May 26, 1992 -- ``Encino Man'' is sort of like Wayne's World meets Iceman. It is a silly movie and the determined moviegoer must make a valiant effort to suspend his disbelief in this one, so great are the logical inconsistencies and scientific inaccuracies.

If you can manage to swallow the premise, the plot, and the incredibly stupid and wimpish parents, played by Mariette Hartley and Richard Masur, one can enjoy the harmless, brainless humor. This is like some of those drive-in or ``B'' movies they used to make before double features died.

Brendan Fraser does a good job of playing a cave man who is found in a block of ice by a high school student, played by Sean Astin, while excavating a swimming pool in Encino, Calif. Astin plays a student who lacks both intelligence and personality and so does poorly with the ladies. He thinks the caveman will make him popular. Wrong.

Astin's friend, Stoney, played by Pauly Shore, is a lot more interesting than Astin as a character. He's like a throwback to the hippies of the 1960s. He's got the Encino language down. His scenes with Fraser are among the best in the film. Astin, on the other hand, is like an anchor, when he's on the screen, everything grinds to a halt.

I wasn't, like, totally bummed watching this film, but it sure wasn't buff, either. It rates a C.

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