Alferd Packer was the only man in the United States ever convicted
of cannibalism--what better hero for fellow Coloradan and future
South Park creator Trey Parker to celebrate in music? Blue-eyed
and boyish Parker was still in college when he wrote, directed,
composed the songs for, and took the starring role as the innocent
young Packer in this film, giving a gee- whiz performance as
an ambitious pioneer who joins an ill-fated trek west that ends
up stranded in the mountains. At times resembling a perverse
community theater parody of Rodgers and Hammerstein ("My heart's
as full as a baked po-ta-to!"), Parker bounces back and forth
between cheery production numbers and goony songs ("Let's build
a snowman," sings one starving-mad hiker) and grotesque gore
(bloody body parts, festering sores, human hors d'oeuvres).
It lacks in style and consistency and the juvenile gags and
fart jokes wear thin over the course of a feature film, but
Parker's sheer energy and inventiveness carry the overlong picture
to a rousing conclusion. Regular Parker collaborators Matt Stone
and Dian Bachar costar in this tuneful barbecue.
