Stoner comedy Dude, Where’s My Car? was distributed by Fox. Best friends and housemates Jesse (Ashton Kutcher) and Chester (Seann William Scott) wake up after a wild night of partying, of which they have no memory, including where Jesse parked his car. The pair’s search for the vehicle ultimately proves to be more of a puzzle than they had expected, and along the way they end up uncovering a conspiracy that threatens the universe.
PROS
- Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott’s natural chemistry comes through wonderfully and makes a lot of uninspired and uncreative comedy much more amusing than it would otherwise be.
- Screenwriter Philip Stark goes all-out with where Jesse and Chester’s journey takes them and fully embraces the premise’s absurdity.
CONS
- As the Pros infer, most of the humour is uninspired and, although the narrative is not predictable, the types of gags in individual scenes are. Additionally, some of them are tediously repetitive (including some running gags).
- The physical comedy is not directed with any creativity or executed with any real energy from anyone involved in its execution, making it altogether dull.
- Paper-thin characterisation that is too dependent on cliché character-types. What is worse, however, is that ethnic minority characters exist solely to perpetuate stereotypes, whilst female characters are regularly subjected to misogynistic treatment.
- A poor supporting cast, all of whom give wooden delivery of their lines that lacks naturalistic qualities, and some of whom lack the necessary chemistry with Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott.
VERDICT: 3/10
Pete Kirkpatrick's Reviews 