The Stupids (1996)

User Rating:

3.8/10   

Director:

John Landis

Writers (WGA):

James Marshall (characters) and
Harry Allard (characters) ...

Release Date:

30 August 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Adventure

Tagline:

Tom Arnold is Stupid - (Stanley Stupid)

Plot:

An incredibly dull-witted family unknowingly stumble upon an illegal weapons deal while on the trail of their "stolen" garbage.

Plot Keywords:

Family Relationships | Own Grandpa | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Tom Arnold	...	Stanley Stupid
Jessica Lundy	...	Joan Stupid
Bug Hall	...	Buster Stupid
Alex McKenna	...	Petunia Stupid
Mark Metcalf	...	Colonel Neidermeyer
Matt Keeslar	...	Lieutenant Neal
Scott Kraft	...	Policeman
Victor Ertmanis	...	Garbageman #1
Earl Williams	...	Garbageman #2
George Chiang	...	Chinese Waiter #1
Max Landis	...	Graffiti Artist
Carol Ng	...	Jade Palace Hostess
Arthur Eng	...	Chinese Waiter #2
Jennifer Dean	...	Meter Maid
Garry Robbins	...	Extremely Tall Guy

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS

Certification:

Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Spain:T | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Imagine Entertainment

Trivia:

Director Trademark: ['John Landis'] [SYNW]On the back of the bus that the kids chain their bikes to.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Mrs. Stupid jumps into the elevator at the museum, a large corner of the green safety mat she jumps onto can be seen.

Quotes:

Joan Stupid: Stanley, you must beware of the Drive B.
Stanley Stupid: What's a Drive B?
Joan Stupid: We don't know, but whatever error you make with it could be fatal.
Stanley Stupid: [notices a bee landing on his steering wheel] What are you doing, you darn bee? Can't you see I'm trying to drive? Oh, my God! The drive bee!

Movie Connections:

References Animal House (1978)

Soundtrack:

Garota de Ipanema

Stupid. Stupidly stupid. I bloody love it

Only rent or buy this if you like the sort of humour displayed in movies like Kung Pow and Mr. Bean. This movie is so stupid that even veterans of the slapstick comedy genre will be cringing. Just look at the quotes and you'll have some nice examples of what I mean. "MAN BUSH, you have no equal!" The plot is interesting - Stanley Stupid wakes up one day to discover his garbage stolen again from right outside his own home. Determined to find those responsible, he sets off on a quest to find a man called Sender, who through... crazy and foolish logic, he believes is planning a worldwide conspiracy to steal the world's garbage.

Along the way he uncovers a military weapons distributing operation, which forms most of the opposition in the plot, as they try to kill him repeatedly, and through sheer stupidity and luck, he evades them.

You can't accuse the story of being cliché or unoriginal - not many movies involve meeting God in a planetarium.

The characters are all uniquely stupid, and while their clothes are as unpleasant as fashion can be, they're all very entertaining. Except the daughter, who may annoy more than entertain, but you get those in every movie.

All in all, as long as you're looking for a film with humour so.. STUPID, you'll wet yourself, then you'll probably laugh yourself silly watching this. I first saw it back in 1997 or so, and only managed to find the video last year on ebay. It's a fairly rare video, I think, but I'm hoping it'll come out in Region 2 DVD before long :) Rent/Buy? The humour can be a specialised taste. I'd recommend renting it, but if you can buy it for a reasonable price, I recommend buying it in case you do like it, because it's pretty rare.