Meet the Deedles

Directed by Steve Boyum, Meet the Deedles follows dimwitted brothers Stew (Steve Van Wormer) and Phil (Paul Walker) as they attempt to prevent a diabolical figure (Dennis Hopper’s Frank Slater) from destroying Yellowstone National Park. Filmmaker Boyum, working from a script by Jim Herzfeld, delivers a perpetually erratic yet mostly agreeable comedy that benefits from its charismatic, affable performances, as Van Wormer and Walker turn in easygoing work that goes a long way towards smoothing over the narrative’s various bumps and lulls – with the watchable vibe heightened by several compelling sequences and an entertainingly eclectic roster of periphery players (including John Ashton and Robert Englund). And while the picture never comes close to replicating the comparatively stellar atmosphere of certain obvious forebears (eg Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Dumb and Dumber, etc), Meet the Deedles, despite charging into a needlessly overblown climactic stretch, generally comes off as a decent-enough endeavor that passes the time well enough.

**1/2 out of ****