Viking Night: Up in Smoke
By Bruce Hall
June 9, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com
For just a little while back in the day, a very unique couple of guys put together a very unique comedy act that played a big part in taking urban comedy mainstream AND made the best stoner movie of all time, except for Reefer Madness. But where Reefer Madness was made by people who clearly had no idea what marijuana does, Up in Smoke is the work of professionals. This isn’t just the granddaddy of all stoner flicks; it eats, sleeps and breathes the sweet leaf - I’m pretty sure the movie was even photographed on some kind of hemp derived film stock.
It’s not about a couple of guys who smoke too much weed and have wacky adventures. It’s about weed. And for the most part, it’s actually hilarious. Don’t let that low Rotten Tomatoes score fool you. Up in Smoke is no longer cutting edge material but it doesn’t feel dated so much as it feels familiar. Unless you can watch this with an unjaded eye, you’re going to see right past the good stuff. I’m not trying to advocate excessive drug use or anything, but let’s be real here. Reefer Madness was way off. Pot doesn’t turn you into a psychotic, sex crazed murder machine, it turns you into a lazy, oblivious moron. And those are most of the words necessary to describe Pedro de Pacas (Cheech Marin) and Anthony “The Man” Stoner (Tommy Chong).
Pedro is a (supposedly) streetwise singer in a part-time band who feels overwhelmed by things like "paying bills" and "having a job." Man is an equally unmotivated aspiring drummer who's been living at home way too long. They both respond their encroaching responsibilities by getting stupendously high and dreaming of the untold riches that await them at the bottom of each Doritos bag. Pedro picks up Man hitchhiking, and the latter shares a burrito-sized joint in gratitude. This leads to a DUI arrest, which is overturned on a technicality. The two celebrate freedom by joining forces to live their shared dream and win battle of the bands.
But first, they need to score some weed.
This leads them to Strawberry (Tom Skerritt) Pedro's PTSD afflicted dealer, who happens to be under surveillance by an opportunistic police Sergeant called Stedenko (Stacy Keach). What makes that funny is that Stedenko is as hysterical about his hatred of marijuana as Cheech and Chong are about their advocacy. Stedenko is a self-important go-getter who thinks marijuana will bring about the destruction of the human race. He probably wrote the screenplay to Reefer Madness. He’s driven, motivated and probably knows exactly how many hairs are in his awesome cop moustache. Pedro and The Man probably bathe once a week and you could probably get high just shaking hands with them. Unfortunately, Stedenko is surrounded by a hilariously incompetent team of nitwits, leading to some Wile E. Coyote style bad luck as Pedro and The Man inadvertently elude them by just walking out of frame every time the hammer starts to come down.
By now you’re probably wondering whether Up in Smoke is as stupid as it sounds, and I am pleased to tell you that the answer is no. It’s actually TWICE as stupid as it sounds. There are really only two running gags in the film. With the cops mounting an ineffective pursuit, Cheech and Chong bumble their way around town, high out of their minds, running into trouble because they have no idea what day it is. The second half of the movie mixes it up a bit, upping the ante by letting the cops chase them all over Los Angeles in a van literally made out of weed. Of course it’s stupid, but there’s often great joy to be found in watching buffoons be buffoons. Up in Smoke is a buddy road trip/stoner comedy, a chase movie, and - at times - a musical.
It’s directed by Lou Adler, less known for making films than for being an award winning record producer, but Adler is smart enough to let the movie sell itself, not getting in the way of the story in an effort to prove that he’s more talented than he is. For the most part it works, and if you let yourself go with it, Pedro and Man’s street conscious humor and clever wordplay proves to be infectious. There’s a lot of great music in Up in Smoke as well, providing a fairly steady and entertaining soundtrack that either lifts up or compensates for what’s happening on screen, whatever the case may be. It’s really just a casual good time, cruising the streets of L.A. in a van made of weed, getting some sun, getting some traffic tickets, and checking out some groovy music.
Cheech and Chong themselves are, I suspect, more or less being themselves - Cheech ends literally every sentence with “man,” and Chong sounds like he’s got a mouth full of marshmallows every time he speaks. Their...um...characters...smoke so much grass that they look at everything from the perspective of people who smoke way too much grass. It’s the driving force behind every conversation. Tom Skerritt appears only briefly, playing a Vietnam vet suffering from serious flashbacks. It's actually kind of funny, so much so that I feel bad for laughing at it. Stacey Keach literally eats the screen, his character a combination of Rex Kramer from Airplane and Buford T. Justice.
I’ve only seen this movie a couple of times, but I doubt I’ll ever get tired of seeing Cheech and Chong drive through the background in their pot-van while Keach stands in frame, bellowing and scratching his head, wondering where they are. If dumb comedy is your thing, then Up in Smoke will take you back. If not, then whatever you do, just stick around for the end. The movie closes on a musical number Jake and Elwood Blues would give up their Ray-Bans to cover. It’s the kind of movie you don’t have to be high to enjoy, but even if you’re not, you might think you are by the time it's over. And everyone who contributed to that 38 percent Rotten Tomatoes score...you people are on something a lot stronger than Maui Waui.