How Do You Say 'Ouch' in Caveman Speak?

Breaking news: Cavemen continue to not be hot. On the heels of the disastrous ABC sitcom Cavemen and Roland Emmerich's universally reviled 10,000 B.C. comes the release of Homo Erectus, the long-delayed lowbrow comedy from the now-shuttered UT production arm Burnt Orange Productions. In a Variety review posted Thursday, June 12, Peter Debruge – a UT alum and a former Chron contributor (as well as classmate of yours truly) – took a club to Homo Erectus and proceeded to pound at will.

The opening whack:

"Primitive in all the wrong ways, National Lampoon's Homo Erectus sets comedy back a good 2 million years, reminding auds of simpler times when a club to the head or a spear to the crotch was all it took to get a laugh. Pic finds writer-director-star Adam Rifkin in wannabe Woody Allen mode as prehistory's first nerd, a bespectacled caveman who muses about love while his buddies go about clubbing their female companions for sex. Bone-headed humor and fleeting nudity may appeal to a few Neanderthals on homevid after brief theatrical exposure."

No word yet on if Austin will enjoy any of that brief theatrical exposure.

There wasn't all bad news – the L.A. Times dishy blog The Dish Rag had some nice things to say. But I think it's safe to say that everybody involved is looking forward to, well, looking forward. And there's good news on that front.

Burnt Orange may be dead (see Joe O'Connell's January piece detailing that demise), but the more modest-minded University of Texas Film Institute is set to begin principal photography on its first feature-length film on July 7. Dance With the One, a product of UTFI's Feature Film Lab, was scripted by recent Michener Center grad Joshua Smith Henderson and will be directed by another Michener alum, Mike Dolan. From top to bottom, the film will feature UT current and former students in key positions.

In a recent press release, UTFI creative director Alex Smith said of UTFI: "The ultimate goal is to give students an experience they can’t get at any other university: creating their very own professionally made feature film with industry guidance and mentorship.”