this movie was co-written with the late, great phil hartman. if you take it as a slapstick or other moron-oriented type of comedy, it will disappoint you, but if you look at it as a saga (hang on) and let it's funny moments become incidental, i promise you, you will recognize that this is one of the funniest movies that you have ever seen. geniuses like phil hartman, and, i daresay, paul rubens, don't feel pressure to entertain, and their punchlines are more subtly interwoven in their scripts, and rewardingly harvested. in other words, the characters can be jokes where in other comedies, dumb phrases carry the burden of entertaining the audience. i find it hard to believe that everybody on earth hasn't already seen this movie, but if you haven't, i recommend it whole-heartedly. it's one of the best i've ever seen.