Summer is the perfect time to check out what is playing at the local movie theater. Before letting that all-too-familiar feeling of summer boredom hit, find a seat in the theater showing a new comedy written by and starring Rob Schneider. A product of Saturday Night Live (SNL) fame, Schneider is known for his character “the Sensitive Naked Man” as well as hit comedies such as “Men Behaving Badly” and “Deuce Bigalow.” Schneider’s newest movie is entitled “The Animal.”

This movie is a comedy about a nerdy guy named Marvin Mange. Marvin gets into a car crash, which hospitalizes him. The doctors put him back together with animal parts and as a result, he starts to act more like an animal than a human. In one scene, when he sees a beautiful woman walking down the street, he starts humping the nearest mailbox. Later in the story, the character finds himself in yet another embarrassing situation, in which he meets Rianna, played by Colleen Haskell of “Survivor” fame). Rianna is an environmentalist who recently tried to save a tree by living in it for a year. Eventually the two fall in love.

Schneider never worries about pushing the envelope too far in his movies.

In an online chat, Schneider wrote, “the envelope is made to be pushed too far. You can’t be afraid to shock and offend, but that can’t be the sole purpose. I have to make myself laugh.”

According to Schneider, he learned a lot about comedy from his fellow cast members on SNL, like Adam Sandler and Chris Farley, as well as some of the other greats that have passed through the studio and appeared on the screen.

“Monty Python is the high watermark of comedy in the 20th century,” Schneider wrote. “Anyone who disagrees with that is ignorant about comedy.”

He also noted that Peter Sellers, Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor were some of his favorites.

The movie was directed by Luke Greenfield and produced by Sandler.

Schneider said of working with Sandler, “He’s my friend but also my boss. It’s a bit weird, but we’ve been working together for a dozen years, so we have shorthand. He makes the movie funnier and is a brilliant editor and filmmaker.”

Haskell, who plays Schneider’s love interest, is new to Hollywood with only “Survivor” and a “Blistex” commercial under her belt, but she has already been dubbed “America’s Sweetheart.”

During an online chat, Haskell said that making the movie was more fun than “Survivor” because, “the movie was a job, and ‘Survivor’ was a game show.”

A soundtrack for “The Animal” will also be released. “I’m psyched about the soundtrack,” Schneider said. “We got the Wailing Souls, Bob Marley, a song that I want to put on by Train, Cracker, Beastie Boys and a couple new songs that will soon be hitting college radio.”

Schneider concluded his online chat with his high hopes for success.

“I put all my eggs in this one ‘Animal’ movie,” he said. “If this doesn’t work, I quit. I just want to say that I am in a special place in my career where I care a lot less and, at the same time, a lot more. I want to make films that make people laugh hard, and I am not afraid to walk away from this business tomorrow.”

The film opens in theaters June 1.