Encino Woman

Encino Woman
Official release poster
Directed by	Shawn Schepps
Screenplay by	Anne Joseph Shawn Schepps
Produced by	Frank Isaac Jeffrey Lampert Irwin Marcus Les Mayfield George Zaloom
Starring	Katherine Kousi Corey Parker Annabelle Gurwitch Jay Thomas Elisa Donovan
Cinematography	Russ T. Alsobrook
Edited by	Duane Hartzell
Music by	David Lawrence
Distributed by	ABC
Release date	April 20, 1996 (1996-04-20)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Encino Woman (also known as California Woman) is a 1996 TV movie directed by Shawn Schepps. It tells the story of a cavewoman who awakes in 1990s Los Angeles and inadvertently becomes both a successful fashion model and a spokesperson for feminism. The film is a sequel to 1992's Encino Man, though none of the original cast reprise their roles. Numerous drag queens make cameos, including Jackie Beat and The Fabulous Wonder Twins.

The film aired only once, on the ABC network in the evening of April 20, 1996. Encino Woman has never been released on home video or streaming services since, though a taped copy of the original broadcast has surfaced on YouTube.

Plot

In 1990s Los Angeles, a cryogenically frozen prehistoric woman (Katherine Kousi) is awakened by an earthquake. Meanwhile, David Hosenfelt (Corey Parker) works as an advertising executive and lives with his housemate Chris (Annabelle Gurwitch), a kindergarten teacher.

David is struggling at work with a difficult client, a perfume brand named Primal, led by an eccentric French man named Jean Michel (John Kassir). When David asks for a promotion, he is impulsively fired by his aggressive boss, Marvin Reckler (Jay Thomas). He is advised by a colleague to attend the following day's photo shoot, as Marvin will likely have cooled off by then.

While roaming the streets of Los Angeles, the prehistoric woman meets David. She barges into his house, threatening his cat with a spear and eating the food in his kitchen before seducing him, and they become friends.

During the photo shoot, model Ivana (Elisa Donovan) proves difficult to work with. The prehistoric woman arrives on set and impresses Jean-Michel, leading to her becoming the brand's new spokeswoman and David being rehired. David spontaneously names the woman "Lucy" and lies that she is a "travelling performance artist." Ivana is unhappy that she has been replaced, and promises to keep her eye on Lucy.

Lucy officially moves in with David and Chris, and is given a makeover to pass as a modern woman. Dropping her off at Chris' kindergarten for the day, David begins making calls to the local police to see if Lucy is a missing person. Making some observations and enquiries of her own, Chris begins to suspect Lucy is from prehistoric times and learns the story of "Encino Man". Lucy and Chris begin bonding, and Chris teaches her the words "yes" and "hungry."

Marvin summons Lucy to a meeting and asks to speak to her alone. Because she only knows two words, she responds "yes" when Marvin asks her if she planned to attract Jean-Michel's attention as a stunt, and "hungry" when he asks where she is from, which he mishears as "Hungary." This also leads to a jealous Ivana reporting Lucy to the police, suspecting her to be an illegal immigrant. Meanwhile, she attends an English class with a group of actual immigrants led by a politically radical Black teacher named Javier (Clarence Williams III). While handing out candy to the class, he teaches her to say "revolution", "be free" and "home."

Lucy arrives at the shoot and reacts negatively to being pressured to perform, throwing a tantrum as photos are taken and smashing the mirror in the green room. Chris increasingly develops a respect for Lucy, believing she is "just who she is", and encourages David to teach her anthropology. Despite her initial discomfort, Lucy becomes a successful and famous model, and David rises in status as a member of her entourage - though he begins to feel Jean-Michel does not fully appreciate or understand her. At a party of trendy models, Lucy encourages the guests to binge on candy and says "revolution" and "be free."

David shows Lucy some illustrations of prehistoric times from a history textbook, to which she responds emotionally with "home" and "be free." He tries to communicate that this era is long gone, and she slaps him. Lucy moves in with new friends from the fashion world, and David loses his job again after calling Jean-Michel an "untalented piranha." Reflecting on his life, David realises that he is in love with Lucy and has taken her for granted. He plans to get her back at the official Primal launch party, which features a runway fashion show.

Lucy is booked on a TV talk show, having inadvertently become a spokesperson for women's rights and a critic of diet culture. She responds to their questions with "yes", "revolution", "hungry" and "be free" and is well received by the hosts and audience, developing a feminist following who begin rejecting the fashion industry in her name. At the Primal launch party, enraged at her treatment, Lucy screams and rips off her outfit while on the catwalk then assaults Jean-Michel and Marvin. The audience rapturously applauds, believing it part of the act and booing when security attempt to detain her.

Wearing a loincloth, David swings in on a rope and rescues Lucy, and she tells him she loves him. Police then attempt to arrest her, still believing her to be a Hungarian illegal immigrant. The situation is averted when her and David decide to marry and spend the rest of their lives together.

Critical reception

In Variety, Sue Cummings compared Encino Woman to Paris is Burning due to the lengthy fashion show sequences and proliferation of queer characters. However, she was critical of the film and called it "a progression of hammed scenes that are too choppy and varied in tone." Mike Hughes of the San Bernadino County Sun called the film "a low point in television" but was complimentary of Kousi's performance. Mike Duffy wrote in The Oregonian that "despite the film's colourful, hyperactive attempts at social satire, Encino Woman wears out its welcome in rapid fashion" and added that it had made him "wistful for Pauly Shore."

Cast

• Katherine Kousi as Lucy
• Corey Parker as David Hosenfelt
• Annabelle Gurwitch as Chris
• John Kassir as Jean Michel
• Jay Thomas as Marvin Reckler
• Elisa Donovan as Ivana
• Clarence Williams III as Javier
• Rick Overton as Raji
• Chris Hogan as Roger
• Joel Murray as Mr. Jones
• Bobcat Goldthwait as Yogi Paxil
• Spencer Garrett as Bobby
• Jackie Beat as the doorman
• The Fabulous Wonder Twins (cameo)

External links

• Encino Woman at IMDb 
• Encino Woman at Box Office Mojo
• Encino Woman at Rotten Tomatoes