BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA
A film review by Chad Polenz
Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz
*** (out of 4 = good) 1996, PG-13, 81 minutes [1 hour, 21 minutes] [animated - comedy] Featuring the voices of: Mike Judge (Beavis, Butt-Head, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Van Driessan, Principal McVicker), Robert Stack (ATF Special Agent Flemming), Bruce Willis (Muddy), Demi Moore (Dallas), produced by Abby Terkuhle, written by Mike Judge, Joe Stillman, directed by Mike Judge.
>From the concept alone "Beavis And Butt-Head Do America" sounds like it would be the stupidest thing ever made (and it pretty much is), but it's still good.
The film wastes no time in showing us just how dumb B&B (both voiced by Judge, among other characters) are when we see the living room window has been broken, the TV is missing, footprints lead out the door, and somehow the two are unable to figure out what happened to the magical box. "This sucks more than anything that has ever sucked before" says Butt-Head. It's this kind of exaggeration of the characters' idiocy that makes for the offbeat comedy.
As the two look for another TV they somehow stumble upon Muddy (Willis), a typical villain who mistakenly thinks they are hitmen he hired to "do" his wife Dallas (Moore). Of course they misinterpret his words and think they're "finally gonna score." So the film essentially becomes a "road trip" and "fish-out-of-water" comedy, and it actually works.
In the spirit of "The Naked Gun" and "Dumb And Dumber," the jokes here are quick, weird, and close together. It would take too long to give examples of specific jokes but they all pretty much revolve around the concept that they are too dumb to understand anything. When they act in the way they think is appropriate it's just so insanely stupid it's hilarious.
The two travel with a senior citizens tour bus from Texas to Las Vegas to Washington, D.C., causing mass hysteria in the process because unbeknownst to them, they are carrying a government-made virus that Muddy's wife Dallas sewed into Beavis' shorts. Robert Stack co-stars as the voice of the investigator, Agent Flemming, using much of the same serious-but-funny attitude he displayed in "Airplane!" and constantly ordering cavity searches.
It's that mix of the serious, the idiocy of B&B, and the overall satirical theme of the movie that makes it good. This animated film is much funnier and better made than many live action comedies that rely on cliche after cliche to tell a story and make for gags. I'll have to admit there's nothing cliche to this movie. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before.
I'm sure there's a case waiting to be made that Beavis and Butt-Head are not simply moronic cartoon characters, but a genius, comedic manifestation of American apathy, especially that of Generation X. Why would two, weird-looking teenage boys obsessed with television, pornography, and bathroom functions be so appealing? I can't answer that question, but what I do know is they are funny because they are so weird and stupid. It takes a lot of talent to create, and write for characters this stupid because they live in their own reality, and a detailed one at that.
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