Expect character arcs, subtle comedy, or have a low tolerance for the word “butt.”
Butt-Head (staring at the Grand Canyon): “This is the biggest hole I’ve ever seen. Uh-huh-huh.” Beavis: “Yeah, yeah! Let’s go see if there’s a bigger one.” Beavis Butthead Do America
Yes, we get it. They laugh at “duty” and “hole.” After the 50th “Uh-huh-huh,” even die-hard fans might check their watch. Expect character arcs, subtle comedy, or have a
In 1996, the world was certain of two things: the dot-com bubble was about to burst, and a 90-minute movie starring two animated slack-jawed teenagers who watch music videos and giggle at the word “cornholio” would be an unwatchable disaster. Instead, Beavis and Butt-Head Do America became one of the funniest, most surprisingly well-structured animated films of the decade. When a stolen high-tech device (a “ultra-mega-global-weather-probe”) is mistaken for their stolen TV, our heroes embark on a cross-country odyssey from Highland, Texas to Washington, D.C., then Las Vegas, then the Grand Canyon. Along the way, they are chased by a murderous federal agent (voiced by Bruce Willis), seduce an unhappy housewife (Demi Moore), and inadvertently help a criminal mastermind (Robert Stack) destroy the U.S. power grid. And yes, they never actually realize any of this is happening. What Works Brilliantly 1. The Purity of the Concept Director Mike Judge (also the voices of Beavis, Butt-Head, and Mr. Anderson) refuses to “learn” the characters. They don’t grow. They don’t redeem themselves. They remain two libidinous, near-catatonic idiots from start to finish. That’s the joke—and it’s sustained perfectly. When they mistake the Hoover Dam for a “water slide,” or Butt-Head’s only reaction to seeing the Washington Monument is “This would be a cool place to do it,” the film earns every laugh. They laugh at “duty” and “hole
Dumb and Dumber , South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut , or any conversation you’ve overheard at a 7-Eleven at 1 AM.