Beavis and Butt-head Do America
Encyclopedia
Beavis and Butt-head Do America is a 1996 animated feature film
, based on the TV series, Beavis and Butt-Head
. It was produced by Paramount Pictures
in association with Geffen Pictures
and MTV Films
, and co-written and directed by creator Mike Judge
. The film grossed $20.11 million in its opening weekend, and grossed a total of $63.12 million in North America
. This was MTV Films
' second film after Joe's Apartment
.
-esque dream, Beavis and Butt-head wake up to realize that someone has stolen their television. The pair then embark on a quest to replace it. After stealing and destroying a TV from school (resulting in their expulsion) and ruining the TV in Tom Anderson's camper, they visit a low-quality motel that advertises "TVs in every room". There, they encounter a drunken Muddy Grimes (Bruce Willis
), who is waiting for two hired hit men, the same guys who stole Beavis and Butt-head's television, to murder his wife, Dallas.
Muddy, thinking that Beavis and Butt-Head are the killers he has contacted, says that they must "do" (murder) his wife. Thinking that by "do", Muddy means "score with
", Butt-Head convinces Beavis that both of them can "score". Muddy then hands them a photograph of Dallas with instructions on where to find her. Beavis asks if they can watch TV first, and Muddy subsequently shoots it. He drives them to the airport to catch the plane to her hotel room on the Las Vegas Strip
. During the plane ride, both Beavis and Butt-Head manage to cause chaos and Beavis consumes massive quantities of caffeine pills given to him by an old woman (Cloris Leachman
). He subsequently transforms into Cornholio, and almost causes the plane to crash when be barges into the cockpit and scares the pilots.
After causing a mild stir in a Las Vegas casino, the boys find themselves in their hotel room, which is adjacent to the room of the hunted woman, Dallas Grimes (Demi Moore
). Dallas soon realizes they have no idea what they are actually hired for. While Beavis and Butt-Head begin fighting over who will "do" Dallas first, the police arrive to arrest her. Thinking quickly, she plants a stolen biological weapon known as the "X-5 Unit" in Beavis' pants in order to get rid of it as evidence. She then gets them tickets on a coach to Washington, D.C.
instructing them that she will be waiting for them in the Capitol
of the United States
and will let them "do her" there.
The stolen biological weapon attracts the attention of the ATF, headed by Agent Flemming (Robert Stack
) who orders a body cavity search
on everyone he encounters and in spite of his tough talk, relies on fellow Agent Bork's (Greg Kinnear
) assistance, virtually all the time. Agent Flemming becomes convinced that the duo are criminal masterminds after accidentally destroying the Hoover Dam
, by effectively cutting the power to Las Vegas. On the tour bus, they visit landmarks including the Grand Canyon
and Yellowstone National Park
. After becoming stranded in Petrified Forest National Park
, they wander through the desert and meet two drifter
s (Earl Hofert
and Tony Darling) who strongly resemble them. The men, former Motley Crue
roadies, tell them that they once hooked up with two "sluts" from the boys' hometown of Highland, Texas
, 15 years earlier. They also share similar personalities, as evidenced by Beavis' father's fascination with fire, and Butt-head's father's pulling down his pants and farting in the fire, creating a large fireball. Neither the men nor the boys make the obvious connection of their parentage, and the drifters abandon Beavis and Butt-head before they wake up the next morning. The boys then continue to trek through the desert, and, after munching on a peyote cactus, Beavis goes into a mescaline induced hallucination
, featuring music by White Zombie
with animation inspired by Rob Zombie
.
The next day, they are found by Muddy, after nearly dying of dehydration
. Muddy decides to take them the rest of the way in his trunk to hunt down Dallas, and they spend the trip laughing at his car jack and pretending to masturbate. In the middle of I-81 in Virginia
, Butt-Head jacks the trunk open, and they escape by jumping onto the road, causing an 18-wheeler to swerve off the road, resulting in a huge, 400-car pileup. Beavis and Butt-head casually walk past the scene and get back on the tour bus, stopping at the United States Capitol Building before finally reaching the White House
. Before Dallas can meet with Beavis and Butt-Head to recover the weapon, she is confronted in the parking garage by Muddy, who flies into a rage when he realizes that the two managed to escape from his trunk. Muddy and Dallas then briefly reconcile before they are arrested by the ATF while having sex in Muddy's car. Faced with the possibility of a 60-year jail sentence, Dallas betrays Muddy by saying that he hid the weapon "in some kid's [Beavis] pants", ironically she still gets the sentence.
The ATF is dispatched to the White House
due to Beavis and Butt-Head being there on the same day as the "Give Peace A Chance" conference. Beavis consumes caffeine pills (following a fight with the bus driver), sugar and coffee while on the White House tour, then transforms into Cornholio again. He wanders around the White House and picks up the red phone in the Oval Office
, causing the military to go to DEFCON 4. Meanwhile, Butt-Head also wanders around the White House and encounters Chelsea Clinton
in her bedroom, making a pass at her. She promptly throws him out the window, where ATF enforcers detain him and perform a cavity search on him. Beavis leaves the White House and looks at the photo of Dallas before going to masturbate
in Tom Anderson's camper. Anderson discovers Beavis and throws him out of the camper, and the ATF spots Beavis walking around pants-less. They think he has the weapon on him and are just about to open fire when Anderson opens his camper door, telling Beavis to take his pants with him, which causes the ATF to go after the pants. The pants are ripped open, with the weapon flying out of them. The weapon, landing safely in Butt-Head's hand, is recovered. Blame for the incident is ultimately pinned on Anderson, who is arrested along with Dallas and Muddy. Agent Flemming informs Beavis and Butt-Head that their adventure will remain top secret. President Bill Clinton
then makes Beavis and Butt-head honorary ATF agents, and gives them a contract for unlimited alcohol and firearms.
Not too much later, they return to Highland and find their TV in front of the hotel. The film ends with them carrying their TV into the sunset while insulting each other with various names, such as 'Ass-Goblin'.
on August 7, 1999, an additional deleted scene
followed the airing. While visiting the National Archives, Beavis attempts to use the restroom
, but cannot because of the lack of toilet paper in the stall. Butt-Head is equally angry because the urinals lack the automatic flushing mechanisms that had amazed him in Yellowstone National Park
. After the rest of their tour group finished looking at the encased Declaration of Independence
, Beavis sneaks out, breaks the glass with the US flagpole and steals it to use as "T.P. for his bunghole." While Archive guards rush to see what happened, Beavis cleans up, and exits the stall with a piece of the Declaration, containing John Hancock
's signature, stuck to his shoe. The scene does not appear on the DVD, although it is mentioned on the disc's commentary track. In the track, Judge noted that the scene did not test well.
Another alternate scene was done for when Butt-Head meets with Chelsea Clinton
in her bedroom, which showed her packing up to leave the White House. This alternate scene was made in the event Bill Clinton
lost his 1996 re-election bid to Bob Dole
. However by the spring of 1996, Judge ultimately decided to keep the original scene because he felt that it was looking as if Clinton was going to win his bid for re-election.
Noticeably missing are "Mucha Muchacha", the version of "Lesbian Seagull" with Mr. Van Driessen singing, and the score tracks, which were released on a separate album.
"Two Cool Guys", written and performed by soul
/funk
icon Isaac Hayes, is a semi-parody of Hayes' Academy Award-winning "Theme from Shaft
". It incorporates the theme from the Beavis and Butt-head television series as a rhythm guitar line, and series creator Mike Judge, who wrote the theme, is given a co-writing credit with Hayes in the soundtrack liner notes.
The version of Ozzy Osbourne's "Walk on Water" is not the same version included in the film. The film actually used an earlier demo version, while the soundtrack itself contains a later, more revised and complete version. The original demo, which appears in the film, can be found on Osbourne's Prince of Darkness box set. "Walk on Water" was released as a single and peaked at number 28 on Billboard
's Mainstream Rock Tracks
.
, with the consensus "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America is unabashedly offensive, unapologetically stupid, and unexpectedly funny."
One award:
1997 MTV Movie Awards
One nomination:
17th Golden Raspberry Awards
Two nominations:
by Paramount Home Entertainment
in 1999. The bonus features on the disc were a widescreen
presentation, and two theatrical trailers. The film was re-released on a Special Edition DVD in 2006 as "The Edition That Doesn't Suck." It contained more in the way of bonus features such as audio commentaries
, Spanish language tracks, more trailers, "Making of" documentaries, and more. It lacks the deleted National Archives scene.
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
, based on the TV series, Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
. It was produced by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
in association with Geffen Pictures
The Geffen Film Company
The Geffen Film Company was a film distributor and production company founded by David Geffen, the founder of Geffen Records, and future co-founder of DreamWorks. Geffen founded the company in 1980, having recruited Eric Eisner as president, and distributed its films through Warner Bros...
and MTV Films
MTV Films
MTV Films is the motion picture production arm of cable channel MTV. Founded in 1996, it has produced films based on MTV programs such as Beavis and Butt-head Do America and Jackass: The Movie, as well as other adaptations and original projects. Its films are released by fellow Viacom division...
, and co-written and directed by creator Mike Judge
Mike Judge
Michael Craig Judge is an American animator, film director, writer and voice actor, best known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head , King of the Hill , and The Goode Family .He also wrote, directed and in some instances produced the films Beavis and...
. The film grossed $20.11 million in its opening weekend, and grossed a total of $63.12 million in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. This was MTV Films
MTV Films
MTV Films is the motion picture production arm of cable channel MTV. Founded in 1996, it has produced films based on MTV programs such as Beavis and Butt-head Do America and Jackass: The Movie, as well as other adaptations and original projects. Its films are released by fellow Viacom division...
' second film after Joe's Apartment
Joe's Apartment
Joe's Apartment is a 1996 musical-serio-comedy film starring Jerry O'Connell and Megan Ward and the first film produced by MTV Films. It was based on a 1992 short film first made for MTV , but was also inspired by both the 1987 Japanese film Gokiburi-tachi No Tasogare and...
.
Plot
After a surreal GodzillaGodzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
-esque dream, Beavis and Butt-head wake up to realize that someone has stolen their television. The pair then embark on a quest to replace it. After stealing and destroying a TV from school (resulting in their expulsion) and ruining the TV in Tom Anderson's camper, they visit a low-quality motel that advertises "TVs in every room". There, they encounter a drunken Muddy Grimes (Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
), who is waiting for two hired hit men, the same guys who stole Beavis and Butt-head's television, to murder his wife, Dallas.
Muddy, thinking that Beavis and Butt-Head are the killers he has contacted, says that they must "do" (murder) his wife. Thinking that by "do", Muddy means "score with
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
", Butt-Head convinces Beavis that both of them can "score". Muddy then hands them a photograph of Dallas with instructions on where to find her. Beavis asks if they can watch TV first, and Muddy subsequently shoots it. He drives them to the airport to catch the plane to her hotel room on the Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
. During the plane ride, both Beavis and Butt-Head manage to cause chaos and Beavis consumes massive quantities of caffeine pills given to him by an old woman (Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
). He subsequently transforms into Cornholio, and almost causes the plane to crash when be barges into the cockpit and scares the pilots.
After causing a mild stir in a Las Vegas casino, the boys find themselves in their hotel room, which is adjacent to the room of the hunted woman, Dallas Grimes (Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
). Dallas soon realizes they have no idea what they are actually hired for. While Beavis and Butt-Head begin fighting over who will "do" Dallas first, the police arrive to arrest her. Thinking quickly, she plants a stolen biological weapon known as the "X-5 Unit" in Beavis' pants in order to get rid of it as evidence. She then gets them tickets on a coach to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
instructing them that she will be waiting for them in the Capitol
United States Capitol
The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and will let them "do her" there.
The stolen biological weapon attracts the attention of the ATF, headed by Agent Flemming (Robert Stack
Robert Stack
Robert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
) who orders a body cavity search
Body cavity search
A body cavity search is either a visual search or a manual internal inspection of body cavities such as for prohibited material , such as illegal drugs, money, jewelry, or weapons...
on everyone he encounters and in spite of his tough talk, relies on fellow Agent Bork's (Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
) assistance, virtually all the time. Agent Flemming becomes convinced that the duo are criminal masterminds after accidentally destroying the Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
, by effectively cutting the power to Las Vegas. On the tour bus, they visit landmarks including the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
and Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
. After becoming stranded in Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified Forest National Park is a United States national park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. The park's headquarters are about east of Holbrook along Interstate 40 , which parallels a railroad line, the Puerco River, and historic U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park...
, they wander through the desert and meet two drifter
Drifting
Drifting may mean:*Drifting In film:*Drifting , a 1923 film directed by Tod Browning*Drifting , the first Israeli gay-themed filmIn music:*Drifting, a song by Jimi Hendrix on his album The Cry of Love...
s (Earl Hofert
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
and Tony Darling) who strongly resemble them. The men, former Motley Crue
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
roadies, tell them that they once hooked up with two "sluts" from the boys' hometown of Highland, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, 15 years earlier. They also share similar personalities, as evidenced by Beavis' father's fascination with fire, and Butt-head's father's pulling down his pants and farting in the fire, creating a large fireball. Neither the men nor the boys make the obvious connection of their parentage, and the drifters abandon Beavis and Butt-head before they wake up the next morning. The boys then continue to trek through the desert, and, after munching on a peyote cactus, Beavis goes into a mescaline induced hallucination
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
, featuring music by White Zombie
White Zombie
White Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
with animation inspired by Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
.
The next day, they are found by Muddy, after nearly dying of dehydration
Dehydration
In physiology and medicine, dehydration is defined as the excessive loss of body fluid. It is literally the removal of water from an object; however, in physiological terms, it entails a deficiency of fluid within an organism...
. Muddy decides to take them the rest of the way in his trunk to hunt down Dallas, and they spend the trip laughing at his car jack and pretending to masturbate. In the middle of I-81 in Virginia
Interstate 81 in Virginia
Interstate 81 is an long highway. In the U.S. state of Virginia, I-81 runs for , making it longer in Virginia than in any other state. It stretches from the Tennessee state line near Bristol to the West Virginia state line near Winchester. U.S...
, Butt-Head jacks the trunk open, and they escape by jumping onto the road, causing an 18-wheeler to swerve off the road, resulting in a huge, 400-car pileup. Beavis and Butt-head casually walk past the scene and get back on the tour bus, stopping at the United States Capitol Building before finally reaching the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. Before Dallas can meet with Beavis and Butt-Head to recover the weapon, she is confronted in the parking garage by Muddy, who flies into a rage when he realizes that the two managed to escape from his trunk. Muddy and Dallas then briefly reconcile before they are arrested by the ATF while having sex in Muddy's car. Faced with the possibility of a 60-year jail sentence, Dallas betrays Muddy by saying that he hid the weapon "in some kid's [Beavis] pants", ironically she still gets the sentence.
The ATF is dispatched to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
due to Beavis and Butt-Head being there on the same day as the "Give Peace A Chance" conference. Beavis consumes caffeine pills (following a fight with the bus driver), sugar and coffee while on the White House tour, then transforms into Cornholio again. He wanders around the White House and picks up the red phone in the Oval Office
Oval Office
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
, causing the military to go to DEFCON 4. Meanwhile, Butt-Head also wanders around the White House and encounters Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Victoria Clinton is a television journalist, currently serving as Special Correspondent for NBC News, and philanthropist, working through the Clinton Global Initiative. She is the only child of former U.S...
in her bedroom, making a pass at her. She promptly throws him out the window, where ATF enforcers detain him and perform a cavity search on him. Beavis leaves the White House and looks at the photo of Dallas before going to masturbate
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
in Tom Anderson's camper. Anderson discovers Beavis and throws him out of the camper, and the ATF spots Beavis walking around pants-less. They think he has the weapon on him and are just about to open fire when Anderson opens his camper door, telling Beavis to take his pants with him, which causes the ATF to go after the pants. The pants are ripped open, with the weapon flying out of them. The weapon, landing safely in Butt-Head's hand, is recovered. Blame for the incident is ultimately pinned on Anderson, who is arrested along with Dallas and Muddy. Agent Flemming informs Beavis and Butt-Head that their adventure will remain top secret. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
then makes Beavis and Butt-head honorary ATF agents, and gives them a contract for unlimited alcohol and firearms.
Not too much later, they return to Highland and find their TV in front of the hotel. The film ends with them carrying their TV into the sunset while insulting each other with various names, such as 'Ass-Goblin'.
Voice cast
- Mike JudgeMike JudgeMichael Craig Judge is an American animator, film director, writer and voice actor, best known as the creator and star of the animated television series Beavis and Butt-head , King of the Hill , and The Goode Family .He also wrote, directed and in some instances produced the films Beavis and...
- Beavis/Butt-Head/Tom Anderson/Principal McVicker/Mr. Van Driessen - Demi MooreDemi MooreDemi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
(uncredited in the end credits from the theatrical version; credited in the home video version) - Dallas Grimes - Bruce WillisBruce WillisWalter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
(uncredited in the end credits from the theatrical version; credited in the home video version) - Muddy Grimes - Robert StackRobert StackRobert Stack was an American actor. In addition to acting in more than 40 films, he was the star of the 1959-1963 ABC television series The Untouchables and later served as the host of Unsolved Mysteries.-Early life:...
- ATF Agent Flemming - Cloris LeachmanCloris LeachmanCloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
- Old Woman - Greg KinnearGreg KinnearGregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
(uncredited) - ATF Agent Bork - Richard LinklaterRichard Linklater-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
- Tour Bus Driver - Earl HofertDavid LettermanDavid Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
- Mötley CrüeMötley CrüeMötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
roadie #1 - Tony Darling - Mötley Crüe roadie #2
- Eric BogosianEric BogosianEric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,...
- Old Faithful ranger / White House press secretary / Strategic Air Command lieutenant
Deleted scene
When Beavis and Butt-Head Do America premiered on MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
on August 7, 1999, an additional deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
followed the airing. While visiting the National Archives, Beavis attempts to use the restroom
Defecation
Defecation is the final act of digestion by which organisms eliminate solid, semisolid or liquid waste material from the digestive tract via the anus. Waves of muscular contraction known as peristalsis in the walls of the colon move fecal matter through the digestive tract towards the rectum...
, but cannot because of the lack of toilet paper in the stall. Butt-Head is equally angry because the urinals lack the automatic flushing mechanisms that had amazed him in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
. After the rest of their tour group finished looking at the encased Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
, Beavis sneaks out, breaks the glass with the US flagpole and steals it to use as "T.P. for his bunghole." While Archive guards rush to see what happened, Beavis cleans up, and exits the stall with a piece of the Declaration, containing John Hancock
John Hancock
John Hancock was a merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...
's signature, stuck to his shoe. The scene does not appear on the DVD, although it is mentioned on the disc's commentary track. In the track, Judge noted that the scene did not test well.
Another alternate scene was done for when Butt-Head meets with Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Victoria Clinton is a television journalist, currently serving as Special Correspondent for NBC News, and philanthropist, working through the Clinton Global Initiative. She is the only child of former U.S...
in her bedroom, which showed her packing up to leave the White House. This alternate scene was made in the event Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
lost his 1996 re-election bid to Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
. However by the spring of 1996, Judge ultimately decided to keep the original scene because he felt that it was looking as if Clinton was going to win his bid for re-election.
Soundtrack
- "Two Cool Guys" - Isaac HayesIsaac HayesIsaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
- 3:06 - "Love Rollercoaster" - Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
- 4:37 - "Ain't NobodyAin't Nobody"Ain't Nobody" is a 1983 hit single by Rufus & Chaka Khan. It was released as a studio bonus track on the band's live album Stompin' at the Savoy. It reached number one on the U.S. R&B chart and twenty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart...
" - LL Cool JLL Cool JJames Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
- 4:38 - "Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks and Cannibal Girls" - White ZombieWhite ZombieWhite Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
- 3:53 - "I Wanna Riot" - RancidRancid (band)Rancid is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California in 1991. Founded by Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, both of whom previously played in the ska punk band Operation Ivy, Rancid is credited—along with Green Day and The Offspring—for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the...
with Stubborn All-StarsStubborn All-StarsStubborn All-Stars are a New York City ska band led by King Django, front man of Skinnerbox and owner of Stubborn Records.By early 1994, Django's original ska roots began to tug at him, and he assembled Stubborn All-Stars for a studio session which resulted in the 4-song Old's Cool 7" EP...
- 3:59 - "Walk on WaterWalk on Water (Ozzy Osbourne song)"Walk on Water" is a song by British heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne produced by Moby. It was originally released on the soundtrack to the 1996 Mike Judge film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. Though a demo version appears in the film itself, and on the second disc of Osbourne's 2005 compilation...
" - Ozzy OsbourneOzzy OsbourneJohn Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
- 4:18 * - "Snakes" - No DoubtNo DoubtNo Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
- 4:34 - "Pimp'n Ain't EZ" - Madd Head - 4:21
- "The Lord Is a Monkey" (Rock Version) - Butthole SurfersButthole SurfersButthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
- 4:44 - "White Trash" - Southern Culture on the SkidsSouthern Culture on the SkidsSouthern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band that was formed in 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina...
- 2:03 - "Gone Shootin'PoweragePowerage is the fifth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released in May 1978. It is also AC/DC's fourth international studio album. All songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott....
" - AC/DCAC/DCAC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
- 5:05 - "Lesbian SeagullLesbian Seagull"Lesbian Seagull" is a song, performed by Engelbert Humperdinck, that was used in the soundtrack for the MTV/Paramount film Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. In the movie, the song was sung by one of Beavis's and Butt-Head's teachers, Mr...
" - Engelbert HumperdinckEngelbert Humperdinck (singer)Engelbert Humperdinck is a British pop singer, best known for his hits including "Release Me " and "After the Lovin'" as well as "The Last Waltz" .-Early life:...
- 3:39
Noticeably missing are "Mucha Muchacha", the version of "Lesbian Seagull" with Mr. Van Driessen singing, and the score tracks, which were released on a separate album.
"Two Cool Guys", written and performed by soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
/funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
icon Isaac Hayes, is a semi-parody of Hayes' Academy Award-winning "Theme from Shaft
Theme from Shaft
"Theme from Shaft", written and recorded by Isaac Hayes in 1971, is the soul and funk-styled theme song to the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, Shaft...
". It incorporates the theme from the Beavis and Butt-head television series as a rhythm guitar line, and series creator Mike Judge, who wrote the theme, is given a co-writing credit with Hayes in the soundtrack liner notes.
The version of Ozzy Osbourne's "Walk on Water" is not the same version included in the film. The film actually used an earlier demo version, while the soundtrack itself contains a later, more revised and complete version. The original demo, which appears in the film, can be found on Osbourne's Prince of Darkness box set. "Walk on Water" was released as a single and peaked at number 28 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
.
Critical reception
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America garnered generally positive reviews from film critics and a "two thumbs up" from Siskel and Ebert and it currently holds a 71% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with the consensus "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America is unabashedly offensive, unapologetically stupid, and unexpectedly funny."
Box office
The film earned $63 million at the domestic box office after a great #1 opening with $20,114,233, a strong return for a film that had a $12 million production budget.Awards and nominations
BMI Film & TV AwardsOne award:
- BMI Film Music Award for John FrizzellJohn FrizzellJohn B. Frizzell is a Canadian screenwriter and film producer.After several years writing, directing and co-producing the documentary series A Different Understanding for TVOntario, Frizzell joined partners Niv Fichman, Barbara Willis Sweete and Larry Weinstein to found the Canadian production...
1997 MTV Movie Awards
One nomination:
- Best On-Screen Duo: Beavis and Butt-headBeavis and Butt-HeadBeavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
17th Golden Raspberry Awards
Two nominations:
- Worst New Star: Beavis and Butt-headBeavis and Butt-HeadBeavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
- Worst Screen Couple: Beavis and Butt-head
DVD release
The film was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment is the division of Paramount Pictures dealing with home video founded in late 1975.-History:...
in 1999. The bonus features on the disc were a widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
presentation, and two theatrical trailers. The film was re-released on a Special Edition DVD in 2006 as "The Edition That Doesn't Suck." It contained more in the way of bonus features such as audio commentaries
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
, Spanish language tracks, more trailers, "Making of" documentaries, and more. It lacks the deleted National Archives scene.
External links
- Beavis and Butt-head Do America at the Big Cartoon DataBaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....