09.01.07
Up in Smoke
I wonder, has anyone asked Lindsey Lohan what she thinks of Owen Wilson?
Honestly, Up in Smoke was kind of boring. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the decades of stoner comedies that have come since 1978 but I was just not excited by this movie.
So, “Man” (that’s his character’s name(even though IMDb says his name is Anthony “Man” Stoner), he’s played by Tommy Chong) apparently has really rich parents and we meet him while they are telling him that he has to get a job or he’s going to military school. And I was thinking WTF, they can send him to military school? He’s like 40! Anyway, so he runs away in his VW but it breaks down on PCH and he is picked up by Pedro (Cheech Marin). They smoke a huge joint and sort of go to jail but then they are magically at home again and have to go out searching for weed. They don’t find any, so they come home. They are also in some sort of band with a couple of black guys. Hey, did you know Tommy Chong was white? I don’t think I knew that. I guess because he always looks tan and/or dirty. Then they get ‘deported’ (this is a little funny - Pedro’s family has called INS on themselves so that they can get a free ride to Mexico). In Mexico they meet up with Pedro’s cousin who has a van that needs to be driven back to L.A. except they don’t know that the van is made of pot. So, they drive back to L.A., pick up some skanks and are chased by some inept cops and never suffer any consequences. Oh and they have to get back to L.A. for a battle of the bands at the Roxy. Which they win because the van starts to burn and everyone in the place gets high and for some reason Pedro is wearing a tutu. I think it ends with Pedro getting beer dumped on his crotch.
I think I would have to say, maybe this movie should only be watched when the viewer is preposterously high themselves because, while some of the sight gags elicited a smile, I don’t think I actually laughed through the whole thing. But maybe I would have if I had been high. I should try a second viewing tomorrow around 4:20.