The Stupids

1996 "As American as apple pie and twice as smart."
4.3| 1h34m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 30 August 1996 Released
Producted By: New Line Cinema
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

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

Genre

Comedy, Family

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Director

John Landis

Production Companies

New Line Cinema

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The Stupids Audience Reviews

Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever
Mjeteconer Just perfect...
Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!
Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
grimjack_28 This movie provides the answer to the age-old question I know some of you have asked yourselves at least once, "How can someone be so stupid and still remain living?" If you're going to enjoy this movie, you have to be a willing co-conspirator, able to reserve judgement. You have to meet this movie on it's own level, not expect it to come to you. Like a play instead of a modern, 'ran through tons of focus groups', Hollywood flick. If you go in feeling lots of skepticism or feel like your 'inner film-critic' wants to watch the movie with you for live analysis, then go see "The Piano". If you want to see an absurd spectacle made of the "modern" nuclear family, with a subversive glint, and a Hollywood (low)budget, perhaps to almost suffocate from laughter, then watch 'The Stupids'. Stanley was a role Tom Arnold was born to play.OK, first understand that this movie isn't played like your average American 'popular comedy' movie.(As evidenced by it's poor box office showing.) The characters come from a series of children's books that gained a global underground following after a number of Family Values Groups tried to get it banned in the US. So that sets the stage for me for what they were actually trying to do with this movie, and I love the hell of out it.The director and the writers and heck, even the underwriters really had some balls to put this movie out like they did. A real gamble to make "a bad movie, well done", totally on purpose. None of the characters are social archetypes that are 'too cool for school', they're not going to bank on pop culture references or nostalgia, they don't expect you to relate to what you're seeing or sympathize with the characters. I don't want to say Brechtian, but it's definitely old-school theatre style. Everything is done for the pure purpose of hilarious spectacle, to make the viewer question both what they're seeing, and their sanity. When Mrs. Stupid comes out wearing that camouflage dress she made out of wigs, I knew I had lost it. You won't see that anywhere else, played straight like it was, like, "there's mom, in a ghillie suit made of wigs.", in perfect context, and almost making sense? You either take this movie at face value, and run the risk of some of the best parts flying over your head, or you can understand that this movie plays on a totally different level. It's very aggressive with it's delivery of gags, then ignores the gag part totally, and then to see how everything nests into everything else so subtly, you almost wonder if the Stupid family are actually of some kind of mad genius savants. They definitely live in a different reality than we do, and the joke of the film is that it actually all works, in a way that isn't forced.See it. Get it from the DVD bargain bin. This film deserves a shot to make you laugh.
RKerekes13-1 I absolutely find this movie to be very entertaining, funny, and full of great lines! Due to the mixed reviews and somewhat low ratings, I'd definitely consider this film to be a cult classic. Winning the Razzie Award for Worst Actor must have been a dream come true for Tom Arnold and he's sure at his best in this very movie! Possibly the best part in this movie is the song "I'm My Own Grandpaw", sung by Tom Arnold! The song is very nostalgic and funny! I don't care if this film wasn't well-received or if it grossed a reasonably small amount of money. I still love this movie, and for all those who are giving this film negative reviews, return your negative reviews to Sender! This film is one of the cult best!
Vinnytt It doesn't seem like this movie would work, but it does! A great family film with some moments that would be classic, if properly advertised.Tom Arnold does a horrible job, but that doesn't mean a thing, because it just adds to the greatness of the movie! The main characters all overact the crap out of their roles, making the whole movie just hilarious. Many people hate this because the acting is horrible, and the plot is generic. With most of the crap family movies out that are considered gold, I can't understand how this movie isn't more highly talked about.Highly recommended!
iKramerica-1 Come on people! Relax. If you rate this movie a 1, you either are trying to hate it or don't have a sense of humor.It's not high art, but the deadpan acting is spot on, and if you really look at it, the writing in this script is far more complex and well crafted than most "gross out" comedies people seem to applaud. While other comedies just string together some non-sequeters, this one has a tightly woven throughline, with one line of dialogue or action not only leading to the next, but so integral to the story that if you were to remove a gag or a character, the house of cards would collapse.It is theater of the absurd and farce at it a high level. And it is telling that some people who say this is the worst movie ever also say the Kentucky Fried Movie was a "miss" despite that film being the first of it's kind and leading to hundreds of films since that these same people probably loved.