Meet the Deedles

This is simply just another of those predictably lame "family" movies that makes a huge effort to be hip and cool. It will come as no surprise to those familiar with such high-budget / low-ambition junk to learn that this film is neither hip or cool. The two lead characters, the "Deedle's" of the title are a pair of nimrod's who's constant stupidity is neither amiable or endearing it's just damned irritating and the allegedly comical scrapes they get into are too improbable and silly to ever raise anything more than a half-forced smile. Being a horror fan it was inevitable I would dislike this movie. The only reason I bothered watching it is because it features the mouth-wateringly sexy A.J Langer, who also starred in Wes Craven's excellent "The People Under The Stairs". She is the only real reason for watching this film. One to avoid on practically all levels.

On their 18th birthday, Hawaii surfer dudes Stew and Phil Deedle skip school. Their wealthy father Elton, informed that the boys will get no more second chances, has to do something. Realizing the boys will someday take over his business, he must see that they are turned into men, so he sends them to a sort of boot camp in Wyoming. A couple of unexpected detours result in the boys ending up unconscious at the entrance to Yellowstone Park, wearing the labelled clothes of Mel and Mo, the park's newest ranger trainees. (Did I mention Mo and Mel are female?)

Mel and Mo were hired because of their rodent expertise, because the park has a serious prairie dog problem. This was caused by former head ranger Frank Slater, fired after an incident several years ago and now out for revenge, along with his associates Crabbe and Nemo. Stew and Phil don't bother to correct Capt. Pine, the current head ranger, when he believes they are who the clothes say they are. They see an opportunity to satisfy their father in a way that lets them have a good time. Mel and Mo, meanwhile, are otherwise occupied. The big event coming up, which Slater wants to sabotage, is the billionth birthday of Old Faithful.

Another reason the boys want to stay at Yellowstone--Lt. Jesse Ryan, another ranger who is the stepdaughter of Capt. Pine, who declares her off limits. That doesn't stop the boys from trying.

I don't understand how Disney could be associated with such garbage. For one thing, there was too much off-color humor for my taste. But I enjoyed this mess overall. There was plenty of slapstick comedy, especially the constant misfortunes of poor Capt. Pine, and Slater's brainless sidekicks. And we were taken on several exciting thrill rides, especially in the sequences immediately preceding the boys' arrival at the park. Another thrilling sequence involved surfboards (In Wyoming? Yes).

Steve Van Wormer and Paul Walker had their good moments, reminding me a lot of the superior Bill and Ted movies. So did A.J. Langer and Robert Englund. But one doesn't watch movies such as this for good acting. And there wasn't much. I'm surprised a respected actor such as Dennis Hopper would get involved with something like this. He really didn't add that much. John Ashton also didn't make me as happy as he could have. And despite talent he has shown over the years on "The Young and the Restless", Eric Braeden fell flat in his brief appearances as the boys' father.

As mindless enjoyable entertainment, though, this film succeeded. I can say I had a good time.

I simply cannot find one good thing to say about "Meet the Deedles". At no point was I remotely interested in anything that was happening. It's a real shame that Dennis Hopper appeared in such a horrible movie. There is no reason for this movie to have been made. The plot was incoherent and uninteresting, while the characters were undeveloped and dull. It is the only film I've ever considered turning off in the middle. This movie isn't worth the time it takes to go to the video store and look at it on the shelf.

This is hands down one of the worst films ever. I'm not going to waste my time commenting on such a travesty, so I'll sum it up in two words: this sucks.

Disney deserved this one to bomb, it blows me away that they managed to spend so much money making it. Completely incompetent, humorless filmmaking, actually surprising considering the source. And I didn't think Dennis Hopper could do worse than Space Truckers... well I was sure wrong.

As much flack as this movie has gotten, I was pleasantly surprised I was laughing out loud at some of the dumb humor. Although I would classify Bill & Ted's as more intelligent than this movie, it's still a fun picture. Let me put it this way, if you don't find it funny that two guys try to rid Yellowstone Park of prairie dogs by concocting something that makes the animals poop uncontrollably when in the area (and accidentally releasing this concoction on a bus load of unsuspecting tourists), then you probably won't like this movie. If you think this stunt is so "out there" that it's hilarious, then you'll like it. Just a good old Disney farce for today's audience. Give it a chance and rent it when you're in a nutty mood.