#206: Bio-Dome
Release Date: January 12th, 1996
Format: Streaming (Tubi)
Written by: Kip Koenig and Scott Marcano
Directed by: Jason Bloom
1 Star
Pauly Shore is an unfunny hack. It’s the great irony of his career, and maybe his life.
His mom was Mitzy Shore, the owner and manager of the world famous Comedy Store in Hollywood. Her son, Pauly, grew up in the industry and was raised around a who’s who of the ‘80s stand up comedy scene.
He was able to parlay his family’s status into a MTV VJ gig, back when MTV still had some cultural relevance with American teenagers, and his comedic persona “The Weasel,” a kind of SoCal stoner burnout, had his 15 minutes of fame.
Well, it should have ended at 15 minutes of fame. Unfortunately Hollywood studios misread the public’s appetite for The Weasel and gifted him a string of lead roles in early ‘90s theatrical comedies (Encino Man, Son in Law, In the Army Now, Jury Duty). It was a miscalculation. These were bad, unfunny movies that nobody asked for. I was young, but I definitely remember Pauly Shore during this time. I don’t remember knowing one person who was a Pauly Shore fan.
I can imagine middle-age execs sitting around at the time saying, “Well, I sure don’t get it, but the kids must like it.”
No. No, we didn’t.
Bio-Dome proved to be the nail in the coffin for The Weasel’s movie career. Watching it this morning, it’s kind of incredible how unfunny it is. I laughed once, and it had nothing to do with Pauly Shore. In fact, it’s when Shore is on screen that the movie is at its most irritating.
You would think that anybody who grew up in The Comedy Store would become funny through sheer symbiosis. One day you’re watching Andy Kaufman, then the next Richard Pryor, then Robin Williams or Garry Shandling or Sam Kinison.
Pauly Shore is impervious to comedy, no matter how hard Hollywood tried to convince us otherwise. Bio-Dome is Exhibit A.
Postscript: Hang around until the end and you’ll get a really early Jack Black and Kyle Gass appearance performing as Tenacious D.
