The Stupids

Episode 201: The Stupids (1996)

Theme: Insulting Titles Month
Hosts: Oz & Curtis

This week, Oz and Curtis kick off Insulting Titles Month with The Stupids — a movie marriage of Men at Work + Iron Man + Animal House + a sprinkle of Dirty Grandpa. Tom Arnold leads a family so cheerfully clueless they accidentally infiltrate an arms deal, survive multiple assassination attempts, outsmart Christopher Lee, and expose a nationwide conspiracy involving… stolen garbage. It’s John Landis in full late-’90s chaos mode: bright colors, silly set pieces, cartoon logic, and a level of innocence so earnest you kind of have to respect it.

Join your two favorite “I swear this is the first podcast to ever cover this movie” podcasters as they follow:

• Stanley Stupid’s war against the mysterious “garbage thieves”… also known as sanitation workers.

• Joan, Buster, and Petunia — fully committed to Dad’s conspiracy board despite being equally clueless.

• Colonel Neidermeyer (yes, that Neidermeyer) returning as an arms-dealing villain because the ‘90s said “why not.”

• Christopher Lee’s epic cameo as Mr. Sender — complete with flames, dragon furnaces, and peak Hammer-era energy.

• Spiderweb logic that leads the Stupids straight through Chinese takeout clues, museum planets, TV talk shows, and a finale packed with more explosions than sense.

From CPR lightning bolts to the Lloyd/Lord misunderstanding to bicycle-towed bus escapes, Oz and Curtis unravel a movie that is — unapologetically — exactly as dumb as the title promises… and somehow still charming.

Final Verdict

Oz — 4 Claymation Animals
Curtis — 1011
Both — Convinced the Stupids could defeat the entire Avengers roster purely by accident.