I’m not going to pull any punches here; National Lampoon’s Stoned Age is a stupid movie. It’s a shame really, because there was a time not too long ago when “National Lampoon” meant you could expect 90 minutes of ridiculously sidesplitting fun. There was the classic Animal House back in 1980, and then Chevy Chase brought us Clark Griswold and his family in a series of funny adventures. Then something happened. National Lampoon got lazy and started to put out a string of lousy, lowbrow projects that didn’t have remotely the same level of quality as earlier films put out under the National Lampoon banner.
Since National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in 1989, National Lampoon has lent its name to numerous forgettable films. I can only guess the pay and/or residuals must be worth it, because most of the films you’ve probably never heard of and the others are likely a waist of 90 minutes of your life. Unless you’re a glutton for punishment, I would highly suggest skipping Stoned Age.
Stoned Age has lots of topless girls, burt, fart and turd gags. Writer/director Alan Rifkin plays Ishbo, the only caveman with a mind among a tribe of idiots. He keeps inventing new things like pants and bicycles that the other cavemen think are stupid. He wants his people to advance, to become more intellectually involved with the world around them. They just want to club women.
Ishbo is in love with a girl he grew up with named Fardart (Ali Larter), but he’s too shy to say anything to her. However, she has eyes for Ishbo’s dumb, good looking brother Thudnick (Hayes MacArthur), who clubs her before Ishbo has the chance. Much of the plot revolves around Ishbo’s desire for Fardart, then about a war with a rival tribe, their kidnapping Fardart, and Ishbo’s attempt to rescue her. I think most viewers would agree that this is an extremely weak plot for a film. Though I must say, Alan Rifkin does seem to enjoy playing the loser and tossing off numerous bad jokes at his own expense.
Watching this film, I was amazed at how many well known actors agreed to take part. Either they think Rifkin is one heck of an auteur or they needed the cash. It definitely wasn’t the quality of the script. Along with Ali Larter, David Carradine appears as Ishbo’s father, the leader of tribe, Talia Shire plays Ishbo’s mom, Gary Busey turns up as Krutz, a spy from the rival tribe, a ruthless, mystical assassin and former porn star Ron Jeremy has a few scenes as caveman Og. Jeremy doesn’t actually add much to the picture, he just stands around looking like a caveman.
The only reason viewers might want the “Unrated” edition of the film as opposed to the R-rated version is the inclusion of more nudity. If nudity and off color sex jokes are your thing, you might find something to enjoy about Stoned Age. However, watching this tripe makes me want to plead with National Lampoon, “Stop lending your name to every film that comes along. Remember, you were once associated with great stuff like Animal House.”
Paramount presents the film in its theatrical-release aspect ratio of 1.85:1, anamorphic. The movie’s video quality is only so-so. The colors are bright and showy, and outdoor location shots look quite nice, often glowing with detail. However, the colors are frequently oversaturated and sometimes smeared, and the image is overly dark.
You can choose between Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0. In 5.1 there is a little musical ambience enhancement in the rear channels and a wider stereo spread for environmental noises. Although voices can occasionally sound nasal or pinched, for most of the film they come off sounding pretty natural. Mainly, though, the soundtrack strikes one as being almost totally nondescript.
National Lampoon’s Stoned Age (Unrated) has a surprising amount of extras. Things begin with the “Cavemen in Love” song from the movie in both rated and unrated versions, the unrated one showing more flesh. Next up is the “Old Fool” rap, more grossness with the old man in the movie. Then we have three viral videos, “Empty Theater,” “Full Theater,” and “Gay-vemen,” where we get various promos for the film. After those are a pair of featurettes, the Maxim and Penthouse photo shoots, no explanation needed. Then we get the theatrical movie’s original opening title; some deleted material; some bloopers; an audio commentary by the film’s director and editor,; a comic book with the film’s characters; and a Q&A session with the director made for Ain’t It Cool News. Things conclude with a widescreen theatrical trailer.
The disc includes English as the only spoken language; and English and Spanish subtitles.
