Director Report Card: John Landis (1996)

15. The Stupids

Nowadays, there's been a movement in children's programming and entertainment away from anything that mocks people for being foolish or dumb. That this is probably not a lesson we should pass along to impressionable kids. Things were different in the sarcastic nineties, where mockery was the main form of vocal currency. There was, in fact, an entire series of children's books devoted to making fun of the exceptionally stupid. Throughout the seventies and eighties, Harry Allard and James Marshall would publish four children's bonks about the Stupids, a family of complete imbeciles. By the mid-nineties, the books were so popular that a film adaptation was made, becoming John Landis' first and last attempt at a family film.

The Stupids are made up of husband Stanley, wife Joan, daughter Petunia, and son Buster. As their last name implies, the entire family is greatly lacking in common sense and intelligence. The story begins when Stanley notices that their garbage disappears every week. He follows the garbage truck to the landfill and unknowingly stumbles upon an army colonel selling illegal weapons to a number of shady customers. Believing him to be a spy, the colonel sends numerous assassins after Stanley, his life being saved each time by his own dumb luck. Petunia and the kids are soon led astray on their own wild goose chase, believing their father has been kidnapped. Completely ignorant of the real conspiracy targeting his family, the Stupids become convinced they are chasing after an ominous mastermind known as Mr. Sender. 

As a comedy, “The Stupids” has pretty much two jokes. The first is that these people are extremely dumb, completely misunderstanding the most simple of concepts and exchanges. Stanley assumes roller skates must be the fastest mode of transportation, because it has more wheels than a bike or car. The kids don't know how a computer works and ends up shoving a photograph into a floppy drive. Common phrases and concepts – garbage day, “return to sender” – are misunderstood as grand conspiracies. And so on. The second joke is that, because the Stupids' stupidity is so grand, people mistake it for genius. The military assumes Stanley's dumbness must be an act, that he's actually a brilliant spy, and the way he survives numerous attempts on his life is a result of his brilliance, not pure luck. As simple as these ideas are, they prove surprisingly versatile. The Stupids misunderstanding everything creates a chain reaction of events, that the film can then hang a number of gags and jokes on.

“The Stupids” even comes off as surprisingly relevant in 2020. Right now, in this most hellish of election cycles, we have a number of politicians who believe in a nonsensical conspiracy theory. It's perpetrated by people on the internet trying to dig up hidden meanings in our president's word salad or any number of common place symbols, that supposedly point to a diabolical and worldwide criminal empire. Is this really anymore ridiculous than Stanley Stupid believing letters marked “Return to Sender” is evident of a nefarious supervillian named Mr. Sender? That some evil force is stealing everyone's garbage once a week, in pursuit of some mysterious but surely sinister goal? The answer is, of course, no, it's not. Conspiracy theorists have always seen incriminating evidence in normal bullshit. It was true in 1996 and it's true in 2020 but, for whatever reason, these people are elected officials now. I just didn't expect a goofy kids movie from twenty years ago to remind me so much of current events.

Most of the comedies John Landis made in the late eighties and nineties didn't really feel in tune with his earlier work. This is, perhaps, because of the lack of anarchic spirit that characterized his classics. Most unexpectedly, “The Stupids” sees a return to this earlier attitude. Despite ostensibly being a kid's flick, the bad guys in “The Stupids” are the U.S. military. An unhinged colonel is selling top secret weapons, because he feels like the government owes him more money. Even though this is only one rogue element of the entire military, none of his men have any problem taking his orders, attempting to murder people. The Stupids are directly opposed by the cops throughout the film too, though mostly due to their own stupidity. Inserting such a blatant anti-authoritarian subtext into a goofy kid's movie makes “The Stupids” even more subversive.

“The Stupids” keeps the gags coming fast and quick, the plot often taking a backseat to whatever bizarre thing the family is getting up to next. The movie's funniest moments tend to be its most digressive, even philosophical. Stanley gets so into his disguise of a bush, that he forms a complex backstory for this bush/man hybrid in real time. While visiting a museum, Stanley and his daughter believe themselves to have died before meeting a janitor named Lloyd, who they mistake for the Lord. This is an excellent example of one of the film's best running gags: The conversation with two meanings. The conversation with Lloyd, hilariously, is referenced throughout the film. While Stanley and Petunia are talking with Lloyd, Joan and Buster believe themselves to have traveled back in time – actually visiting the dinosaur exhibit – and the boy gets a lesson in egomania. The movie's tendency to run off with its own absurd ideas, seen later when the Stupids attempt to conceptualize their own country, is one of its most refreshingly funny touches.

Honestly, I'm impressed that “The Stupids” gets as weird as it does. For no particular reason, the Stupids' pets – a cat named Xylophone and a dog named Kitty – are brought to life via cartoonish stop-motion animation. Naturally, the animals show far more sense than their human family. Grotesque aliens with a nose-picking habit wander in and out of the plot at random intervals. Probably the best moment of cartoony logic occurs when we step inside Stanley's conspiracy theory and see the nefarious Mr. Sender in his lair. Totally committing to the joke, the film gets Christopher Lee to play Sender. Lee, of course, plays the role entirely straight to hilarious effect.

I have no idea if actual kids would find this particular breed of arch silliness appealing, though I suspect some might. “The Stupids” certainly makes sure to include lots of big, loud goofy slapstick too. Exploding Jeeps sail off cliffs, an assassin flies into the air via a burst pile of tires, and soldiers get caught up in ropes. The finale features moments like Stanley dangling from the ceiling on his suspenders or a grenade being casually thrown aside. Probably the most inspired physical gag in the movie is a wonderfully silly bit that just keeps growing, where a bee flies into Stanley's car... A scene that also ends with a giant explosion. It's all executed with a daft hand, never becoming too overbearing, always staying on the right side of silly.

As if there was any confusion about “The Stupids” being a live action cartoon, the movie's fantastic production design is here to make that point even more evident. The costumes are perfectly exaggerated, the Stupids wearing brightly colored outfits that recall fifties nostalgia magnified to a comic book-like level. Their home is similarly decorated in pastel colors and big, bold set pieces. Fittingly, only the Stupids and their surrounding artifacts are so outrageously designed. The rest of the movie looks fairly normal, visually suggesting how out-of-place and bizarre the titular family is.

Much of the backlash concerning “The Stupids” revolved around its leading man. Tom Arnold, a hacky stand-up on the best of days, was at his most overexposed in 1996.  This is one of three films he would star in that year. For all his debatable talent, Arnold is at least well utilized here. As Stanley Stupid, he always seems to totally believe in whatever nonsensical thing the character is expounding. Never has Arnold's big cheesy smile been better used than here. The rest of the cast playing the Stupid are seemingly ideally cast. Jessica Lundy is frequently hilarious as Joan, making it clear that the character believes all of this completely. Even the kids are pretty good, Alex McKenna and Bug Hall both seeming to have the correct, absurd bead on the material.

The family is backed-up by a pretty decent supporting cast, all of which playing the straight men to the Stupids' idiotic antics. Mark Metcalf returns from “Animal House,” his villainous colonel even having the last name of Neidermeyer. He honed his military asshole routine in the twenty years since “Animal House,” enjoying his own wickedness even more than last time. A baby-faced Mark Keeslar appears at Neidermeyer's somewhat naive sidekick, Keesler's nicely keeping a straight face. Frank Faison is also extremely funny as Lloyd, maintaining a perfect deadpan no matter how silly the conversation gets. Bob Keeshan – Captain Kangaroo himself! – is similarly excellently used as the real Mr. Sender, a far less sinister presence than what Stanley imagines.

You probably wouldn't expect John Landis to squeeze in many of his trademarks into a goofy kid's flick. As I said above, Landis actually seemed way more invested in this than he was in his last few films. He sprinkles the film with cameos from his director friends. See if you can spot Mick Garris, Robert Wise, Norman Jewison, Atom Egoyan, and Costa-Gavras. David Cronenberg is probably the most notable one, as Stanley's none-to-amused boss at the post office. “See You Next Window” can be briefly glimpsed on the back of the bus. Landis even includes some of that tonally out-of-place violence, especially in the last act. Which definitely shouldn't work but just adds to the cartoonish atmosphere.

“The Stupids” was a considerable flop, both critically and commercially, in 1996. The public-at-large's growing intolerance towards Tom Arnold only deserves some of the blame. The film was advertised badly, pitched to audiences as an explosion-filled action/comedy when it's obviously meant for a younger audience. A performance of “I'm My Own Grandpa” – not the movie's best joke – and a cameo from Jenny McCarthy were weirdly highlighted in the trailers and commercials. Knowing its reputation, I was surprised to find I kind of loved “The Stupids.” It's consistently hilarious, packing each scene with delightfully silly gags and never misses a chance to exploit its easily understood but limitlessly exploited premise. If you have a taste for the very silly, have some faith in Lloyd and give it a chance yourself. [Grade: B+]