Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe

Paramount+ Reviews

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For yours truly, 'Beavis and Butt-Head' actually had to be something I had to grow up a little to fully appreciate. I can still remember watching it at the time of its release, not quite getting what it was all about. The laughing was annoying, the animation was consistently stiff, and I wasn't sure I grasped what the music video part of it all was. Eventually, things did fall into place up in that brain of mine, and I can now appreciate 'Beavis and Butt-Head' for what it is.

Just to clarify, when it was originally released, I was only 10 going on 11. But then, once you become a teenager and go through teenager things, especially through the 90s, you begin to actually recognize these two idiots. Not as anyone specific, but they were an extreme of teenage culture at the time. 'Do America' was released by the time I was into high school, however, and I went from there and worked my way backwards. Nowadays, an old episode of this show is a nostalgic gem, full of 90s references from the time, especially music videos from the era when music videos meant something. It was resurrected very briefly in 2011, but it sort of came and went in a blink - so much so that as far as this film is concerned, it doesn't seem to even be canon - as far as 'Beavis and Butt-Head' canon goes.

The film opens in 1998, Highland Texas, where we see Beavis and Butt-Head (Mike Judge and Mike Judge) attending their high school science fair. A nut-kicking gag eventually sets fire to the gymnasium, and eventually, it leads to a judge sending them to space camp at the Johnson Space Center, believing them to be at-risk youths. There, the two dummies become very involved with a docking simulator, which impresses Captain Serena Ryan (Andrea Savage) enough to invite them on a docking mission. Much like the last film, something said is misinterpreted as an offer for sex, so Beavis and Butt-Head are, of course, fully on-board.

The mission, in question, is to go up to study a micro black hole. To really jump ahead here, trying not to spoil too much of the comedy, eventually, it leads to Beavis and Butt-Head actually getting sucked through the black hole, which transports them to Galveston, Texas in 2022. While the pair try to adapt to some of our modern technology, they also deal with two intelligent versions of themselves, who warn them of the destruction of the multiverse if they don't return to their time, via a portal atop Mt. Everest (but don't get too excited to see that adventure). Meanwhile, an older Serena is on their tails for a whole other reason that may entail spoiler territory.

While I bear in mind that not everyone out there is going to get onto yet another streaming service just for one movie, I do still highly recommend finding a way to check this out IF you are a fan of 'Beavis and Butt-Head'. I thought everything felt kind of right here for what it was supposed to be. They even manage to offer up a tiny bit of character development between the pair - especially Beavis. But don't worry, it doesn't exactly go overboard with things. For the most part, this is still just as solid an off-the-wall comedy as 'Do America' was. If nothing else, it makes me want to go back and revisit some of those classic 90s episodes. I might lose a brain cell or two, but dammit, these two are so fun to see with a grown-up and nostalgic set of eyes. I mean really... how much of a Beavis and/or Butt-Head was I?

4/5

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