Up In Smoke

Up In Smoke (1978)

Runtime: 85 minutes

Directed by: Lou Adler

Starring: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Stacy Keach, Tom Skerritt

From: Paramount

Well, because today is 4:20-I presume everyone knows what the significance of today is in terms of one aspect of the counterculture-I figured it would only be appropriate to review a movie revolving around marijuana and its consumption, and this is the most appropriate movie I have in my DVD collection. Hey, I’m not a pot user; I have it as it’s a funny film that you can enjoy sober. Although, if you know people who like to smoke up (as I do; the number of people in that category will remain a secret) it does make things more amusing. I watched this last night instead of today as I have things planned for today.

The thing is, there isn’t too much to say about the movie. The storyline is pretty threadbare and it’s really a series of sketches strung together, but like I said it’s usually pretty amusing. You can tell that Cheech and Chong had been a comedy team together for years before they made this flick; the repartee is pretty clear. In the movie, you get to see how they meet up and become pals (Chong moves away from his rich parents; from the dad you get the now-classic line “Finkelstein-shit-kid”, so there’s that) and their frequent run-ins with the cops.

They meet up with a wacky variety of people, including Strawberry (Skerritt) with a giant birthmark on his face and a victim of Vietnam War trauma. But the main story ends up being Cheech & Chong accidentally being deported to Mexico and coming back to L.A. in order to compete in a band competition and unbeknownst to them, the van they’re using is entirely made out of pot. This causes them to get followed by the wacky Sgt. Stedenko (Keach), leading to a finale that’s odd at times, but still funny.

So, this movie filled with goofy (yet entertaining) humor-not to mention some catchy music-is perfect for this day, although you don’t have to be a stoner to enjoy this. If you don’t have that around-the movie that is, not marijuana-Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie isn’t a bad substitute, in my eyes. The other movies… I’ve seen clips of, and that was enough to tell me not to watch them in full.

I’ll be back Friday night.