REVIEW: Cannibal! The Musical

It would be something of an understatement to say that I'm a huge fan of the duo of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. South Park, Team America, Book of Mormon; I love basically everything they've done. Anyone who's seen their work (especially Book of Mormon) knows that they're incredibly skilled at crafting musicals, resulting in work that is as catchy as it is hilarious. When I learned that the two had made a musical in the vein of Oklahoma! about pioneer cannibals that debuted years before South Park was even on the air, I knew I had to check it out.

The film tells the true story of Alferd Packer (Trey Parker, credited as Juan Schwartz); in 1873, he led a group of miners on a journey to Breckenridge, Colorado in search of fresh deposits of gold. As the title implies, things go poorly for the group and they're forced to resort to desperate measures to stave off starvation. We hear this story from Packer's point of view; when the movie begins, it's 1883 and Alferd is on trial for murder and cannibalism. He recounts the tale of his journey to Polly Pry (Toddy Walters), a reporter hoping to cover the story behind his ill-fated expedition.

The sense of humor is precisely what you'd expect from a movie with this sort of tone coming from Parker, Stone, and friends. It's all very silly, juxtaposing the grim horror the the situation with an absurdly cheery mood. It's an adaptation of the true story of a group of people who got lost in the Rocky Mountains and resorted to eating each other in order to survive, all conveyed by way of upbeat musical numbers. That said, it's important to keep this movie's origins in mind when watching it. Originally made as a 3-minute trailer for a film class, Parker and Stone went on to collect just over $100,000 in order to expand the project into a full-length movie, all while studying at the University of Colorado. The budget really shows, so anyone expecting anything on the same scale as Team America or Book of Mormon should adjust their expectations accordingly. I personally find the shoestring budget really endearing; it's evident that budgetary restraints forced them to think outside the box in some respects, leading to some really great moments (like when the protagonists stumble upon a tribe of Indians who continually call attention to their many teepees).

Cannibal! The Musical is a really fun time, as well as a truly interesting look at the early works of the team behind one of the biggest shows on Broadway. It feels almost like a spiritual prequel to Book of Mormon; all of the Parker/Stone trappings are there (from extraterrestrial visitors hiding in the background to references to the teachings of the Church of Latter-Day Saints) and the gruesome, unfortunate reality of the situation is presented by upbeat goofballs who sing and dance to jaunty show tunes. If you're into these guys' work as much as I am and want to see what they were doing before they made it big, I highly recommend you give it a watch.