Encino Man

Encino Man is a 1992 comedy movie in which a caveman named Link (played by Brendan Fraser) goes from being frozen in a block of ice to being the most popular guy at Encino High, with help from Dave (Sean Astin) and his friend Stoney (Pauly Shore).

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Tropes used in Encino Man include:

• All Cavemen Were Neanderthals: Averted.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: Teena
• Asian and Nerdy: The lone Asian student to play a (minor) role is portrayed as an overenthusiastic geek, always trying to get more students to join the Computer Club.
  • ... and he's played by a then-teenaged Jonathan Ke Quan.
• Berserk Button "Maybe Matt Wilson was right about you all along."
• Blooper: The scene where Link is driving and Dave is stuck on the window, in one brief shot you can clearly see Dave's Stunt Double.
• Broken Aesop
• Contemporary Caveman
• Death Glare: Link, when Matt punched the glass he was drawing on with mustard.
• Extreme Omnivore: Link will eat anything. Anything.
• Fridge Logic: Why was there a block of ice in the ground in California where it is warm most of the time? A block of ice that has to be frozen for millenia in California?
  • Dave didn't understand why Link didn't hit Matt back. Stoney tells him it's because, like all cavemen, Link fought for food and survival, not for popularity. Though they may have fought for tribal leadership.
• Happily Married: Despite the Ice Age, Link and his wife loved each other very much.
• Harmless Freezing
• Heroic BSOD: Link freaks out at the museum. See Mood Whiplash below.
• Human Popsicle: Link
• Insistent Terminology: "Parallel parking is not a 'thing', alright? It's not a feeling, it's not a state-of-mind, it's not one of your personal disco records."
• Jerk Jock: Matt Wilson
• Little No: Link's first word.

(Link was about to use a lit match to make a fire)
Dave: Hey! (takes the match away) No!
Link: No.
Dave: What? Did you just... ?

• Makeover Montage: Dave and Stoney transform Link from a muddy, clay-caked naked wild man into a goofy-looking 90s teenager through the magic of a completely unnecessary and ineffectual haircut, a toothbrush, and lots and lots of soap. Link even wears a towel turban for part of the scene.
• Mood Whiplash: The museum field trip, where Link realizes what exactly has happened to him (and the presumed fate of his wife).
• Nubile Savage: Initially averted with both Link and his wife, who are dirty, have rotten teeth, and are clothed in lots of furs (they are living through an ice age). However, Link cleans up nice, and at the end, so does his wife.
• Ow, My Body Part

Stoney: Ow! My pancreas!

• Stranger in a Familiar Land
• Shout-Out: "I'll be back."
  • Link drives like Julius.
• Surfer Dude: Stoney
• Those Two Guys
• The Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer
• The Voiceless: Link, for most of the movie. Though he does pick up some words, he only understands about half of what he says, so he communicates primarily through body language.
• Walk This Way: As the class heads to the museum, Stoney (exaggeratedly) mimics the way Matt Wilson's cohorts walk, while talking behind them.
• What Does She See in Him?: Robyn goes out with Matt at the star to the movie, which Dave just found out. He even says this. Soon she broke up with him due to his Jerkass-ness.
• Wild Hair: Link, obviously. Even though the boys give him a haircut.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Link, when he realizes his world, his old life, and his wife is gone. However, his wife has also been frozen in ice and is reunited with Link.
• You Suck: Dave and Stoney.
• Your Mom:

Matt: Going somewhere?
Dave: Yeah, got a date with your mom.
Matt: Now that's not nice.
Dave: Its just a joke, I'm sorry.