The Dude, Where's My Car? Store

Photo © Copyright Twentieth Century Fox	Photo © Copyright Twentieth Century Fox
Photo © Copyright Twentieth Century Fox	Photo © Copyright Twentieth Century Fox

Dude, what the hell?:  Dude, Where’s my Car?
by Christian De Matteo

Solid (…kinda’)

            Okay, I guess we’ll start with the positives…

            Okay, no, we’ll start with the negatives…uh, damn.

            Okay, the movies frickin’ out there.  There’s a start.  I’ve had no idea how I was going to review this movie because it’s a one-of-a-kind experience.  I think in a good way.

            The basic premise is about two guys who make Bill and Ted look like brain-surgeons; Jesse and Chester wake up after an intense night of partying and have no idea what they did.  And their car’s gone.  As things progress they are approached by everyone, from leather-clad Sweetish aliens, large breasted alien babes, and a random Kristy Swanson’s jock boyfriend, to a transsexual stripper and a bubble wrap-clad cult about some out-of-space gizmo that they apparently had in their possession the night before.  After that it gets weird.  What?  You thought what I just described was weird?  How about being chased by head-butting ostriches into the clutches of a mad French ostrich farmer who cages people in a little shack and keeps them for years if they can’t answer nature questions?  You see what I’m working with now?

            The film is either the most extensive homage to all the Bill and Ted/Wayne’s World/Animal House/The Blues Brothers/Dumb and Dumber-type movies that have ever come out or the biggest rip-off ever.  I would categorize it as homage and not rip-off, because the film takes all the standard gags from these types of movies and blows them up to the point of absolute absurdity.  I can’t think of a stupid humor movie I’ve seen with humor this stupid, and yet still funny the majority of the time.  Ashton Kutcher (TV’s That 70s Show) and Seann William Scott (Road Trip, American Pie) are so painfully mentally feeble, that watching the movie becomes difficult at times.  But it also becomes a riot.

            There are scenes in Dude where I was laughing hysterically more out of disbelief than outright humor and I loved that.  There were other scenes where I was rolling my eyes and wondering how someone could write a line so utterly stupid.  I never thought it was possible that I could watch this kind of movie and be totally confused by the rationale of the plot.  Then I realized there is no rationale and very little plot.  By the end of the film everything ties together in a way that is simultaneously inspired and unforgivably ridiculous.

            Never, I repeat, never, watch this movie by yourself.  This one needs a beer-guzzling, pizza-eating group of goofballs to be enjoyed.  You won’t find anything near meaning or truth in this movie, or anything near intelligence for that matter, in this flick.  Don’t try to deconstruct it, don’t try to hold it to any rules, don’t try to follow its logic.  You won’t find it possible to do.  What you will find is comedy so outrageously stupid that you can’t help but shrug and enjoy yourself…so long as you’re willing to totally let go of your intellect.

            Realize going in that this is not a movie you’ll think about later.  In fact, after seeing it, you might not think at all.

The Rumor Mill & 
Trivia Section:  Goofs, 

Do you have any trivia or rumors you'd like to share? 

  Dude, Where’s My Car director Danny Leiner graduated from SUNY Purchase with now live-in “friend” Edie Falco, of “Sopranos,” “Cop Land,” and Bullets Over Broadway” fame.  He has also directed television, including “Freaks and Geeks” and “Strangers With Candy.”
     Philip Stark is the Story Editor for TV’s That 70’s Show.  That’s right.  The story editor.
     The Twins:  Wilma is played by Marla Sokoloff, most known for David E. Kelly’s TV Drama, “The Practice.  Wanda is up and coming TV movie star Jennifer Garner, wife to Scott Foley.  She will soon be seen in Pearl Harbor.
     Secret Stars to Look For:  Brent Spiner, Andy Dick, Stuttering John Melendez, and, yes, Fabio.
     Kristy Swanson’s character’s name is Christie Boner.  Not even kidding.
     Budget:  $13 million.  Opening Weekend Gross: $13.845 million (2^nd Place!) 
     Listen to the end of the credits . . .