Printer Friendly
The Free Library
4,656,147 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

A LITTLE BEAVIS LIVES IN ALL OF US : THE FACTS.


Byline: Glenn Gaslin Daily News Staff Writer

Maybe you just don't connect with with your inner-Beavis, that pimply, prepubescent prepubescent /pre·pu·bes·cent/ (pre?pu-bes´ent) prepubertal.

pre·pu·bes·cent
adj.
Of or characteristic of prepuberty.

n.
A prepubescent child.
 boy, that hormonal, media-addicted freak of nature within you.

If so, stop reading now because you won't appreciate the ingenious, new, feature-length (huh huh) cartoon ``Beavis and Butt-head Do America.''

But if you hate ``Beavis and Butt-head,'' you're going to miss one of the funniest, most entertaining and socially relevant movies this year.

Fans, however, should take note: This movie rules.

It's better than an all-day ``moron-a-thon'' and more satisfying than a deep, resonating res·o·nate  
v. res·o·nat·ed, res·o·nat·ing, res·o·nates

v.intr.
1. To exhibit or produce resonance or resonant effects.

2.
 belch belch
v.
To expel stomach gas noisily through the mouth; burp.
.

In its breadth, depth and plot line, the film falls somewhere between ``Pee-wee's Big Adventure'' and ``The Grapes of Wrath,'' between a contrived-yet-whimsical road trip and a poignant exploration of our nation's soul. No kidding.

The film is not, as some might expect, a series of gross jokes. It's a series of gross jokes amid smart cultural satire and a story line far more inventive than most sitcom stars get for their big-screen ventures.

Briefly, the two restless preteens face their deepest fear: Their television is stolen. In their quest to find it, they are forced to get off the couch, leave the house and flip through the 1,000-channel cable box that is America.

Along the way, from Texas to Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. , from Butte Butte, city, United States
Butte (byt), city (1990 pop. 33,336), seat of Silver Bow co., SW Mont.; inc. 1879. It is a trade, ranching, and industrial center.
 (huh huh), Mont., to Washington, D.C., they treat the world like a giant, lousy music video, essentially changing the station at every stop with a noncommittal, ``This sucks.'' They ponder their own mortality, hopelessness and origins (Yes, the question ``Don't those boys have parents?'' is answered. Sort of.)

And they accidentally get hired to kill a guy's wife (``He's gonna pay us to do her!''), wind up in possession of the world's most dangerous biological weapon and then get on a bus with a bunch of nuns.

No screen time is wasted on tiresome minutes watching and ridiculing videos, but other TV-show staples play key roles, especially the neighborhood crank Mr. Anderson Mr. Anderson can refer to several fictional characters:
  • Mr. Anderson is a character in the cartoon Beavis and Butt-Head.
  • Mr. Anderson is the form of address Agent Smith uses for Thomas Anderson (Neo) in the Matrix trilogy.
  • Mr.
, Beavis' mad-genius alter-ego Cornholio and the sensitive schoolteacher.

But the best supporting ``You rule, dude'' goes to Robert Stack, who parodies the voice of Truth and Justice he made famous in the original ``Untouchables'' and as the host of ``America's Most Wanted For the professional wrestling tag team, see .

For the United States FBI list of fugitives, see .
America's Most Wanted is a long-running TV show produced by 20th Century Fox.
.''

Stack, as an agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (or, as Butt-head puts it, ``beer, cigarettes and fire''), personifies the law-enforcement stereotypes inside the preteens' rerun-rich subconscious. The beginning credits also skewer cop-media with spoofs on ``Shaft,'' ``Starsky and Hutch'' and ``Charlie's Angels.''

And just because Beavis and Butt-head have gone mainstream doesn't mean they're ready to do Disney. They've grown from a twisted animated short called ``Frog Baseball'' to a big holiday-season kids-and-popcorn flick, so you might think they mellow out and stop talking so much about ``fire'' and ``chicks'' and their ``thingies.'' But creator/writer/director/voice/mastermind Mike Judge only digs deeper into the dementia.

In its three years on MTV MTV
 in full Music Television

U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business.
, ``Beavis and Butt-head'' has been widely noted for frightening parents and media watchdog people who would rather see a moldy moldy

animal feed overgrown with fungus; the feed may be harvested and stored or be still in the ground.


moldy corn disease
see leukoencephalomalacia, fusariummoniliforme.
 '50s sitcom starring Fred MacMurray and Ozzie Nelson.

Maybe it's because Beavis and Butt-head grow up in a godless god·less  
adj.
1. Recognizing or worshiping no god.

2. Wicked, impious, or immoral.



godless·ly adv.
, parentless world ruled only by the media and puberty puberty (py`bərtē), period during which the onset of sexual maturity occurs. . And maybe the show (and now movie) hits so many nerves - positive and negative - because there is truth in it, because Judge has created this decade's most accurate portrayal of the young male psyche.

And they're funny. Your inner-Beavis knows it.

The film: ``Beavis and Butt-head Do America'' (PG-13; sexual jokes, rude language, general adolescent unruliness).

The stars: Mike Judge, Robert Stack.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Mike Judge. Written by Mike Judge and Joe Stillman. Produced by Abby Terkuhle. Released by Paramount Pictures.

Running time: One hour, 22 minutes.

Playing: Citywide.

Our rating: four stars.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: When their TV is stolen, Beavis and Butt-head abandon their couch and take their act on the road in a full-length animated feature.
COPYRIGHT 1996 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1996, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:L.A. LIFE
Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Article Type:Movie Review
Date:Dec 20, 1996
Words:662
Previous Article:LATEST OUTING A `SCREAM,' EVEN FOR CRAVEN AFICIONADOS : THE FACTS.(L.A. LIFE)
Next Article:ANOTHER CASE OF CLASS CONFLICT : THE FACTS.(L.A. LIFE)
Topics:



Related Articles
Grand Canyon.
SWEENEY DARES TO GO FOR TRUTH.(L.A. LIFE)
`NATURALLY NATIVE' AN ACHIEVEMENT WITH LOTS ON ITS MIND.(L.A. Life)
`STRANGE PERSON' WALLOWS IN PERVERSE HUMOR, GORE.(L.A. Life)
ACADEMY AWARDS SHOW BRINGS OUT GOOD CRYSTAL.(L.A. LIFE)
KUDROW, SORVINO SAVE `REUNION'.(L.A. LIFE)
LITTLE ELSE LESS ORDINARY THAN `A LIFE LESS ORDINARY'.(L.A. LIFE)
`AMERICANS' TAKES THE LOW ROAD : THE FACTS.(L.A. LIFE)
CARTOON MORONS' CREATOR HIS OWN HARSHEST JUDGE.(L.A. LIFE)
A LITTLE BIT OF `MOTHER' IN US ALL : THE FACTS.(L.A. LIFE)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles