Encino Man (1992)

When they find a frozen caveman in their backyard, two high school outcasts thaw him out and introduce him to modern day life while he in turn, gets them to actually enjoy life.

Director:

Les Mayfield

Writers:

George Zaloom (story), Shawn Schepps (story),

Stars:

Sean Astin, Brendan Fraser, Pauly Shore

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Astin	...	Dave
Brendan Fraser	...	Link
Pauly Shore	...	Stoney Brown
Megan Ward	...	Robyn Sweeney
Robin Tunney	...	Ella
Michael DeLuise	...	Matt Wilson
Patrick Van Horn	...	Phil, Matt's Thug #1
Dalton James	...	Will, Matt's Thug #2
Rick Ducommun	...	Mr. Brush
Jonathan Ke Quan	...	Kim (as Jonathan Quan)
Mariette Hartley	...	Mrs. Morgan
Richard Masur	...	Mr. Morgan
Ellen Blain	...	Teena Morgan
Esther Scott	...	Mrs. Mackey
Steven Elkins	...	Mr. Beady

Storyline

Stoney and Dave find a caveman (Link) trapped in ice, thaw him out, and show him around town. Although Link is slow to catch on to basic concepts of 20th century life, he has no trouble impressing all the girls and helping Stoney and Dave find the coolness they've been searching for.

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Plot Keywords:

school | ice age | caveman | high school | swimming pool | 

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Taglines:

A chillin' new comedy in full Neandervision.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 May 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

California Man

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$40,693,477 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Encino Man Productions, Hollywood Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jonathan Ke Quan who plays Kim, the Computer Club President, was Sean Astin's co-star in The Goonies.

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Goofs

When Dave's mom asks Link if his necklace is old, Link nods in the affirmative. If Link was a caveman and still had very limited speaking skills, he wouldn't be able to comprehend the question. He also wouldn't comprehend "I'll be back" or "Wheez the Juice," which he saw people do. He could've seen someone nod and mimicked it at (unknowingly) the right time and right place.

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Quotes

Stoney: Far too much responsibility for me, anyways, I'm already popular!
Dave: Yeah, you travel in large groups of one, Stoney.

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Crazy Credits

Before the end credits, the screen shows "THE END" ... and then "BUD-DY"

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Connections

Referenced in Tosh.0: Trampled Cheerleader (2009)

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Soundtracks

"You're Invited (But Your Friend Can't Come)"
Words and Music by Vince Neil, Jack Blades, and Tommy Shaw
Performed by Vince Neil
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment
Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Ron Nevison for Sausalito & Global, Inc.

User Reviews

Homo Encino

I expected the usual stoner-gross-out-high-school-comedy and had also heard that Pauly Shore was a comedic one-trick-pony (I'd read about all those Razzies he had been awarded). Also, the premise of high-school kids finding a thawed-up "cro-magnon" man and becoming friends with him didn't bide well, so I kind of watched this out of completism and deep-rooted cinematic masochism. Turns out I was way off the mark. "Encino Man" is thoroughly enjoyable, and one of the best movies of its genre. And Pauly Shore is my god now, he really made this movie. Well, he may be a one-trick-comedian, but at least at he's the godfather of this one trick. The stoner-surfer-dude has been done ad nauseam in high-school comedies, but Pauly Shore is the stoner-surfer-dude to rule all other stoner-surfer-dudes. His figure is not just funny and dude-ish, but also eccentric and frail (almost a bit camp). When I read that he comes from a family of comedians, I wasn't surprised. I see a lot of comedic and dramatic talent in him, and it's a shame that he seems to have fallen out of favour recently.

Anyway, the movie. Luckily, the pretty goofy plot doesn't put it in harm's way. Two likable social dropouts find a stone age survivor in their back yard, and decide to smuggle him into their school in order to heighten their own peer standing. This goes terribly awry when the hunky pre-human becomes a hit with the ladies. Man seems to be set in atavistic struggle against pre-human (and stoner dude), but luckily they eventually find their moral bearings: the humans learn the benefits of sticking together from their thawed-out friend, and the cro-magnon learns to go "halfies" on his microwave burrito.

Like I said, I really enjoyed Pauly Shore here. He made this movie. The other actors are also good, there's great dialogue, and the babes are babe-alicious. I also enjoyed the fact that the underdogs were the protagonists here.

To give you a ballpark comparison, it's au pair with Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Yes, it's that good, buuuh-dy.