Homo Erectus (2007) User Reviews

Almost funny

[slake09 · 3/10 · 25 January 2009]

A caveman wants more out of life, including his brother's hot wife and leadership of the tribe.

From the number of stars some other reviewers have assigned, I have to think they were associated with the movie in some way. It's just not that funny. The idea is somewhat original, with the caveman theme, but the jokes are totally predictable: cavemen clubbing women, prehistoric animals wreaking havoc, and sight gags like cavemen wearing modern eyeglasses.

It's one of those movies you might watch if it was the only thing on TV late at night when you couldn't go out and get a rental.

The protagonist, Caveman Isbo, has a string of failed inventions and a crush on his brother's hot wife. He can't get the cave women interested in him and his inventions don't spark any interest with the tribe. He does a lot of moping around, trying to solve his problems.

It's a good idea, and almost funny enough to capture your interest, but not quite. If you're into National Lampoon humor you can probably watch it, but it won't be one you recommend to friends.

Dire. Watch at your peril. Actually, no, don't watch at all.

[neil-476 · 3/10 · 11 June 2014]

Ishbo is an unsuccessful caveman. He yearns for the gorgeous Fardart, but his successful brother Thudnik steps in and grabs her for himself. But Ishbo hasn't given up on Fardart.

An eclectic cast includes Ali Larter as Fardart, David Carradine as the tribe chief and Ishbo's father, and Talia Shire as his mother, with Gary Busey as a rival tribe leader, with Carol Alt, Tom Arnold and Lin Shaye in assorted other roles. Wow, what an eclectic cast! Ishbo is played by Adam Rifkin, who also wrote and directed.

There is a problem here, in that Rifkin has written, directed and starred in a comedy which, unfortunately, is not even slightly funny in any respect whatsoever. Rifkin plays Ishbo as Woody Allen without the trademark tics, but that doesn't make his performance funny despite his hilarious (by which I mean "not hilarious") wearing of spectacles. To be fair, the script doesn't give him much of a chance since none of the gags are actually funny. Given who wrote the screenplay, there is only one person to blame: Adam Rifkin.

Poundland had this on its shelves, priced at, yes, one pound. That is precisely two pounds more than it is worth. I award it 3 out of 10 - one for boobage, one for Ali Larter looking good in cavewoman gear, and one for creating some on-screen production values out of what is clearly a minimal budget.

Makes Caveman, Cavegirl and Year One look like works of genius.

[BA_Harrison · 2/10 · 28 December 2014]

Dawn of Sex, another Poundland purchase (when will I learn?), features blonde Hollywood hottie Ali Larter in sexy cave-woman attire, as well as numerous other babes wearing very little at all—and yet it still proves to be an excruciatingly dull watch thanks to writer/director Adam Rifkin's dreadful laugh-free script, his dire central performance, lousy direction, and woeful special effects. Well done, Rifkin: you've managed make a film loaded with hot women a virtually joyless experience!

Rifkin plays the film's luckless prehistoric 'hero', philosophical forward-thinking caveman Ishbo, who has about as much luck with the women as he does with his crappy inventions: Ishbo is in love with his life-long friend Fardart (Larter), but she is attracted to his much more athletic brother Thudnik (Hayes MacArthur). In one extremely ill-conceived moment, Ishbo accepts defeat and attempts to 'club' (ie., assault and rape) another woman, but winds up killing her instead. Finally, he gets drunk and shags a chimpanzee. And we, the viewers, are supposed to find all of this hilarious and feel empathy towards this pathetic loser!?!

The 'comedy' goes from bad to worse when Fardart is abducted by rival tribe, the Binadraks, and Ishbo embarks on a rescue mission. In a scene obviously written by Rifkin just so that he can frolic with several semi-naked, silicon-enhanced bimbos, Ishbo encounters a tribe of beautiful Amazonians who want him to impregnate them. After having his genitals washed by several of the sexy women, Ishbo is about to get started with the tribe's leader Queen Fallopia (Carol Alt) when his conscience kicks in and he flees to find the love of his life. He should have stayed and lived the life of a stud, however, for when Ishbo finally tries to free Fardart, she refuses to leave, preferring the company of the macho Binadraks. Well done Rifkin: you've succeeded in turning the lovely Larter into a despicable bitch.

Dawn of Sex also features embarrassingly bad performances from once-respectable actors David Carradine, Gary Busey, and Talia Shire, all of whom should have turned the project down and immediately fired their agents, plus an unsurprisingly bad turn from thoroughly unrespectable ex-porn legend Ron Jeremy, who probably isn't as ashamed of this mess as most people would be.

shameful

[Mutakk · 1/10 · 7 March 2009]

Sad statement about the current trend of cinema, that some film goers actually enjoy this dreadful "film" from the Adam Rifkin school of schlock.

Rifkin shamelessly imitates Woody Allen (and Mel Brooks, to a lesser extent) in a 90-minute no-laugh-fest with nothing whatsoever for the audience than a parade of female body parts and endless fart jokes.

Not one joke -- NOT ONE -- warrants laughter. This film literally has no redeemable qualities whatsoever. I can't imagine what David Carridine and Gary Busey were thinking when they signed up for this dog. As for Rn Jeremy, there's nothing he could have ever done in his entire career of porn that could be as humiliating as this dumb, stupid, worthless movie.

Only gets 1 star, because IMDb doesn't give the option for Zero.

pass the toilet paper...

[seriously_bored · 1/10 · 22 August 2009]

Twenty years ago, "National Lampoon" meant the movie was FUNNY; now it's a warning. Be afraid. Be very afraid. "Homo Erectus" is another utterly stupid and unfunny movie from a director KNOWN for stupid unfunny movies.

I didn't laugh once, almost fell asleep, and even Five hundred scenes of naked breasts couldn't even keep me awake. Seriously, there are so many scenes in this movie that were insultingly bad. I kept wanting to yell at the screen!!!!

Basicvally, "Homo Erectus" is nothing more than a limp ripoff of the 1981 comedy "Caveman". Every attempt at humor -- EVERY scene, EVERY "comic" moment -- falls flatter than Ally McBeal's tits. Don't waste your time.

Actually Felt Like I Was Losing Brain Cells As I Watched

[sophybliss · 2/10 · 16 November 2010]

One of the dumbest movies I have ever seen. For some reason I tried to watch it twice, to see if maybe I was missing something, but it only got worse. Rifkin is a horrible actor and his 'jokes' are consistently puerile. Possibly of interest to horny, bored pubescent boys home sick for the day. Any good review this pile of trash receives obviously comes from someone involved with it. Any attempt to associate this with Woody Allen or even Mel Brooks is asinine!! How did this ever get made?? Obviously Busey, Carradine and Arnold were desperate for the cash.

I think this is the maddest I've ever been at wasting my time on a movie. Not even bad-good enough to rate as a cult classic! The shame is there's obviously talented, truly creative people out there who can't get a break because someone's throwing money at crap like this.

Pretty stupid movie...

[e-income-ltd · 1/10 · 29 July 2008]

It's a pretty stupid and no-sense movie, although the idea is somehow original (prehistorical movies are fewer than the usual other types) and there's also some fun in it too, but the acting is awful and there's almost no plot!

The funniest part is the main character, Ishbo, the 'wise' caveman :D, who is a lot of a loser but has a few good moments too.

If you have some time and want to KILL IT without any sense, you can watch this movie...

OR

If you really want to watch a movie about prehistorical times, see '10.000 B.C.', that's a real fine movie...

Bad...soooo soooo incredibly bad!

[tlckijiji · 1/10 · 28 May 2022]

This movie is a disaster of epic proportions. It's hard to think of one redeeming quality.

The worst part was watching habitual perjurer Whitney Enriquez. Ron Jeremy's acting was like Sir Laurence Olivier compared to Enriquez, who acted more like a meth addict, carpet surfing for crumbs in the carpet.

Ally Carters performance was about the best thing to happen to this film.

Thankfully, We Evolved

[thesar-2 · 1/10 · 1 December 2012]

If it weren't for the star of this trash – if you can call him that – Adam Rifkin, the movie would be a solid 1 star, instead, it got an extra ½ star to 1½ out of 5. His humor, dead on lines – for the most part – actually made some of this film watchable. Loved the glasses. Everything about him and his character succeeded. But though I thoroughly enjoyed (only) Final Destination 1 and 2, Ali Larter was so weirdly placed in this extremely predictable prehistoric love story/comedy. Not that one can expect much from anything that starts with "National Lampoon's…whatever." (Please insert your best caveman voice-over for the following warnings) Humor bad! Graphics Bad! Acting Bad! Dialogue Bad! Renting it Bad!

National Lampoon's Homo Erectus: Adam Rifkin is a genius

[MrVonAwesome · 10/10 · 19 July 2008]

There's been some strong buzz about this film for a while on line thanks to a whole bunch of trailers and funny little videos. I really wanted to check this film out for a host of reasons, not the least of which are Ali Larter (who's hot as Hell), Miles Dougal (Star of many a Giuseppi Andrews epic) and Rifkin, who I've been a fan of since DETROIT ROCK CITY. Having only seen the web trailer and a couple of viral vids I could only hope that it wasn't the type of film that tries to show you so much of the funny gags in the trailer, then while your watching it you're sitting there saying to yourself, "wow I should have just watched the trailer for 88mins".

THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE FILMS! From the opening scene, a reference to 2001, to the closing scene, an obvious homage to Buster Keaton, this film delivers! NATIONAL LAMPOON'S STONED AGE is about a prehistoric Einstein named Ishbo whose tribe believes that both his inventions and the fact that he doesn't believe in clubbing women, is completely insane!! Ishbo (Played by Rifkin) is a caveman with some great ideas! Ideas that will help man evolve, but his father Mookoo (David Carradine), brother Thudnik (Hayes Macarthur), and friends Zig & Zog (Giuseppe Andrews and Miles Dougal) just don't understand why he isn't content living the life that the tribe has come to know and love. The film also features Ali Larter, Tom Arnold, Talia Shire, Bill Tyree (another Giuseppi regular), Gary Busey, Ron Jeremy, & Lin Shaye.

Now don't get me wrong, this isn't GODFATHER PART 2, but it's obviously not meant to be. It's just a funny little caveman movie that's smart, silly and really well done. And the cave babes are sexy as hell! From the opening scene with Miles Dougal (Zog) all the way to the very last frame tight on Adam propped up in a neanderthal man display in a history museum, this little film keeps it in 5th gear and doesn't slow down. From clubbing chicks to Mastodon hunts gone awry, Thudnik shows us what it would've been like (more so how easy) to become the Alpha-Male. While Ishbo is busy inventing things like bikes, fishing nets, and pants… his buddies Zig & Zog are busy finding things to smoke their funny grass out of. Meanwhile the love of Ishbo's life Fardart (Ali Larter) is trying to set him up with his lovely cousin, who just so happens to be an ape. Ishbo really can't catch a break, especially the night of his brother's bachelor party before he marries Fardart and he has one to many drinks with his cousin. Ishbo ends up screwing the chimp. Gross! Rifkin said that Woody Allen was a big inspiration to him and you can definitely see the influence. Not in a copy cat way, but the film shows obvious reference to his idol.

The DVD is LOADED with extras like bloopers, deleted scenes, outtakes, music videos, and "old fool raps". Also is the lovingly produced "GAY-vemen" featurette. The disc has a HILARIOUS commentary track, not your standard directors track, but done knowingly poking fun at themselves and each other. All you "dirty caveman" be sure to check out the "STONED AGE PENTHOUSE PHOTO SHOOT" & "STONED AGE MAXIM PHOTO SHOOT". This DVD is sure to become a cult classic and a must have for all DVD collectors.

light entertainment

[universal-consilience · 6/10 · 7 August 2012]

The story is set in prehistoric times. It is the story of a glasses wearing coward nerd of a caveman who is despised by his clan. He is in love with a pretty cavewoman but she only has eyes for his brute of a brother. The movie is clearly a low budget one. It is not an intelligent movie. It is funny at times. Most jokes are basic but efficient, maybe a bit too scattologic at times. There are some phantasmagoric scenes with sexy half naked cave-women. I did not find the movie boring. It was neither too short nor too long. The violence is not that high. Sexual content makes it maybe not appropriate for a child younger than 9 y.o.

stoned age

[polysicsarebest · 10/10 · 18 February 2009]

As a huge Giuseppe Andrews film (easily the best director making movies today), I often wondered, "What would happen if Tyree (a star in many of his films) crossed over to a 'major' motion picture?" While this isn't really a MAJOR motion picture, it is certainly the biggest budget movie Tyree has ever been in, and he's absolutely hilarious! I just wanted more Tyree, more!!! His "Old Fool" is one of the best characters ever! Andrews and Dougal were hilarious, as usual, as was Adam Rifkin! The creator of classics "Psycho Cop 2", "Invisible Maniac", and "The Dark Backward"... didn't realize he was such a charismatic, memorable, and funny actor too! This movie, all in all, is beyond stupid and I didn't laugh that much, and most people will probably hate it. But if you're a Giuseppe Andrews fan, this is worth watching. Now if we could only get Vietnam Ron in the sequel!

Funny as Pre-Historic Hell

[altec91 · 7/10 · 12 February 2009]

I suppose since I went into watching this movie with very low expectations, I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself laughing from beginning to end. Maybe some of the jokes are a little too intellectual for those with low IQ's. The humor ranges from low-brow to sophisticated. Also for the men, and those similarly inclined, there are plenty of hot topless girls in this somewhat dark comedy.

What else can I say; I suspect this has some potential to later become a cable/ DVD cult hit as there is great comedy to be had, as well as some reasonably interesting pre-historic adventure to be enjoyed. Let me add that there are a lot of celebrities and reasonably well known actors that you'll spot in this movie.