false, that Packer really was guilty, but that's part of the joke. A perfect example is how in the beginning, the prosecuting attorney was telling how Alfred Packer brutally killed and ate his fellow travelers. Packer looks at the camera and says "But that's not the way it happened." It's satirizing the movies that are "based on a true story" that really just make the entire thing up. The songs, while catchy, are purposely cheesy as hell (my heart's as full as a baked potato!) and much to spontanious (let's build a snowman!) to satirize the woefully inept musicals out there. The plot is extremely cliched. And many don't get the fact that the acting is supposed to be bad and exagerrated to parody how badly many actors over acted in the western's in the 50's. But through it all, it's the home to one of the best movie lines of all time- "Shpadoinkle!" I guess there's a reason it's a called a cult classic. To the untrained eye, the jokes are too spread apart (although extremely hilarious.) To the rest, the entire movie is a joke. So I say that if you're a Rocky Horror Picture Show fan like me, or if you just enjoy sublte parody, then you should buy this movie. If you like joke-a-minute movies, the skip over it. But please don't put it down only because it was made by the creators of South Park, appreciate it for what it is-a genius piece of satire.
Rating:
Summary: Work of art. No, really. It is.
Review: What the hell is with the person saying people like this simply because of the director/writer? I LOATHED South Park until I saw this movie and after I saw it, I realized that Trey Parker (who wrote and directed this. Stone did nothing but act) worked on more than one level. It's pretty obvious in this. If you expect gore, cheap laughs, cursing, etc, then don't even bother. It's not meant to offend, it's not meant to be "shocking," it's meant to parody movie musicals from the 50's (much like That's My Bush. Few people understood THAT, too). Now, yes, there will be those who got everything and still hate it, and that's fine, but to the one bitter bastard who said this has fans because Trey PARKER has fans, then you should really stop envying him. It's not cool. Either way, this is the ONLY movie I'll call genius. It really is.
Rating: 
Summary: ".....it BITES!"
Review: This is one of the stupidest movies I've seen....even by my standards. It's not all that funny either. What it is though, is BORING! After the first hour or so, it picks up a bit. If you dig crass humor (and I do), the only way to watch this rubbish is on DVD, with the "Liquored-up Cannibals Director's Commentary" where director Trey Parker and other culprits drink, giggle, argue, belch and f*rt their way thru the whole film. This makes it at least watchable because they tell us where the funny bits are and they explain the many in-jokes and references. What really IS amusing is the fact that half a dozen guys can get so blitzed and obnoxious on one bottle of scotch, a few beers and some wine in such a short time. I give it 3 stars because it's not bad for a part-time effort by young college boys on 'spring break'. I didn't know this fact when I got the disc and was expecting something in the league of "Orgazmo" but...no way!! Even the guys in the commentary admit that it dra-a-a-a-ags in a lot of places and it "should be edited down to 12 minutes"...but the more boozed they get, the more fun they have with it. Maybe that's the answer!! The Troma disc has the usual generous helping of extra features. My advice is to rent BEFORE you buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Juvenile, wide-eyed, yet ironic; perfect college flick
Review: It's darn amazing what you'll find at the local rental store. For instance, I recently couldn't find a copy of "State and Main" (or, for that matter, "Rocky"), but unbelievably, there was "Cannibal! The Musical" sitting right there in the comedy section. My best friend and I were in a warped mood, so we picked it up without a moment of hesitation. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, a young and peculiarly gaunt Trey Parker (or Juan Schwartz, if you prefer) undertakes the task of recreating cult historical figure Alferd Packer -- the dude who was convicted of cannibalism sometime in the mid-1800s-ish -- with the assistance of a college-aged cast and crew and a nonexistent budget. While the comedy loses steam when it should be reaching its apex, as many comedies are wont to do, the humor is nonetheless fresh, alternating between whimsy and bite. The gore scenes weren't my favorite, as I am a squeamish girly-girl equipped with a quirky sense of humor but a low tolerance for gross-out jokes. I was, however, amused with the anachronistic tendencies (one character would call someone a "Gosh-darned so-and-so!" while another would out-and-out call someone an a--hole). And, in an unrelated thought: as I'm sure you've already heard in everybody else's reviews, there is an excellent song called "Let's Build a Snowman!" Joy in the face of adversity, that's what musical theater is all about. The movie (which looks exactly like what it is -- a college production) smartly mocks the genre of musical theater. Yet it simultaneously, and paradoxically, embodies the doe-eyed enthusiasm and naiveté it supposedly resents, in a way only a rebellious-but-hopeful young cast, in the purgatory between youth and adulthood, could possibly bring to fruition. Hey! There's also a fantabulous cowbell solo, which made me long for my Special Lad (who is a drummer of occasionally questionable talent). Shpadoinkle.
Rating:
Summary: SICK, DEMENTED, AND FUNNY AS HELL!
Review: LET ME START OFF BY SAYING THAT I AM A HUGE FAN OF MATT STONE AND TREY PARKER. I FIND THEIR HUMOR TO BE TASTELESS YET GREAT. WHEN I SAW THIS AT THE VIDEO STORE, I WAS A BIT SKEPTICAL, BUT RENTED IT ANYWAY. FOR THE NEXT HOUR AND A HALF OR SO, I WAS LAUGHING UNTIL IT HURT. THIS MOVIE IS SO GREAT. ITS A SPOOF OF "OKLAHOMA" AND OTHER WESTERN MOVIES WITH A TWIST OF THE "NAKED GUN" AND "SOUTH PARK." IF YOU ARE A FAN OF THE FARLEY BROTHERS (EX."DUMB AND DUMBER" AND "THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY")THEN I'M SURE YOU WILL LOVE THIS MOVIE. TRUST ME. ITS SO GOOD!
Rating:
Summary: Hey look! I found some fudge!
Review: I gave this bad boy four stars, but that takes into account that you voluntarily watch the movie (i.e. not forced by a bunch of stoned teenagers) on the basis of your love for the perceptive wit from these two directorlings and that you maybe even give it more than one chance. If you do, you may then go back and watch the DVD, and go through the enhanced features. The story is ticklishly pleasing, goofy, slapstick and clever as can be expected. The music is nowhere near as good as SP, but you can sense the roots. Besides the movie itself, Matt and Trey's senior film school project which biographies a mission of goldiggers in pursuit of happiness that turn to cannibalism, set to musical form- the DVD includes a delightful Director's Cut, in which Matt and Trey, our fav's, get together with their old college crewmates and talent to discuss the film/performances. While taking shots. Soberness leaves early on. I suggest you do the same. I can epitomize it by these two quotes (para) by Trey Parker: [at the beginning]-"Of course, this means we have to sit here and watch this whole thing now" [at the end, drunk] "Sh*t! I can't believe we made this! This is AWESOME!"
Rating:
Summary: CANNIBAL! The Musical
Review: TROMA Films bring us a horror/comedy/musical based on a true story from Trey Parker (the creator of "South Park") called CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL. The film follows the legendary story of Alferd Packer as he leads a group of miners into Colorado territory looking for gold. Along the way, the group becomes lost and cold and hungry...and soon they resort to eating each other in order to stay alive, and they also sing some catchy songs along the way before tearing each other apart! This was Trey Parker's first feature film ever and he made while he was a film school student and before he created the animated TV show "South Park." If you're a fan of TROMA movies, musicals, or Trey Parker's work, then you just have to pick this DVD up.
Rating:
Summary: Another musical & mountainous success for Parker
Review: Trey Parker has made a name for himself (at least in my eyes) as a remarkable triple-threat auteur, who's various strengths are shown to varying degrees in this comical odyssey. Parker's strength as an actor is twofold. First, he has a look of innocence about him, which is a wonder because it conceals a hyper-healthy subversive streak. He has these mopey wide eyes that may as well be sparkling, a goofy kid grin, and a perfect gee-whiz-aww-shucks quality to the way he speaks. Second, he manages to inject complete sincerity into the most ridiculous scenes (especially when he's singing) without a trace of irony. He understands his own material well enough to know that if he exaggerated his actions the humour would deflate. Co-star (and "Orgazmo" vet) Dian Bachar acquits himself equally well in this way, as a young man anxious for gold and woman (though not necessarily in that order). Contrast this with his partner Matt Stone's over-the-top acting style. Stone gets a lot of great lines here, but his lispy speech and contorted facial expressions nearly ruin the gags. Parker never falls into that trap. Parker the director tries his best to spread his wings, but is hampered by his film's measly budget. He has a tough time overcoming the cheap sound, cinematography and special effects he's saddled with. Sam Raimi, in similar circumstances with his "Evil Dead" movies, managed to create gloriously fun moments with his supreme inventiveness in editing. Parker tries his best, and nearly succeeds at times, but can't fully achieve his cinematic vision. Which is fine, because he does achieve massive success with his songs. And this being a musical, I suppose that the songs are key. Anyone who enjoyed his surreal odes to a certain "mountain town" in "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" will surely get a kick out of the tunes Trey's come up with here. Peppy opener "It's a Shpadoinkle Day" sets the stage ("the sun is hot like a baked potatoe!"), followed by "When I Was On Top of You" (a double-entendred filled paean to, you guessed it... his horse!), and "Let's Build a Snowman" (which rightfully entails execution to anyone who sings it). The final, showstopping number, "Hang the Bastard", even features some nifty choreography and a rockin' cowbell solo! The remaining songs, while sometimes hampered by poor sound and unintelligible lyrics ("The Trapper Song" being the cruelest victim), are comic masterpieces. Parker deserves additional credit for co-writing the score, which is uproariously cheesy but perfect for the film. The jokes here aren't as fast and furious as I expected, which makes them tougher to spot when they do come along. Some of my favourites include: the expedition's Mormon contingency repeatedly threatening to send a particular rowdy member to "take a time out"; a group of ruffian trappers who have their gang name (it's "Trappers", natch) sewn on to the back of their pelt jackets; and Parker's incredulous reaction to the old villain-who-won't-die-even-when-a-pick-axe-is-buried-in-his-chest routine. And there are some silly surreal moments to cherish as well, such as a band of Japanese ninjas disguising themselves as Indians, an absurd ballet dream sequence, and a hilariously heated discussion of musical theory between the trappers and the expedition. The sheer inventiveness of the whole enterprise makes one wonder what Parker and Co. could have done with a respectable budget and a top notch cast. Since we'll never know, why not enjoy "Cannibal: The Musical" in all its campy glory?
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