Encino Man

Encino Man (1992)

Genres - Comedy  |   Sub-Genres - Sci-Fi Comedy, Teen Movie  |   Release Date - May 22, 1992 (USA)  |   Run Time - 98 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - PG
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

A clueless caveman meets his intellectual match in the form of Pauly Shore in this teen-oriented comedy. Dave Morgan (Sean Astin) is a high school student in Encino, California, where he spends most of his time with his dazed-and-confused buddy Stoney Brown (Shore) and tries to figure out why his girlfriend Robyn (Megan Ward) left him for thick-headed jock Matt (Michael DeLuise). Hoping to boost his low status in the High School pecking order, Dave wants to put in a swimming pool at his family's home for a massive post-prom party. While Dave and Stoney are digging the pit, an earthquake strikes that unearths a frozen caveman (Brendan Fraser). To Dave and Stoney's surprise, the frozen Neanderthal soon comes to life, and after a bath, a shave, and a new set of clothes, the boys are passing off their dim-witted-but-friendly companion "Link" as an exchange student from Estonia. Link soon becomes the most popular guy at school, and Dave is determined to use Link's social success as a way to win back Robyn and foil Matt. Encino Man marked the directorial debut of Les Mayfield, who previously produced the critically acclaimed documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse.

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Keywords

man, prehistoric, caveman, cryogenics, cultural-shock, earthquake, freeze, high-school, prom, school, swimming-pool, teenagers, Valley-girl