American comic Rob Schneider, 37, looked a bit confused when he appeared on the Gorizont movie-theater stage to introduce Luke Greenfield's new film, "The Animal," which premiered in Moscow this month.

He looked like he was out of his element, like a cat had got his tongue. He's a comedian, but he had little to say. He looked like he wanted to horse around a bit, but he behaved himself and instead just showed off the goofy smile that has become his trademark in his lineup of rather bizarre films.

Films such as his current vehicle, a bestial comedy in which Schneider plays the main character, a guy who has received animal organs as transplants after an accident. As a result, he finds himself compelled to sniff other people's rear ends or urinate under his girlfriend's apartment door to mark his territory.

While Schneider himself was quiet as mouse onstage during the premiere, the crew of local emcees tried to get the audience's goat with some jokes of their own. Unfortunately, with their pidgin English, it only served to confuse the spectators further. Schneider didn't seem to give a rat's ass and only stood there with his sheepish grin.

But the movie itself was dog-gone good. It had to be funny, right? A film about a man grooming lice from his armpits or chasing down a cat at a society banquet? What more could you want?

Before the premiere, Schneider did have a chance to meet and say a few words with his fans in the pavilion of the TsUM department store. He did attract a crowd, although he's not exactly a monster star yet in Russia, where the public knows him mostly for his starring role in "Deuce Bigalow, the Male Gigolo" and his supporting role in "Knock Off."