There comes a point in every film lover’s life when we realize that not everything needs to make sense or be particularly good, and that it is perfectly acceptable to just enjoy something for the sake of it, since not every film we watch needs to be a revelatory experience. This realization is paired with the maturity in realizing that the people behind the films frequently cited as “lowbrow” or indicative of less cultural aptitude are actually doing a wonderful service, since they’re offering some escapism, the kind that keeps us entertained without demanding anything of us other than our willingness to go on this wonderful journey with them. Encino Man is the embodiment of this kind of film, an easygoing and very charming comedy with a lot of good ideas, but which are concealed under layers of very conventional, almost trite humour and a story that is so paltry, calling it paper-thin feels like a compliment. Yet, it is difficult to not fall under the charms of this film, which is as funny as it is insightful, which it is in abundance. Les Mayfield, who has been known to be a director normally called to helm films that are essentially starring vehicles for prominent comedic actors who are seeking a quick shoot that will bring them a quick profit, made his directorial debut here, and still showed some semblance of both visual and narrative prowess, doing his best to elevate the very scarce script by George Zaloom and Shawn Schepps, which builds its entire plot around such a simple idea, and arguably never does much to elevate it beyond the bare minimum. Yet, we can’t help but be enamoured with this film, which is a far more compelling comedy than it would appear on the surface.

Encino Man is one of those films in which we can easily envision what the premise pitched to the executives was without even looking it up – two slacker teenagers in the 1990s come across a frozen caveman at the bottom of their pool, and after thawing him out, they try and assimilate him into society, where chaos and hilarity ensues. This is not only the one-line premise, but essentially the entire plot of the film – this film is so extremely simple in both concept and execution, it is surprising it managed to reach nearly 90 minutes in running time, since it is so one-dimensional in its ideas, we’d assume it would run out of plot within a few minutes. However, almost as if it was defying not only storytelling logic, but the laws of physics and biology, the film manages to scramble together enough ideas to make for a feature-length story, which is on its own an admirable effort, but not one that necessarily warrants a lot of celebration, since it was essentially what was required when turning a very thin premise into a feature-length film. However, in this simplicity we find a lot of the charm – the film never masquerades as something more serious than it actually is, and many of its more memorable moments come from scenes that don’t adhere to any logic, and merely exist just to add onto the already off-the-wall premise, which benefits from a team of collaborators willing to go as far as necessary to turn this story into something wildly fun and endlessly entertaining, which is the entire purpose of this production, and the reason it feels like such a cherished film. It does take some patience, and taking Encino Man seriously is the first step towards frustration – instead, the best approach is just to embrace the madness and go along for the ride, since this is the only way that we can find value in this otherwise outrageous film.

Looking back on Encino Man over thirty years since its release, it’s interesting to imagine how far some of these actors have gone – Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan had careers filled with peaks and valleys (but as of writing, they have both recently won Academy Awards, and seem to be mounting career comebacks that will likely revive their careers, which had previously had moments of unfortunate stagnation), whereas Sean Astin was soon involved in one of the most important and high-profile fantasy franchises in the history of cinema, which immediately consolidated him into the cinematic culture, even as only one of many people involved in bringing The Lord of the Rings to the screen. Conversely, we have someone like Pauly Shore, whose involvement in Encino Man was indeed one of his career highlights (I truly believe that Shore is unfairly reviled, and he is on the verge of delivering a performance that will make us all re-evaluate his career – unfortunately, he has yet to do that, so all criticisms, while perhaps mean, are valid until he proves otherwise), and a range of other actors that populate this film. It is true that no one gives a particularly good performance in Encino Man, but they do what was required, living up to the task of bringing this story to life, essentially doing nothing more than was requested or required. It is notable for being the first credited role for Fraser, and is often cited as being one of his more distinctive films, especially during this era in which he was shoehorned into roles that didn’t necessarily require him to act so much as just appear on screen, with the scarce dialogue and request to play this scatterbrained caveman not doing him any favours in terms of establishing him as a good actor, especially when neither Astin nor Shore (while still very funny) delivers particularly strong performances either. Essentially, Encino Man is a mediocre film with run-of-the-mill performances, and the only reason it is so effective is because it has enough dedication to its inane premise to be convincing, which is a credit to the actors, who are almost entirely responsible for making these characters somewhat authentic.

Understandably, Encino Man has become something of a punchline, since it represents everything that made these early 1990s comedies so distinctive, both positively and negatively. There is a certain quality of storytelling that this film captures that is quite difficult to replicate outside of this very specific era, which is why it is fondly remembered as a remnant of this period of comedy filmmaking. No one involved in this film was of particularly high acclaim or held to a standard in which they could take a few risks, so they essentially had nothing to lose – and as we’ve seen on countless occasions, when someone has a blend of confidence to do whatever they desire, and the security in knowing that they can get away with it, the results can be quite intriguing, if not outright compelling all on their own. Every stereotype about this particular brand of slackers, who are essentially the younger versions of Generation X before they started to embrace their adult responsibilities is contained deeply within this film, which openly and playfully subverts all expectations as it gradually dismantles many of its ideas. Obviously, none of this was intentionally satirical – Encino Man was made by a group of people who thought the idea of a caveman from the prehistoric era being revived in the early 1990s, and thus had to adapt to a considerably different world to the one he remembered is the funniest and most outrageous premise there is – and while this is hopelessly obvious and every plot point can be predicted long before it happens, we cannot help but feel their infectious joy and enthusiasm. I’ve always believed that a story can be as conventional and cliched as needed, granted there is enough heart behind it – it may not make it a particularly good film, but it does allow us to immerse ourselves into this world, which is the primary impetus behind many of these ideas, and the reason why it isn’t difficult to be fond of this film, especially if you have enough patience and a strong enough sense of humour.

In all honesty, I considered writing this review to make it seem like Encino Man was some underrated gem of a film, an unheralded masterpiece that was eviscerated by grouchy critics and dismissive viewers, which would certainly be the more interesting approach. However, in no uncertain terms, this is a bad film, and one that doesn’t warrant anyone putting much effort into defending it, because any attempts to reconfigure this as some majorly misunderstood film is essentially an act of contradiction and a blatant effort to swim against the critical current, that was mostly correct with this entire film. However, the important point here is that this doesn’t disqualify this film from being very entertaining on its own terms, and even its most forthright defenders will likely note that it is not a film that does anything particularly well, which is essentially the charm of the entire film. There is nothing particularly serious about this film, and what seems like a criticism is actually the complete opposite – Encino Man is the kind of film that you watch purely for the sake of entertainment, with all aspects of the story being simple enough that you don’t even need to pay that much attention, especially since the story is simple enough to not warrant too much active thought or engagement with the material. You simply leap onto this film’s wavelength and allow it to take you on whatever journey it feels is most appropriate. Silly, goofy and undeniably strange, it is difficult to appreciate this film as anything more than a moderately well-made comedy that makes up for its narrative shortcomings with a very distinct and charming heartfulness, essentially showing that if a film can’t be unique or groundbreaking, or even all that good in the first place, the best it can strive to be is genuine in its emotions and attempts to entertain, which is why Encino Man remains such a cherished and revered cult classic amongst certain circles that find so much value in this offbeat film.