Two Sweet Dudes... (Dude Wheres's my Car? (DVD))

Member Name: angeelu

Product:	Dude Wheres's my Car? (DVD)
Date:	09/08/05 (914 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny comedy, lots of stories within the plot, interesting characters

Disadvantages: Not to everyone's sense of humour...

"After a night they can't remember, comes a day they'll never forget"

The Plot:
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'Dude, Where's My Car?' was released in 2000. It focuses on a day in the life of Jesse(Ashton Kutcher) and Chester (Seann William Scott). The lads are typical stoners... not the brightest of people, but completely harmless. They wake up from a night of major partying at their girlfriends' house, and head for the car... but where is it?! The lads look over to where they remember parking it and it's not there. (So, now you know where the title comes from).

Confused, they set out trying to remember what they did with their car. This leads them on a surreal journey in which they encounter all sorts of people who they apparantly met the night before, but cannot remember. These people include a transexual stripper, a cult of geeky alien fanatics, a group of sexy looking 'space babes', and a couple of tight trouser clad blonde Scandinavian men.

There are many sub-stories to the main plot of finding the car that wind through the length of the film... it's their anniversary to their girlfriends' (Wilma and Wanda, who are twins) so they need to keep on the right side of them and get their presents (which are in the lost car), they're being hounded for a suitcase of stolen money they apparantly looked after, and they're involved in the hunt for a mysterious object that could destroy the world!

Apparantly the film's story came from a rejected live action Beavis and Butthead movie concept in the late-'90s (something I didn't know until reading it on imdb.com).

The Performances:
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Seann William Scott (think Stiffler from the American Pie films) plays a great Chester. He's good at acting dumb, and rather than make you think he's just a stoner-geek, you can warm to his character. He's mastered the confused look in his face, which he uses a lot in this film! Of the two main charcters, Chester was my favourite. Ashton Kutcher (That 70's Show) also plays a good Jesse, and like Seann William Scott performs the role well. Both actors bring out goofiness, charm and vulnerability in the characters they play.

The other characters in the film drift in and out of the storyline, but there isn't one character who I could say they cast the wrong person for. I dare say this film was never really intended to spout Oscar winning performances, but all the characters will have you chuckling away at some point!

Extras:
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The DVD also contains some extra features to compliment the film. These are accessed from the main menu and include:
* Audio commentary from director Danny Leiner with actors Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott
- self explanatory
* Seven extended scenes (10 minutes)
- self explanatory
* Featurette: 'Dudecam'
- a kind of extended trailer / feature about the film. Seann William Scott and Ashton Kutcher explain what the film is all about and snippets of the film are shown.
* Music Video: 'Stoopid Ass' by Grand Theft Auto
- a track that's featured in the film
* Trailers
- the 'Theatrical Trailer' for the film
* TV spots
- found under the same Trailers menu heading, these are three TV ads for the film.

The extras are probably worth watching once, but they're not the kind of thing you'll go back to. I personally am not interested in the director's commentary on any film, so as such have only watched the first few minutes of the commentary to this film.

The Bits You Won't Forget!
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Dude, Where's My Car? spouts some unforgettable lines... and if you like the film you won't ever go to a Chinese takeaway again without thinking "...and then?". Jesse and Chester's catchphrases throughout the film are 'dude', 'sweet' and 'shibby'.
Below are a few quotes from the film (Quotes as per imdb.com)

[Jesse and Chester discover they have tattoos on their backs that say "dude" and "sweet."]
Jesse: Dude! You got a tattoo!
Chester: So do you, dude! Dude, what does my tattoo say?
Jesse: "Sweet!" What about mine?
Chester: "Dude!" What does mine say?
Jesse: "Sweet!" What about mine?
Chester: "Dude!" What does mine say?
Jesse: "Sweet!" What about mine?
Chester: "Dude!" What does mine say?
Jesse: "Sweet!" What about mine?
Chester: "Dude!" What does mine say?
Jesse: "Sweet!" What about mine?
Chester: "Dude!" What does mine say?
Jesse: "Sweet!" What about mine?
Chester: [angry] "Dude!" What does mine say?
Jesse: [screaming] "Sweet!"

Jesse: Who's Johnny Potsmoker?
Chester: Oh ,that's my alter ego.
Jesse: Wait, I thought Johnny Potsmoker was MY alter ego.
Chester: No. Yours is Smokey McPot.
Jesse: Oh yeah.

Chinese Foooood Lady: And then?
Jesse: No "and then"!
Chinese Foooood Lady: And then!

Other Details:
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The film is rated 15, and 1 hour 19 minutes long. It's directed by Danny Leiner, who is not a director I've really heard of, though further research reveals he's directed many more TV series and epidodes than he has films.
At the time of writing this you can buy the film on DVD for £7.99 delivered from Play.com. It's more expensive at £12.99 at Amazon.co.uk, though it looks like you can pick it up for a couple of pounds at eBay.co.uk.
The film was nominated for 4 awards in 2000/2001, including an MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Male Performance by Ashton Kutcher and a Sierra Award for Best Male Newcomer again for Kutcher.

The Verdict:
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This is a very light-hearted film and needs to be taken as such. The humour is daft. If you like more serious or adult humour you won't find it here.

This is the kind of film to watch when you need cheering up, when you're having a night in (it's a favourite of mine and a girly mate to giggle to when we're having a night in with a few bottles of wine), or on a Sunday afternoon when you've nothing better to do. It's not one that takes a lot of concentration to watch. It's probably slated by as many people who praise it but that's often the case with 'silly' films - chances are you'll love or hate it. It's unlikely there's many other films that can combine a transexual, aliens, the possible end of the universe, a suitcase of stolen money, killer ostriches, tattoos and a chinese takeaway.

Worth watching if:
~ you're a fan of Seann William Scott or Ashton Kutcher
~ you like to be daft occasionally
~ you have an odd sense of humour

Worth avoiding if:
~ you prefer political correctness
~ you don't like to be daft
~ you don't like Seann William Scott or Ashton Kutcher

My rating - five stars * * * * *

Summary: A surreal day in the life of Jesse and Chester - worth a watch!