MovieChat Forums > Encino Man (1992) Discussion > Caring about popularity when you have on...

Caring about popularity when you have one semester left?


I was 6 years old in 1992 and I remember for some reason wanting to see this movie when it came out in theaters. I didn't see it in the theater but as soon as it came out on vhs in the same year my parents rented it for me and I remember really liking the movie.

I literally didn't see the movie again until now, because I'm curious how I would look at it today.

So after watching it it's sort of good in a cheesy way but I'm really annoyed by one thing in the movie. The main character and his friend really wants to be popular at their high school, but they have like a couple of months left until they graduate high school.

I understand the movie is fiction but the idea that 2 high school seniors would care so much about HIGH SCHOOL popularity when their about to graduate is a lot more silly than digging up a caveman.

In reality when someone is about to graduate high school that soon they worry more about what their going to do after graduation.

Maybe it would have been more realistic if their Sophomore or Junior and their acting this way.

This is also the first movie where I felt same sex attraction while not knowing what being gay is.

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Yeah it's pretty stupid and Dave's pathetic quest for popularity (and the fact that he'd sell out a friend to be popular) makes him unlikable imo, I don't think Stoney cared as much, it was mostly Dave.
I honestly don't understand their 'Plan' either, how would being friends with a secret caveman help them be popular? Dave had no idea how the student body would react to Link or his weird behaviour or his inability to verbally communicate with other people.

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David was soooo annoying. Not only did he use Link but he didn't like Robin until she "hit babehood" then got upset when she didn't feel the same.

I only watch this movie for Link and Stoney, they made the movie.

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I agree, but David was annoying. He was pretty unlikeable and wanted to use Link for popularity. He also didn't like Robin until she "hit babe hood" then expected her to feel the same.

Stoney was cool because he didn't care about popularity and cared about Link. He even said he was happy being himself.

I don't watch this movie for David, just for Link and Stoney ;)

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He didn't care about popularity. He wanted in that girl's pants. You know...the one that wasn't hot enough for him a couple years ago. He's a jerk.

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Yeah, Dave was kind of a jerk, and it's kinda understandable, in a way, why people punked him a lot more than Stony. It's like, he ignored the girl for years that he COULD of had, only for him to fall for her when she hit "total babe-agge" and already had a boyfriend (whom of which, by the way, didn't like it when guys were hitting on and trying to steal his girlfriend), and thought more about being prom king than who he hurt and lied to in order toget there.

At least Stony, as dorky and obnoxious as Pauly Shore portrayed him, was a character who is actually smart and didn't give dang if he was popular or not, all he wanted was to have a good time.

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