“This is about more than fart jokes! This is about freedom of speech. About censorship, and... stuff.” Welcome to Harbour Highlights, a series of cult and classic favourites, handpicked by the staff of Harbour Lights. For July, Stephen goes on down to South Park to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their very sweary, very smart and very funny big screen debut, Bigger, Longer & Uncut. Released in 1999, less than two years after the South Park TV show began, Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s movie spin-off was initially seen as an attempt to cash in on a current fad (the show is still going strong a quarter of a century later). But critics were surprised that what emerged was a smart and knowing satire, using all the outrageous humour of the show to take aim at the nature of censorship and parental responsibility, with the film’s reputation only growing over time into a genuine comedy classic, a well as a surprisingly great musical (Stephen Sondheim called the film his favourite modern musical), prefacing the pair’s work on The Book of Mormon. Silly, lewd, controversial, scatological, sweary but mostly very, very funny, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is the best kind of satire: one that sharply skewers its targets - religion, war, Windows 98 - but never at the expense of the joke. Especially if the joke involves vomit, flatulence or Satan crooning a yearnful ballad about acceptance.