If you want to get a strong reaction one way or the other, mention the television show 'Beavis and Butthead.' Depending on the target's age, gender and countless other factors, you will get a scoff and an eye roll or a huge grin and a look of fond recollection.
Picking up fourteen years from where it left off, 'Beavis and Butthead' has triumphantly risen from the ashes to entertain a new generation of misbehaved youth. The most recent collection, 'Mike Judge's Beavis and Butthead Vol. 4' is here to make you a little dumber.
You know the plot, right? Two fascinatingly brainless teens get into trouble in between criticism of popular media, eleven minutes at a time. This new incarnation focuses a bit less on music videos (a sign of the times) and has a lot more fun at the expense of reality television. The most common whipping boys are MTV's own 'Jersey Shore' and 'Teen Mom.'
On a very superficial level, 'Beavis and Butthead' is an incredibly stupid show. It features main characters that have difficulty even writing their names on their test papers. They misunderstand the simplest concepts, are still obsessed with their quest to score and only take initiative to do the most foolish tasks. The beloved character 'Cornholio' even makes a return in a big way. These boys are terrible role models.
If you're willing to dig deeper, it actually takes a brilliant mind to dream up these scenarios and the amount of misunderstandings that go on here. While that is the bulk of most storylines, the show really works best as a commentary on society and pop culture. A lot has happened over the years and in the very first episode back, 'Twilight' is clearly in the crosshairs.
While this was extremely controversial back in the 90's, shows have pushed the envelope further since then. To most modern viewers, this crudely animated cartoon still has some bite, but it seems a little quaint compared to 'South Park' 'Family Guy' and a few others. Rather than esoteric asides or long, pointed diatribes against certain institutions, this is more an exercise in absurdity, outlandish situations/timing and has more to say about society as a whole. It remains crude and certainly irresponsible, but it is rarely mean-spirited.
Like the previous Mike Judge collections, this set doesn't have the music videos. In a lot of ways, they always bogged down the narrative and needlessly broke things up. At the same time, there were fans of them. I'm a story kind of guy, so their exclusion won't exactly ruin my day.
Special features include: a San Diego Comic Con feature where Mike Judge answers questions, overdubbed phone calls that are some more fun at the expense of 'Jersey Shore,' and a public service announcement where B&B tell you to silence your cell phone during the movie.
It's nice to see Mike Judge going back to his roots. He had some success with feature films ('Office Space') and some failures ('Idiocracy' and 'Extract') and another long-running television series that some people preferred to this show ('King of the Hill') but it all started right here.
Obviously, personal taste (or a lack thereof) comes into play when it comes to this. Even though 'Mike Judge's Beavis and Butthead Vol. 4' is technically a retreat back into familiar territory, it's nice to see that the 90's are still alive in some way. Maybe they'll never really end.
Not Rated 264 minutes 2012
'Mike Judge's Beavis and Butthead Vol. 4' will be available to purchase in Allentown, the Lehigh Valley and beyond.
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