I was lucky enough to live through three generations of animated characters that not only drove adults crazy, but caused unnecessary havoc in schools and church for me. First there was Bart Simpson, who I remember listening to my teacher lecture us about him being a bad influence. In the late nineties we met a foursome of foul mouthed boys from “South Park” that also sparked immense hysteria and controversy. In between though there were two products of the 1990’s. They were the slacking, burnt out rocker, bare minimum, anti-establishment pair of losers who did nothing but watch TV and try to get laid.
They were known as “Beavis and Butt Head.”
Although not really talked about much these days by the new Generation, back in the 1990’s, they were both popular and absolutely despised by many people. One of my fondest memories as a kid was going to the news stand to buy comic books, and my brother had spent his money on a “Beavis and Butt Head” comic book (issue #3 FYI). After casually sifting through it in absolute horror, my dad took my brother back to the newsstand and made him trade his purchase for another (more appropriate) comic book. It was the classic “Parents Just Don’t Understand” moment.
If you got the joke that creator Mike Judge was attempting to put off, then you kind of fell in love with Beavis and Butt Head. If you didn’t get what Mike Judge was trying to accomplish with an animated series filled with sheer aimless chaos, then there were no chance you would ever grow to understand why we, as kids, loved them. They were the definition of 1990’s apathy and rebelliousness, two teens that worked horrible fast food jobs, spent a lot of their time crapping on everything, and then went home to spend all of their free time mocking music videos.
While the original series started out very rough, once Mike Judge was able to build on the premise, “Beavis and Butt Head” managed to find its niche (even prompting a stellar spin off with “Daria”). It was easily one of the funniest animated series of all time, spending a lot of time on the randomness and piss poor luck of the pair of friends. In “Do America,” they finally hit the big time with their own feature film that aims high without alienating its audience. It pitches a larger scope for its premise, while holding true to the simpler roots that garnered the big fan base. The two TV junkies are horrified when their beloved TV is stolen prompting them to actually leave their home to look for whomever stole it.
This leads them to a larger premise involving hit men, a biological weapon, federal agents, and their attempt to get laid, of course. One of the big motivators for the film’s premise involves the pair mistaken for hired hit men who are sent to “do” Dallas, the wife of criminal named Muddy (both played by 90’s heavyweight celebrity couple Bruce Willis and Demi Moore). Convinced “do” means have sex with her, they take his offer with the intent of using the money he pays them to buy their new TV.
“Beavis and Butt Head Do America” holds true to the roots of the animated series, spending so much of its time on the aimlessness of Beavis and Butt Head’s lives. There’s no big revelation or coming of age moment of clarity. There is simply two kids that want their damn TV back. And an amazing soundtrack featuring White Zombie, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J and so much more. Which is not to say that creator/director Mike Judge doesn’t have some fun along the way with the titular heroes; he has fun with a great animated sequence in a desert.
There’s also a chance meeting with two wandering, moronic Carnival workers that look an awful lot like Beavis and Butt Head. Great (and hilarious) as it is, “Beavis and Butt Head Do America” didn’t exactly set the world on fire (Fi-re! Fi-re!) back in 1996. But at least it’d become clear that Mike Judge’s pair of obnoxious teenagers from “Frog Baseball” had become indisputable icons; thus setting the stage for great work like “Office Space” and “King of the Hill.”
With the movie, they also pretty much ushered in the end of a golden era of MTV in the 1990’s, where the channel was a lot more experimental, and a bit more nihilistic.