Encino Man, released in Europe as California Man, is a 1992 comedy film directed by Les Mayfield and starring Brendan Fraser, Sean Astin and Pauly Shore. The plot revolves around two geeky teenagers from Encino, Los Angeles, California played by Astin and Shore, who discover a caveman in their backyard frozen in a block of ice. The caveman, played by Fraser, has to learn to live in the new 20th century. Along the way, he teaches them one or two things about life. It was followed by a TV movie sequel, Encino Woman, in 1996.
Plot
During the first ice age, a caveman (Brendan Fraser) is seen with his cavewoman girlfriend (Sandra Hess) as he makes a fire, until an earthquake causes a cave-in that buries them.
In the present day, Dave Morgan (Sean Astin) and Stanley "Stoney" Brown (Pauly Shore) are two high school outcasts who strive for popularity.
While digging in Dave's backyard to make a swimming pool, they find a block of ice containing the caveman. While Dave and Stoney are at school, the heaters they are using thaws the caveman and he comes to life. While exploring his surroundings, he encounters Dave's dog, gets into a "battle" with a garbage truck, and ends up dancing to the music of the music video on the television when he steps on the remote.
Upon returning home, Dave and Stoney discover that the ice containing the caveman has melted. When they enter the house, they find cave paintings on the furniture. After hearing the smoke alarm, they follow the footprints to Dave's room where they find the caveman starting a fire. Dave and Stoney enter the room and try to befriend him. When the caveman starts reacting to the telephone and charges at Dave, Stoney soothes him by showing him a lighter.
After a bath, shave, haircut, and new clothes, the caveman is named Link (as in Missing link) by Dave and Stoney who try to pass him off as a regular teenager (as Estonian exchange student Linkavitch Chomofsky). Dave manages to convince his parents to let Link stay with them. After enrolling him in their high school, Link becomes very popular with everyone, ranging from the geeks at the AV Club to the hip hop enthusiasts. As a result, Stoney and Dave begin to acquire their much desired popularity, and Dave begins to rekindle a friendship with his love interest Robyn Sweeney (Megan Ward) who Dave had lost his chance with because she "Hadn't hit babehood yet" prompting her boyfriend Matt Wilson (Michael DeLuise) to become angered with jealousy. Snobbish and conceited, Matt attempts to undermine Link's popularity and in the process helps to block Dave and Robyn's budding romance. Robyn asks Link out to the Prom, much to Dave's chagrin, and Stoney's influence turning Link into a replica of him causes the three of them to go their separate ways. Dave attempts to force Link to leave. Stoney stops him and the two get into a fight, but Link intervenes. The pair apologize and make amends.
Matt, having been defeated by Link in a brawl at an ice rink, which originally prompted Robyn to break up with him, attempts to expose Link for who he truly is by breaking into Dave's house during the Prom. Matt discovers photographs of Dave and Stoney with Link as a caveman, and during the Prom he attempts to expose Link for being a freak. His plan backfires and Link, Stoney and Dave become more popular than ever. They then lead the entire school body in an energetic, caveman-like dance followed by an after-prom party at Dave's house.
While there, Robyn and Dave confess their love for each other, Link and Stoney follow an eerily familiar trail of smoke and paint through Dave's house and discover Link's girlfriend, the cavewoman from the beginning of the film, bathing in a bathtub with bubbles. Link excitedly joins her and the two embrace happily.
Reception
Encino Man currently holds a 14% (rotten) rating on the aggregate film review site Rotten Tomatoes.[1]
Cast
- Sean Astin as Dave Morgan, a tense almost neurotic teenager who is in love with Robyn, despite losing his chance with her in grade school because he thought she wasn't attractive yet. He dreams of popularity more than his friends and is the most worried about being labeled as a freak if Link's secret ever got out.
- Brendan Fraser as Linkavitch "Link" Chomofsky, a caveman found in the 20th Century when Dave and Stoney dig up a block of ice in which he is frozen. He is very friendly despite being very fierce and aggressive in his mannerisms. Still acclimating to the new world, he often misinterprets various common aspects of everyday life.
- Pauly Shore as Stanley "Stoney" Brown, a loud, obnoxious Hippie/New Wave teenager whose lease on life is profound and deeper than his thoughts seem to go. He is compassionate and quick thinking, able to soothe Link's primal instincts by showing him how to harness fire. He becomes Link's best friend and role model, eventually causing Link to imitate him.
- Megan Ward as Robyn Sweeney a kind, compassionate girl going out with the jock bully Matt Wilson. She attempts to maintain friendships with Dave and Stoney but is often put off by their childish mannerisms. She eventually realizes the depth of her friendship with Dave and breaks up with Matt after he starts bullying him.
- Robin Tunney as Ella, a vain, self centered girl and Robyn's best friend. She attempts to gain Link's attention by flaunting her 'gonzagas' at him. She is rebuffed, however and learns that Link had a former love, and he has no interest in anyone else.
- Michael DeLuise as Matt Wilson, a popular jock and notorious school bully who has made it his passion in life to torment, bully and humiliate Dave. He tends to keep his distance from Stoney who merely shrugs off his intimidation attempts. He is very stuck up and the thought of Dave becoming more popular than he is causes a great deal of conflict, eventually causing him to lose the one thing Dave wants that he has; Robyn.
- Patrick Van Horn as Phil
- Dalton James as Will
- Rick Ducommun as Mr. Brush
- Jonathan Ke Quan as Kim
- Rose McGowan as Nora
- Michole White as Kathleen
- Mariette Hartley as Mrs. Morgan
- Richard Masur as Mr. Morgan
- Brandon Brandis as Michael Morgan
- Erick Avari as Raji
- Gerry Bednob as Kashmir
In popular culture
In Evan Wright's book about the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Generation Kill, the US marine company commander is nicknamed Encino Man, supposedly for his resemblance to one of the film's characters. Generation Kill By Evan Wright, Chapter Five: [2]. In the 2008 HBO miniseries of adaptation of the book the officer is played by Brian Patrick Wade [3]
The South Park Episode entitled Prehistoric Ice Man (orig. aired Jan 20, 1999) was a parody of the movie Encino Man wherein the boys find a man that has been frozen in ice since 1996. Everyone in the episode acts as though this is a breakthrough discovery, and a chance to find out what life was really like in 1996.
References
External links
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Films directed by Les Mayfield |
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| 1990s |
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