How Trey Parker’s Obsession Turned an ‘Online Marketing Video’ Into a Real Documentary

When “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker thought they might buy the beloved Denver restaurant Casa Bonita, one of the first calls they made was to director Arthur Bradford. The two Comedy Central powerhouses have worked with the filmmaker for nearly a decade and a half, going back to when he directed their 2011 making-of documentary, “Six Days to Air.”

“Whenever they had a new project or just something that seemed interesting to film, I was always after them to let me do it,” Bradford told TheWrap. The director is currently on the set of Stone and Parker’s upcoming live-action comedy with Kendrick Lamar, working on another making-of film.

Initially, “¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!” was envisioned to be an “online marketing video” that could be shown as people waited for their food. But as Bradford and his long-standing photography director P.H. O’Brien worked on the project, it became clear that there was more to this story.

“There was this emotional aspect to it with Trey. His obsession with [Casa Bonita] was so great that it actually did have the depth that a real documentary demanded,” Bradford said. “But we didn’t know that until the editing process.”

The film premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, where it won the Audience Award, and was screened at the 51st Telluride Film Festival. Following a limited theatrical run, the documentary from MTV Documentary Films and Sweet Relief Productions is now available to stream on Paramount+.

Parker and Stone’s love of Casa Bonita is well documented. In 2003, “South Park” released an episode about the Denver restaurant that went on to become one of the long-running series’ most-remembered installments (in what is essentially a love letter to the Mexican-themed restaurant, Cartman schemes his way into scoring an invitation to Kyle’s birthday by convincing Butters the world has ended and he needs to stay hidden. When it’s finally revealed Cartman is responsible for this missing child saga, he goes on a Casa Bonita speed run, wolfing down tacos, jogging through Black Bart’s Cave and finally jumping off the cliffs of the restaurant). So when the cult attraction became available in 2021 following bankruptcy, Stone and Parker stepped in to take it over.

As Bradford filmed, the online marketing video first transformed into a docuseries about Casa Bonita’s extensive renovation in the same style as “Kitchen Nightmares” or an HGTV show. Though Stone and Parker originally planned to spend $6 million on the restaurant, the budget exceeded $40 million. Bradford and his team even cut a version of the project that focused more on the logistics of the repair, which was composed of three 45-minute episodes. But when that version was shown to Stone and Parker, Stone stepped in and offered a new direction.

“It was really apparent, even just from watching that, the most interesting stuff was Trey,” Bradford explained. “Honestly, this documentary is really about Trey and his obsession with Casa Bonita.”

“¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!” dives into why this off-kilter restaurant means so much to Parker and to Colorado residents. After that new focus was established, Parker stayed out of the creative process, though Stone remained “very involved.” Bradford praised both Parker and Stone for never being controlling in his portrayal of them. If Stone ever gave notes, it was often to include more scenes where they looked “stupid or silly.”

“Most people don’t have the confidence to give that kind of note,” Bradford said. “To them, the most important thing is telling a good story and for it to be compelling.”

However, there was one major moment where Parker creatively weighed in: the documentary’s conclusion. During one of his final interviews with Parker, Bradford told the showrunner he wanted to end the film in the same way as the famous “South Park” episode. In Season 7, though Cartman’s wish to go to Casa Bonita comes true, he’s ultimately banned for life from his favorite restaurant. When Bradford said that, Parker’s eyes “lit up.”

“¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!” ends on a surprisingly somber tone. In an intimate interview, Parker reveals that though he spent so much time and money to preserve the place he loves, he can no longer just be another patron. He’s now an attraction. Wistfully, he admits that he can never go back.

“I feel like Trey wrote that ending himself. He knew that was a cool ending for it, and he did it spontaneously,” Bradford said, before clarifying that Parker’s insistence that he can’t return is more of an emotional observation than an actual one. In reality, Parker remains a hands-on co-owner.

“The truth of it is he can’t enjoy Casa Bonita as he used to as a kid,” the documentarian noted. “For Trey, everything is about childhood. ‘South Park’ focuses on kids and he’s just so into that world. It’s this profound realization he has that he can’t go back, which I do think is kind of sad but also beautiful.”

When asked if there’s anything he wished remained from the first three-episode cut of the project, the director had some favorite axed moments. For example, a deep dive into Casa Bonita’s puppet show, an interview with one of the cliff divers who left an Amazon warehouse to be part of the staff and an especially gross shot of raw sewage were all standouts. “Maybe we’ll put them online or something,” Bradford said of the interviews with staff members.

But, ultimately, he is happy with how “¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!” turned out and praised the documentary’s editing team of Chad Beck, Devin Concannon, Paul Frost and Bret Granato.

“I’m very proud that it’s only 88 minutes. I don’t think it’s too long, it’s a very tight movie. So I don’t really wish that the movie were longer,” Bradford said. “A lot of documentaries are depressing, frankly. They’re about problems in the world and this is a documentary that is not at all depressing. It’s funny and light, so maybe that’s why people watch it.”

“¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!” is now available to stream on Paramount+.

The post ‘¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor!’: How Trey Parker’s Obsession Turned an ‘Online Marketing Video’ Into a Real Documentary appeared first on TheWrap.