[7.9/10] Some parts of South Park hasn’t aged well (see: the Japanese news anchor), but others have aged impressively well, and “Ladder to Heaven” is one of them. Coming only a little more than a year after 9/11, the show’s ability to spoof how treacle merchants like Alan Jackson exploited the tragedy for tear-jerking financial gain is on point and quite funny.
The satire of a nominally sweet thing turning into an international dick-wagging contest is unfortunately on point. And the absurdity of it spinning out into the Bush administration seriously considering trying to bomb Heaven and trying to convince an incredulous U.N. to join in has some particular bite coming before the second Iraq Invasion was even formally launched.
But apart from the social and political commentary that is still sadly relevant now, this is just a funny episode. The boys’ dynamic in particular is outstanding, with their comic ribbing of one another feeling especially pitch perfect here. Their adorable ignorance of not understanding cremation, or how to get to Heaven, or other facets of life pays off in amusing ways. And the fact that everyone assumes they’re innocent kids on a quixotic quest to reunite with their friends, when in reality they just want to find Kenny so they can go on their candy spree connects with the larger themes of the show.
Overall, this is the show pitching its fastball in terms of both incisiveness of its commentary and the height of its humor. It’s a little surreal to revisit for those of us who lived through this time period, but also reassuring that the show was aiming at targets who would still feel like fair game all these years later.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-09-12T04:56:21Z
[7.9/10] Some parts of South Park hasn’t aged well (see: the Japanese news anchor), but others have aged impressively well, and “Ladder to Heaven” is one of them. Coming only a little more than a year after 9/11, the show’s ability to spoof how treacle merchants like Alan Jackson exploited the tragedy for tear-jerking financial gain is on point and quite funny.
The satire of a nominally sweet thing turning into an international dick-wagging contest is unfortunately on point. And the absurdity of it spinning out into the Bush administration seriously considering trying to bomb Heaven and trying to convince an incredulous U.N. to join in has some particular bite coming before the second Iraq Invasion was even formally launched.
But apart from the social and political commentary that is still sadly relevant now, this is just a funny episode. The boys’ dynamic in particular is outstanding, with their comic ribbing of one another feeling especially pitch perfect here. Their adorable ignorance of not understanding cremation, or how to get to Heaven, or other facets of life pays off in amusing ways. And the fact that everyone assumes they’re innocent kids on a quixotic quest to reunite with their friends, when in reality they just want to find Kenny so they can go on their candy spree connects with the larger themes of the show.
Overall, this is the show pitching its fastball in terms of both incisiveness of its commentary and the height of its humor. It’s a little surreal to revisit for those of us who lived through this time period, but also reassuring that the show was aiming at targets who would still feel like fair game all these years later.