THE STUPIDS (1996)
For every move there is a counter. Each attack has a defense. Within the confines of this digital dojo we defend underloved works of art. It has been said that all art will eventually find its audience. We are that audience. Bow to your media. Bow to your device. Choose your fighter.
“The Chair must once again ask the representative from Chicago… do you yield?”
I take a big swig of water, wipe the sweat from my brow, and take a deep breath. I grab a fistful of PLANTERS® Brand Cheez Balls and gobble them up, brushing the proprietary cheez dust off of my fingers onto the leg of my grey sweatpants. “No, sir, I'm afraid not!” I declare. “No, sir. I yielded the floor before, if you can remember, and my positive pleas for HOWARD THE DUCK (1986), NOTHING BUT TROUBLE (1991), and SUPER MARIO BROS. (1993) have gone unheeded. No, sir. And we might as well all get together on this yielding business right off the bat, now. I had some pretty good coaching last night, and I find that if I yield only for a question or a point of order or a personal privilege that I can hold this floor almost until doomsday. In other words, I've got a piece to speak and blow hot or cold, I'm going to speak it! And that piece is the truth to power that John Landis’ THE STUPIDS (1996) is a good movie!” I shout and emphatically pound my cheez dusted fist on the table.
IMDb: 4.3 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: 21% Tomatometer / 38% Popcornmeter out of 100%
Metacritic: Did not receive enough positive or mainstream reviews to calculate a Metascore
Letterboxd: 2.2 out of 5
At this point we’re all well aware of my reputation of being soft on cinematic crime and for that… I will not apologize. That’s kinda the whole philosophy behind The Art Of Shelf Defense. Undoubtedly there will be a few flicks covered in the confines of this so-called digital dojo that the movie-marking masses might not deem deserving of my drafted diatribes of devotion. Sadly for some, this includes my safeguarding of the stature of THE STUPIDS which should set off the certified cinephiles. Here’s the twist: this isn’t some so-bad-it’s-good ironic enjoyment. In the subsequent sentences something special will happen here today as I strive to assert that THE STUPIDS is actually splendid slapstick absurdist cinema. Now before your aghastness causes your monocle to come tumbling off your head directly into your champagne flute, let me make my case for Landis’ least loved lithographic laughfest.
Adapted from the beloved series of children’s books authored by Harry Allard and illustrated by James Marshall consisting of The Stupids Step Out (1974), The Stupids Have A Ball (1978), The Stupids Die (1981), and The Stupids Take Off (1989). While they didn’t receive the critical acclaim of their other collaborations on George And Martha and Miss Nelson, The Stupids established the duo of Allard and Marshall a powerhouse pairing in the platform of preadolescent publishing. Naturally this zany children’s book would be ranked 62nd on the American Library Association’s list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books due to conservatives perceiving these kidlit classics as derogatory to the concept of the traditional American family. My only response to that is if the stupid shoe fits…
If any detractors had bothered to ask creators Allard and Marshall, they’d tell them that the books were intended to entertain burgeoning bibliophiles with a dim-witted but good-natured family archetype. The crux of the humor lies in the Stupids doing everything incorrectly but confidently thus cultivating a dichotomy in which the audience experiences the “smug superiority” of knowing what the characters do not and delighting in that tension while the absurdist adventure unfolds. The writing also encourages early bookworms to consider the oddity of the English language as the Stupids grapple with idioms, cliches, homonyms, homophones, and everyday expressions in ludicrous (yet technically logical) ways. These literary conventions coupled with silly satirization of familiar societal norms allows young readers to consider the constructed nature of the world around them.
Meanwhile in Beverly Hills, specifically the former hacienda of Rock Hudson, current proprietor John Landis relished reading these satirical shenanigans of the Stupids to his children. Then and there the seed was planted for Landis to adapt this nonsensical nuclear family into a major motion picture. After directing a string of adult oriented comedies that arguably defined the era including NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE (1978), THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980), TRADING PLACES (1983), ¡THREE AMIGOS! (1986), and COMING TO AMERICA (1988), Landis wanted to try his hand and some more child friendly cinematic chuckles.
To help craft his vision, Landis paired up with writer Brent Forrester who was just coming off of The Ben Stiller Show (1992-1995) and would go on to work on King Of The Hill (1997-2004) and The Office (2005-2013). Initially produced by Savoy Pictures in association with The Rank Organisation along with Landis/Belzberg Productions and a $25 million dollar budget. What they endeavored to create was a stupid movie utilizing a smart construction. With a core cast consisting of Tom Arnold as Stanley Stupid, Jessica Lundy as Joan Stupid, Alex McKenna as Petunia Stupid, Bug Hall as Buster Stupid, a returning Landis alumni Mark Metcalf retconning and reprising his role as Colonel Neidermeyer from ANIMAL HOUSE, and cameo appearances by directors Gurinder Chadha, Costa-Gavras, David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Mick Garris, Norman Jewison, Gillo Pontecorvo, and Robert Wise (Landis wanted to hangout with his friends and help them maintain SAG-AFTRA Health Plan coverage) filming commenced in Ontario, Canada between October 11th, 1996 and January 7th, 1996. While the release was uncertain when Savoy Pictures went out of business before filming had finished, New Line Cinema ended up with the property and released THE STUPIDS on Friday August 30, 1996.
THE STUPIDS opened in 1,292 theaters across North America garnering a weekend gross of $1,593,929 but when reviews started coming in ticket sales fell off a cliff. Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times found the film to be too much a departure from the oeuvre of Landis as well as Allard and Marshall’s sophomoric source material. Variety’s Derek Elley felt it “isn't stupid enough” to be distinct from other works in the “bonehead genre.” Bruce Fretts from Entertainment Weekly graded it an “F” and lamented it was "Guaranteed 100 percent laugh-free." Even Tom Arnold was noted to quip between takes “Is this supposed to be funny?”
After a lackluster opening weekend and being eviscerated in the press the theatrical run was relatively brief, grossing only $3.4 million worldwide on its $25 million budget rendering it Landis’ weakest performing film. This was a noteworthy release for Tom Arnold too. Besides his alleged $5 million paycheck to play Stanley Stupid, Arnold also earned himself a “Worst Actor” nod at the 17th Golden Raspberry Awards for his work in this as well as BIG BULLY (1996) and CARPOOL (1996) with THE STUPIDS also being nominated for “Worst Picture,” “Worst Director,” and “Worst Screenplay.”
So what’s the story for the film fraught with disfavor? How do you adapt thirty pages of early reader absurdist satire into a feature length film? Well, I’m glad you asked because I am very, very smart and have the answers here on the information super highway. Just allow me to consult my notes:
Reveal that the “plot” is in service to set up humorous situations via the Stupid family’s uniquely stupid perspective. Check.
Meticulously go through all the salient story beats and describe how they set up all the comedic moments and why they’re funny. No time for that, I’m afraid.
And finally say “That seems pretty senseless but whatever!”
For brevity’s sake the story of THE STUPIDS is, in a word… garbage. Not in a rancorous regard detractors might rate the film as pictographic refuse, trash collection actually serves as the inciting incident for this narrative. Very much in the style of the books Stanley Stupid notices his garbage has been “stolen” so he endeavors to solve said mystery. In his version of that aforementioned smug superiority, Landis allows audiences to think they know what the Stupid family’s incorrect actions will yield, yet still surprises them with a slew of silly sequences. This, through a litany of poorly communicated misunderstandings, spirals the Stupid clan into a perceived conspiracy against them involving waste management, law enforcement, postal services, academia, delis, the entertainment industry, the military industrial complex, the farthest reaches of space and time, and even our Lloyd and savior!
However, for me the novelty is not in the narrative. The prowess of the picture is put forth by the imagination invested into setting up and paying off jokes. The story is secondary to making the multitude of sight gags, double entendres, and misunderstandings make sense for the characters. The “Fatal Error in Drive B” warning Petunia encounters when attempting to hack the tabloid computer leads Joan poorly communicating the warning to Stanley who runs afoul of a bumble bee while driving only to squash it (with an admittedly well-made shoe) at the very moment a timebomb planted on his gifted car from the rogue military operatives is detonated! This is but one instance of many jokes being designed and delivered with thoughtful timing throughout the duration to fortify the family’s flawed but funny frame of reference.
All this to say that for fans of THE STUPIDS film we have yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel. No redemption song with Lonzo & Oscar’s 1947 classic “I’m My Own Grandpa" sung from mountain on high to the uproarious applause of the aficionados… yet. Unlike some other films on this sacrosanct shelf of defense that have received their day to bask in the warm glow of the cineastes that celebrate this stupid serving of surrealist absurdia. My hope is that the more I talk about the merits of this movie, the more likely someone might give it a first or even a second glance and thus give the small (but devout) fandom the satisfying validation that our parents withheld. Oh, stop booing! There's nothing wrong with loving this film. There are dozens of us! DOZENS!
TRUST IN THE LLOYD
