Max Nocerino 
“Finally, a South Park episode that is laugh-out-loud funny with a creative plot and a classic South Park twist,” says Max Nocerino
In the last episode, I complained that South Park just wasn’t as funny anymore. It was basically a clever infomercial poking fun at the hypocrisy and silliness of real life. It seemed to lose that edge that made it something that could make an adult laugh like a little kid. Maybe Trey Parker saw my review, as this episode could not have been funnier.
BUTTERS SCOTCH
Butters Scotch, the ultimate scapegoat in cartoon history, has gotten a part-time job at an ice cream shop. It may seem odd that a 9-year-old is allowed to work as working papers are usually obtainable at age 14. However, due to the tough job market and Millennials not working hard anymore, service jobs will take anyone they can get including Butters. Butters works hard at the shop and sings merrily as he scoops ice cream. Lu Lu Lu. He’s been chanting that for decades!
His parents have even given him his own bank account where he can deposit his paychecks. And it very much reminds me of when I started working at the movie theatre, fresh out of college.
CARTMAN
Eric Cartman, Butter’s pseudo-friend/bully is instantly jealous that his “friend” is getting paid. So he just walks into the ice cream shop to work because he had permission from his mother. The owner (an elderly white male) is flabbergasted at Cartman’s casual sliding into a job. But he hires him anyway, as he needs all the help he can get.
In stark contrast to Butters’s hard worth ethic, Cartman is lazy and unmotivated to work; taking breaks before his break to eat ice cream and talk on the phone. All the while his co-worker slaves away with the lunch rush. This very much lampoons the preconceived notion that Millennials/Gen Z are incredibly lazy and just expect things to be handed to them without really putting in elbow grease for it. In many ways, this is true and also highlights how the pandemic has made people more sedentary and anxious. This is accentuated by Cartman insisting he works from home and takes mental health days. Just because!
COMEDY
Cartman was told he wouldn’t last 4 hours working a job. The episode cuts away with time cards showing Cartman’s (lack of) progress. And he barely scrapes 3 hours before he quits, galvanized by his idea to start a hot dog restaurant out of his house. I was laughing hysterically at Cartman’s inability to do any type of work. And the name of his new hotdog business, which I will not say here for this review. But it’s, well, um an innuendo of the crudest kind.
The person financing the restaurant (of course) is Butters and Cartman strong-arms him into following his plan like he’s done since the dawn of time. However, the restaurant actually doesn’t open and consumes money just building it and benefiting Cartman (and his business partner Kenny). All the while Butters loses money and has to work late into the night and unblock disgusting backed-up toilets.
When Cartman is trying to hire staff for the restaurant, he faces many of the pitfalls he originally presented when he was working. And in classic South Park fashion, doesn’t see the redundant irony. The We-Took-Your-Jobs guy applies for a position, and I must say he is as funny as ever. Especially when he wants to work from home and take mental health days. Even though he is most likely a Boomer.
VERDICT
I’m not going to reveal the ending. It’s just too funny. However, if you want more, think back to when Cartman bought an amusement park. Or froze himself so he could get the Nintendo Wii faster. It doesn’t pan out for this spoiled, insufferable brat and he is “rewarded” with the very thing he originally wanted. But in a comical twist of fate that is not the ideal situation anymore. Anyways I LOVED this episode. It was funny with an engaging plot and had classic South Park epithets. I also like how it shined a flashlight on the work ethic of the current generation of society. Yes, South Park is ridiculous and exaggerated but, at its core, they aren’t 100% wrong.
Millennials and Gen Z CAN be very lazy and lots of them are the employees who slack off or make Tik Tok’s in the bathroom during their breaks. It also reveals the ugly effect that COVID has caused on ALL Americans with the stay-at-home initiative. We got so used to staring at a screen and doing everything virtually that we forgot how to work! I also need to comment on how the silly, inappropriate name of the Hotdog restaurant made me crack up. It generated nostalgia for the golden era of the show where Trey would use clever word spins and puns to make the situations even more deadpan stupid. Which brought out the little kid in all of us at the same time.
NEXT UP FINALE!
I am sad to say that we only have ONE more episode left in Season 26. But I feel confident now that South Park hasn’t lost its lungs. It can still make you guffaw like there is no tomorrow, and all my past reservations are wrong. Trey Parker – you are brilliant. A+++ The last episode will air within the month or whenever Trey feels like it.
UK fans can catch up with a host of South Park specials on Paramount+.
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Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
