South Park- Poor and Stupid review

South Park! You’re back. We love this show, and we will love this show forever. There is no episode we truly hate. Sadly, this was not the premiere of season 14.5 that we wanted. It was pretty funny, but there were no truly incisive or laugh-out-loud moments. We wouldn’t talk about it to our friends or put it on our list of favorites. This episode was about NASCAR, which is sort of a fun community sport for hicks that really doesn’t do anyone any harm. Come on South Park, there have been gay suicides, Lady Gaga and her meat dress, the Westboro church sued in Supreme Court, Miley Cyrus “growing up,” and Glee coming back on air. None of that was good, current material?

The episode started with Eric Cartman sobbing in the hall, because he could never realize his dream to be a NASCAR driver, because he wasn’t poor and stupid enough. Kyle and Stan convinced him that if these were the criteria, he certainly had a shot. So Cartman set off to “prove himself.” He and his sidekick, Butters, adopted a Southern accent, made a video bashing Obama (“Obama is gay as hell"), and fought with Kenny (a character with which he usually gets along), because Kenny had the “natural talent” Cartman needed. Cartman raced in NASCAR, twice, but he didn’t win.

Our favorite part was when Cartman was trying to make himself stupider. He lay in the couch upside down, watching Two and a Half Men. Perfect. Then he ate a bunch of tubes of Vagisil. Disgusting. The Vagisil inventor ended up sponsoring Cartman in the NASCAR races. He grew three perfectly clean vaginas in his stomach. Beautiful. All the while, Cartman complained that he wasn’t stupid enough to race, even after doing this stuff. Also, as one of us is an accounting major, we really liked how Cartman said that poor people stay poor forever by buying stuff that is 0% down and no payments for two years.

Oh, and for your info, Leeard does not like NASCAR, but it has always been her dream to be a NASCAR driver. Yet another thing she has in common with Cartman. Ern has been to two NASCAR races and enjoyed them both, but she wonders how that ever became a sport/pastime people just accept and enjoy. NASCAR is funny, but it’s not as deserving of South Park’s wrath as their past targets.

Episode grade: C+

Watch this episode here: http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s14e08-poor-and-stupid#w=10.06.2010