Bio-Dôme

A prime example of the "stoner comedy." This was a rather strange genre of movies which placed immature and unmotivated Gen-X white males (privileged, in today's parlance) into odd situations, and chronicled the hijinks which followed, in hit or miss fashion.

We can probably trace the roots to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, with Cheech and Chong and Bob and Doug McKenzie perhaps being the grandfathers. Other examples include Wayne's World, Encino Man, Airheads, Mallrats, In the Army Now, Jury Duty, Billy Madison, Grandma's Boy, Happy Gilmore, Dude, Where is My Car?, the Harold & Kumar series, and so on. MTV's Beavis & Butthead capitalized on the same phenonium in cartoon format.

The genre might seem perplexing now but it was very popular during its heyday. Paulie Shore, Brendan Fraser, Adam Sandler, Mike Judge, and Kevin Smith all owe their fortunes to it. And the rest of us perhaps a slight loss of IQ points to it.

If Clerks represents the high end of the spectrum, then Bio-Dome represents the low end. The movie is definitely dumb as hell, and it's sub-5 point rating accurately sums it up. Still though, I give it a 5 because it might be worth watching now. It's a historical curiosity for one thing. The movie is very Gen X. I suspect that Millennials and Gen Zers might find it hard to relate to and more of a novelty, and thus perhaps less annoying than intelligent people did nearly 25 years ago. And those who were around at the time might find it more tolerable now since they're not being subjected to Paulie Shore and these types of movies on a regular basis like they were back then.

Also, if today's shrill Green New Deal progressives annoy you in any way, this movie might actually be something of a treat. The movie and the two buffones who serve as its protagonists of course make a complete and utter mockery out of the subject of environmentalism and those who have dedicated their lives to the cause. So depending on your disposition, it may be worth taking a trip back in time if it's on Netflix for free.

On viewing it last night, this film immediately usurped the position of my long-standing most despised film of all time, the execrable CALIGULA. BIO-DOME is, beyond any shred of doubt, THE most excruciating comedy I have ever had the misfortune to suffer (yep... it's worse than TOMCATS!). In fact, anything Malcolm McDowell did with a newlywed couple and a fistful of mashed potatoes in CALIGULA was a thousand times funnier than the collective 'jokes' of BIO-DOME.

Movies like this always raise frightening questions. Why is Pauly Shore still paid to appear in movies when the world, by now, should have made him feel unsafe in going outdoors lest a crippling injury befall him? Why is Stephen Baldwin still beating his career to death with inane projects like THE FLINTSTONES IN VIVA ROCK VEGAS after a terrific stint in THE USUAL SUSPECTS? How can a movie be so bad that even a four-second appearance by Tenacious D isn't worth sitting through it?

In closing, I share the words of a good friend who watched the film with me. Partway through the laughless mire, he turned to me with genuine concern and asked, "Mate, are you all right? I've never seen you look like that before".

Stupid is, as stupid does is the theme in this movie. Its a universally hated film that has been panned by every critic around. Common slapstick and farce driven movies tend to be negative targets for critics, but this one is ultimately at the top of its list for the category. Im talking about Bio-Dome. A strangely amusing movie about two stoners dealing with the environment (great combination).

Idiot collegians, Bud Macintosh (Pauly Shore) and Doyle Johnson (Stephen Baldwin). Residing in Arizona, the duo are in hot water with their girlfriends, Monique (Joey Lauren Adams) and Jen (Teresa Hill) after a desperate excuse to get out of helping the environment on Earth Day. The duo prove they can by venturing across Arizona in which they become locked inside a Bio-Dome, in which they mistake for a mall.

The duo are unable to leave the dome seeing as the workers must remain in their for exactly a year. If contracted with "outside air" the experiment will be ruined. Naturally, the duo are carefree and decide to screw around in the enclosed case as if it's their prime home. The workers get aggravated, and try to cope with the duo. But they are so irresponsible and unreliable it's and unbelievable frustration.

As much as I heard Luke warm to abysmal reviews, I just had to watch it and give my honest opinion about it. I actually tolerated the entire thing. To my knowledge, this was originally set to be the third Bill and Ted film in the franchise. We can call this the scrapped Bill and Ted, or the Bill and Ted spin off. Regardless, it's a fun, rulefree movie, that shouldn't be taken seriously. As well as being just a fun movie, with good ol' stoner humor. Pre-Half Baked.

Starring: Pauly Shore, Stephen Baldwin, William Atherton, Joey, Lauren Adams, and Kylie Minogue. Directed by: Jason Bloom.

Ok, so it was at the end of the school year, but we still watched it. So these guys get dumped by their girlfriends, and to prove that they can be responsible or whatever, they sneak into the Bio-Dome. Of course, while they're in there they cause nothing but trouble. What a concept. Why isn't this everyone's favorite? It is so amazingly deep.

What can I say about Pauly Shore? Not much except that he's been taking a long "break". And Stephen Baldwin? Well, he went on to a glorious career too. C'mon, movies like...and, um...yeah. The scientist chicks were hot. I was p****d they had to make out with those two goons though. Don't waste your time with this one. Forget you even looked this movie up, it is that bad.

Hot scientist chicks: A+

The rest of this movie: F

Not quite as bad as people make this film out to be. There are some genuinely funny moments in this film. Sure there's lot's of silly moments and "potty-humour" jokes which may only appeal to 16 year old boys but still these lame jokes are done in such a "light-hearted-let's-not-take-ourselves-too-seriously" way which still manages to amuse and make me chuckle! There are also several cameos from actors who are now doing really well but were pretty much un-heard of back then such as a pre-fame version of "Tenacious D"!!! I'm actually quite surprised at the low user rating of 3.8 when movies like "You don't mess with the Zohan" which is possibly the worst film ever made manage to get over 5.0!!!! Bio-dome is a great "swith-off your brain" type of film which shouldn't be taken seriously at all. So crank out the beers or the bong or both and just zone into the dome!