Dude, Where's My Car?

Dude, Where's My Car is a sloppy, unappealing comedy that falls somewhere between Cheech & Chong and Bill & Ted. It's a prime example of the kind of comedy that is marketed to teenagers even though it's not appropriate for them. As concocted by filmmakers who come from TV shows like South Park and That 70s Show, it's as raunchy as possible without getting an R rating: profanity is minimal, women are treated in an extremely sexist way but there's no actual nudity, and drugs are a part of the plot but no one's shown using them.

The result is a movie that tacitly endorses substance abuse: the fact that Jesse and Chester were so "wasted" that they have no idea what they did the previous night is one that amuses rather than worries them. The roughly assembled script offers a few funny moments, but mostly the movie features ideas that might have been funny had they been developed a little, or at all. Dude isn't as gross as some other comedies popular with young viewers (American Pie, Scary Movie, but that's hardly a recommendation.