Dude, Where’s My Car?

Directed by Danny Leiner, Dude, Where’s My Car? follows a couple of moronic potheads (Ashton Kutcher’s Jesse and Seann William Scott’s Chester) as they embark on a series of misadventures while attempting to find their missing automobile. It’s certainly not surprising to discover that Leiner, armed with Philip Stark’s screenplay, has infused Dude, Where’s My Car? with as irreverent and downright silly as one might’ve anticipated, and there’s little doubt, ultimately, that the bulk of the picture’s mild success is due to Kutcher and Scott’s perpetually charming efforts as the affable central characters – with the actors’ palpable chemistry together enhancing the impact of their loose, entertaining work here. And although the movie’s opening stretch boasts its fair share of laugh-out-loud funny sequences and episodes, including the heroes’ hilarious trip through a Chinese-food drive-through, Dude, Where’s My Car? eventually progresses into a comparatively underwhelming second half that places far too great an emphasis on ineffective, momentum-killing sci-fi elements – which ensures, as a result, that the film concludes on a decidedly less-than-enthralling note. Still, Dude, Where’s My Car? remains basically watchable for the duration of its appropriately brief 83 minutes and lives up to its reputation as a mindlessly entertaining stoner comedy.

**1/2 out of ****