Encino Woman

By SUE CUMMINGS

Encino Woman (Sat. (20), 9-11 p.m., ABC) A ZM Production in association with Walt Disney Television. Executive producers, George Zaloom, Les Mayfield; producers, Jeffrey Lampert, Irwin Marcus; director, Shawn Schepps; writers, Anne Joseph, Schepps.
 
Cast: Katherine Kousi, Corey Parker, Annabelle Gurwich, Jay Thomas, John Kassir, Chris Hogan. Family pic concept riffs off Pauly Shore in "Encino Man," only this time a prehistoric woman frozen in a glacier gets thawed by an earthquake and unleashed onto '90s life in the San Fernando Valley. "Encino Woman" wears thin at two hours, and would have been better suited to a one-hour slot. Neither skilled comic acting by Katherine Kousi, Corey Parker, Jay Thomas and John Kassir, nor a plethora of intriguing costumes, can save a movie that stretches every other joke from the Ice Age to the 20th century.
 

Lucy (Kousi) meets ad agency yuppie David (Parker) when she stumbles out of the Hollywood Hills and leaps onto the hood of his car, spear in hand.

Physical comedy also abounds in Parker's consistent nods to Jerry Lewis, Jean Michel's (Kassir) campy faux-French gestures reminiscent of Inspector Clouseau, and a sloppy scene in which Lucy inhales spaghetti, grapes and the rest of the food in David's refrigerator.

Elsewhere artistic license gets out of hand.

The script exploits the humor of Lucy's learning to speak long past its limit. Director Shawn Schepps clutters Lucy's transition from cave to suburban ranch home with a progression of hammed scenes that are too choppy and varied in tone.

When the made-over Lucy's career as a model takes off, long scenes of a fashion show verge on a Disney remake of "Paris Is Burning."

Equally filler-esque is a midshow outtake featuring Disney chief Michael Eisner citing a newspaper article that appears to have been the genesis of story treatments for both "Encino Man" and "Encino Woman." Eisner takes on a "Ripley's Believe It or Not" demeanor as he explains, "The frozen remains of a prehistoric man were found in the Alps buried in a glacier." But glaciers in the Hollywood Hills?

The kitsch scenario of cave folks incongruously thrust into a modern-life setting carried those classic half-hour "Flintstones" episodes. But it didn't fly with the "Flintstones" feature pic, and it doesn't work with this one.

Camera, Russ Alsobrook; editor, Duane Hartzell; production designer, Peg McClellan; sound, David Barr Yaffee; music, David Lawrence; casting, Allison Jones; costumes, Tom Bronson; makeup, Kathryn M. Kelly; hairstylist, Cheri Ruff.