The Stupids (1996)

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 | 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

Also Known As:

Estúpidos, Os (Portugal) [pt]
Estúpids, Els (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Familia Stupid, La (Spain) [es]
Familie zum Kotzen, Eine (Germany) [de]
Glupole (Poland) [pl]
Kretenckovi (Slovenia) [sl]
Stupides, Les (Canada: French title) (TV title) [fr]
Stupidot (Finland) [fi]
The Stupids (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Canada:PG | 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:

Continuity: The word "Sender" written on the blackboard changes frequently.

Quotes:

Late Night Show Host: [reading off a "cue card", actually a reminder note held by Mrs. Stupid] Give it up to the Fat Guy!

Movie Connections:

References Animal House (1978)

Soundtrack:

I'm My Own Grandpaw

Good Lloyd

I enjoyed watching this movie. Should I apologize for that? No, I don't believe I should. I find Tom Arnold funny. I like watching dumb people do stupid things; it makes me feel better about myself. I actually burst out laughing during several parts of this movie. The car-bomb was the best.

However, I realize that not everyone will like this movie. Most people, in fact, will hate it. So let me sum up what is wrong with this movie.

First off, there is the terrible acting. God-awful. Oh-the-pain, where-did-they-find-that-kid acting. Tom Arnold is not a particularly good actor - he did well in True Lies because Cameron is a good director that understands timing - but Tom Arnold doesn't have much facial expression variety, and he spends most of the movie wearing that same stupid grin plastered on the cover of the video. The kids weren't much better, but I fault the director for that one (I'll get to the direction in a minute).

Secondly, the "clever" script. Now, the first time I watched this, I thought it was clever, too. But after re-watching, I realized that if your characters are incredibly stupid, you can throw motivation out the window. I can imagine the writers - "how can we justify them putting the garbage out every week even though it gets stolen" "Oh, that's easy, they're STUPID!" This movie is full of that. Unbelievably bad choices only made because the characters have no integrity. A movie like this writes itself, because you are freed from the bonds of actual cleverness; characters that do anything allow you to do whatever you want and not have to worry about whether it makes sense. Trust me, if you watch this, you'll see what I mean. The Stupids never do anything that makes sense, which is why it's funny. But an intelligent script, it is not.

Lastly, there is the slipshod direction. This movie is very theatrical. Deep theater roots. Its comedy is awkward, obvious, and drawn out, just like theater comedy. There is no subtlety whatsoever. If you want the movie to be funny, it will be funny. But if you are suspicious, it is certainly not going to win your heart.

And that, in the end, is the problem with the movie; if you don't want to like it, you won't, because it is too easy to dislike. Only see it if you are truly interested and believe that it can be good, because its charm and uniqueness are its good qualities. This is not a movie that disappoints - it is a movie that sits right where you expect it to lie on the quality scale. If you believe it can be good, it will reward you. But if you see it and don't like it, it really is because you didn't want to enjoy it, for whatever reason.