So Dumb, But So Right: Goofy 'Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe' Is A Great Time

But anyone who has watched (and loved) Beavis and Butt-Head across the years knows that Judge's shows and movies are their absolute best when they ask -- and flip -- who is "smart" or "stupid" in a given setting.

In Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, a straight-to-Paramount+ film out now, Judge and his crew finally give the duo a smart-but-also-dumb mashup treatment worth watching. This movie does this better than 1996's because its ideas fit the show's silliness and don't come from Judge's other programs.

Fail Spaceward

Beavis and Butt-Head are high schoolers in the 1990s and know nothing save boobs, explosions, sticky snacks, and euphemisms. As you'd expect, the movie's first half is a crazy comedy.

The McGuffin that starts the plot of this movie is about as good an idea as you'll find in a crudely drawn '90s show. Beavis and Butt-Head are put in front of a judge after causing untold amounts of damage and harm to people. Luckily for them, the judge has just been influenced by a certain '90s pop culture relic. "When I look at these two boys today, I don't see their failure," he tells a packed courtroom as the defendants stare blankly into space. "I see our failure."

Since these two morons acted wrongly, the judge rewards them with a NASA-themed event. Yes, you read that right. When adults observe these youngsters acting like morons, they give them the benefit of the doubt and put them in position to level up, do even more damage, and potentially kill more characters. What logic does tell us NASA want to put a crucial American agency in Beavis and Butt-Head’s hands? People love them, right? "We may finally get Americans interested in the space program again," they say.

There's no safe crotch — Anywhere

The filmmakers will crack you up as Beavis and Butt-Head get away with things. A weak government worker is often trampled on; a real estate agent queries an unhappy couple that walks into a house showing, hinting something is wrong with their relationship; and a professor lets Beavis and Butt-Head disrupt her lecture so she can give them a "teachable moment." Beavis and Butt-Head don't understand the lesson (of course).

In the crazy sci-fi segment of the movie, the two main characters tear a hole in the space-time continuum. This adds another version of each of the movie's two major characters, and their fights are the greatest. Beavis delivers a terrific meta-joke when introducing himself (but we won’t spoil it for you).

Cavity searches with class?

Do the Universe contains few characters and is over in 85 minutes, surprisingly. This leaves the door open for more craziness in the future, since so much has been left on the table — for now. Amazingly, the movie lasted more than an hour without getting boring.

In 2024, the show will return on Paramount+. This means appearances and Easter eggs that didn't make the show could return.

Do the Universe's outlandish elements aren't too over-the-top, and Beavis and Butt-Head's awkward interactions with modern technologies are hilarious and memorable. Do the Universe's gags and punchlines are always fresh too, unlike 1996's Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, which completely wore out the same "cavity search" joke.

This movie goes above "PG" but isn't "mature." Beavis and Butt-Head stay true to themselves, repeatedly talking about and acting out sexual acts and innuendo like they always have.

All in all, Beavis and Butt-Head being launched into space is a great thing for all of us. If you like Idiocracy, Office Space, or King of the Hill, then you will love this movie.

Check out the trailer for Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe on Paramount+.