More Dumb Movies

DUMMIES Charlie with punch- lines. Two mouth-breathers drink magic water, gain dozens of IQ points, and rise to positions of wealth and power. Then the pond goes dry.Status: After five years in development limbo, the script by Twins writers Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod has now attracted the interest of at least three studios.Dumb quotient: 1. "These guys are dumber than a box of hair," boasts Dragnet and Blind Date producer David Permut.

BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD MOVIE MTV's spotty-faced dunderheads are moving to the big screen-although producers are tight-lipped about the film's plot. Status: Creator Mike Judge is working on a script for Geffen Pictures, but it's still up in the air whether the movie will be animated or live action. Dumb quotient: 2. Borderline mental retardation is...heh...heh...cool.

JURY DUTY Hoping to extend his stay in a free hotel room, a goofball slacker (Pauly Shore) hangs a jury. Status: To be released in April by Triumph Pictures. Dumb quotient: 9. "In the beginning you think he doesn't have an IQ," says producer Yoram Ben Ami, but in the end Shore, who can often make Garth look like an intellectual, proves he's "really smart."

LOUIE A dog chomps on some chemicals and morphs into a man. Status: Twentieth Century Fox just optioned the rights from Flintstones exec producer David Kirschner. Dumb quotient: 7. He may not be book-smart, but he's got Chauncey Gardiner- like wisdom.

THE STUPIDS A live-action comedy based on the popular kids' books about a neuron-free family. Status: John Landis will begin directing this for Ron Howard's and Brian Grazer's Imagine Enterprises and Savoy Pictures in the spring. Dumb quotient: 1. They're moronic enough to try to slide up banisters and mow the rug.

NATIONAL LAMPOON'S SENIOR TRIP A Swiss-cheese-brained hippie (Tommy Chong) drives a busload of high schoolers to meet the President. Status: Due from New Line in the spring. Dumb quotient: 4. "They're likably stupid," says director Kelly Makin, adding that one blows out the eternal flame.

SLAM DUNK ERNEST A Southern-fried dope (Jim Varney) takes on a team of pro hoopsters with a little help from a 7-foot-2-inch angel (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). Status: Due next fall from Emshell Producers, this seventh Ernest movie will wisely go straight to video. *Dumb quotient: 2. Proclaims producer John Cherry: "Ernest is dumber than cats---."