South Park Creators Sink $40 Million Into Ridiculous Restaurant In Paramount+ Documentary
When South Park’s “Casa Bonita” episode came out in 2003, we bore witness to Eric Cartman’s unhealthy obsession with what he calls “the Disneyland of Mexican restaurants” as he makes a desperate attempt to kidnap Butters and hide him in a bomb shelter for a week so he could attend Kyle’s birthday party in his place at the titular restaurant. After watching the Arthur Bradford-directed Casa Bonita Mi Amor! documentary about Trey Parker and Matt Stone actually buying the Denver restaurant out of bankruptcy and sinking $40 million into a monolithic renovation and restoration that required a biblical amount of work to accomplish, I now know that Eric Cartman’s behavior in “Casa Bonita” was barely exaggerated at all.
Filmed in the same fashion as 6 Days to Air (also directed by Bradford), Casa Bonita Mi Amor! demonstrates just how dedicated Parker and Stone are to their creative projects as they apply the same monastic obsession to what most sane people would consider to be a very ill-advised investment.
Casa Bonita Mi Amor!
Between runs of South Park, Parker and Stone decided to embark on their most daunting project to date (sorry, The Book of Mormon) in Casa Bonita Mi Amor! The 52,000 foot Mexican restaurant was in a state of total structural disrepair and financial turmoil during its final years before closing down after a decades-long run, and Parker and Stone teamed up with investors to see what they could do to save Parker’s favorite childhood restaurant from becoming a dilapidated relic of the past.
Wanting to recapture the magic he experienced as a child and pass it onto future generations, Parker initially thought that the project could be completed with a budget of $6.5 million, but it took a very short amount of time to realize that new carpets and a fresh coat of paint wouldn’t be enough to restore the establishment to its former glory by a longshot.
Working with the same level of tenacity that goes into producing an episode of South Park, Parker and Stone immediately know that they made a very stupid decision, but decide to see the project through to the end, even if it means they have to throw down $30 million of their own money to pull it off. As the costs continue to climb, you see the light slowly drain out of their eyes, but they continue to push forward in good spirits because they know the legacy they’ll leave behind if Casa Bonita remains standing for another 50 years will be worth their dedication.
The Best Kind Of Unintentional Comedy
It goes without question that Parker and Stone are naturally funny creative partners, and if Casa Bonita Mi Amor! tells me anything about the duo that I didn’t already know, it’s that they know how to keep a viewer laughing when things get serious– even when they’re up to their eyeballs in HVAC replacements and fountain repairs, looking for an executive chef, and figuring out how to get Casa Bonita opened so they can start earning back on their investment. I’m not a huge fan of renovation shows because they’re so incredibly boring, but Casa Bonita Mi Amor! never loses its sense of humor because it’s not in Parker and Stone’s DNA to not be funny.
While it’s not a particularly in-your-face kind of funny, I found myself laughing out loud the most when Parker was agonizing over what kind of props he should purchase for the puppet shows just before being told that a newly uncovered structural issue will need to be addressed, costing millions of dollars. The only thing missing from this documentary that would confirm Trey Parker is basically Eric Cartman in human form is the South Park creator ringing a bell in a state of unbridled enthusiasm and yelling “more sopapillas please!” while trying to evade the police before hiding out in Blackbart’s cave until things blow over.
It’s all for the kids
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Casa Bonita Mi Amor! is an incredibly disarming documentary about what happens when a passion project – an incredibly misguided one at that – comes from a genuine place. After Parker and Stone’s first walk-through of the restaurant that they bought “as is,” it becomes clear as day that they will spare no expense because kids (and their parents) deserve to experience such a magnificently absurd restaurant concept that shaped who they were when they were just children themselves. There are several moments in the documentary when they just want to throw their hands up and count their losses, but they continue to press forward despite the obstacles they face.
Once again, Trey Parker and Matt Stone prove in no uncertain terms that if you’re creative, ambitious, sincere, and have $40 million, anything is possible.
You can stream Casa Bonita Mi Amor! with a Paramount+ subscription.
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