Dude, Where's My Car?

This movie was first announced in the trades on the week of April 1, causing many to believe that it was an April Fool's joke. It's still hard to believe that someone actually made a movie in which two dumb-as-dirt stoners (That ‘70s Show's Ashton Kutcher and American Pie's Seann William Scott), having forgotten where they left their car the night before, find themselves in the debt of a transsexual stripper crimelord, and in the midst of an intergalactic war between a planet of gay Swedish bodybuilders and an alliance of vampy women who can combine their bodies to form a pissed-off giant. It's pretty clear that the project was rushed: As incoherent as the premise sounds, the story is even more so, as the boys roam without much rhyme or reason onto an ostrich-poacher's ranch, a sci-fi-themed minigolf course, and a barn full of UFO cultists who wear suits made of bubble-wrap. Given more time, and placed in the hands of a truly deranged scribe (like perhaps James Gunn of The Specials), Dude could've been a warped masterpiece. As is, it at least bears the best title of any studio film this year, and features a few good laughs, notably a brain-dead updating of the old Who's on First? routine, in which our heroes try to explain to one another that the words "dude" and "sweet" have been tattooed on their backs ("Dude! What does mine say?" "Sweet! What does mine say?" and so on). Some of the pop-cultural references seem surprisingly dated (Addidas tracksuits and a Rubik's Cube?), but the leads have a likable charm, and there are some funny cameos from the likes of Fabio, Stuttering John, and Andy Dick.