- Overview
An unemployed pot-smoking slacker and amateur drummer, Anthony Stoner ditches his strict parents and hits the road, eventually meeting kindred spirit Pedro de Pacas. While the drug-ingesting duo is soon arrested for possession of marijuana, Anthony and Pedro get released on a technicality, allowing them to continue their many misadventures and ultimately compete in a rock band contest, where they perform the raucous tune "Earache My Eye."
- Release Date
16 May 1978
- DirectingLou Adler
- Budget
$0.00
- Revenue
$41,590,893.00
- Stars
Videos
User Reviews
See moreFilipe Manuel Neto
11 December 2022
**A good example of how irresponsible and careless cinema can be when it wants to convey messages to the public.** I have already said, in other reviews of other films, that I see cinema as a leisure experience and as a form of artistic expression. At its core, this is cinema. However, there are so many films that seek to indoctrinate and convey political or social messages that it is not easy for us to forget that the industrial and propaganda machine linked to the movies is perfect for the mass “brainwashing” of crowds. It's something I don't like and it's even dangerous, taking into account that it can be used for good or bad, depending on the message being conveyed. And the message that this film sends us is one of tremendous social irresponsibility! Released in 1978, at a time when American cinema still felt the strong influence of hippies and the ideals of a libertarian and counterculture Left, the film begins by revealing two very different characters (a poor Latino and a well-born and spoiled rich man) who unite in their love for drugs, and especially marijuana (or weed). The script is non-existent and underwritten: the characters limit themselves to an incessant and eager search for more and more drugs, ending up returning from Mexico with a van made of weed and leaving a trail of smoke and people accidentally stoned, and apparently very happy with that. The film is one of those films that Hollywood should be ashamed of: it is a great apology for the consumption, liberal and recreational, of a varied cocktail of drugs, which starts with weed and ends with acids, “speeds” and heroin. The amount of substances mentioned in the film is vast and the way in which the subject is approached should have led to legal actions and arrest warrants against the actors, producers, studio and director, in order to answer for this irresponsible and inconsequential movie. And if the reader finds that too drastic, I leave you the question: would it be reasonable or good that they had released a comedy that made a sympathetic or pleasant portrayal of Nazism, or the Holocaust? Yes, one thing has nothing to do with the other! But there are reasonable limits for everything, including comedy, and there are themes that are simply not meant to make people laugh. I don't mean by this to say that I think the film was instrumental in increasing drug use, or that all the people who saw it went out and bought some weed. But if we, as a society, start to allow certain reprehensible acts and behaviors to be seen in a careless way, this gradually becomes ingrained in people's minds. In addition to this issue of moral and social irresponsibility, the film also has a perfect bad taste humor: I've never seen a film where the characters spend so much time in bathrooms, or vomiting. If that's funny, I didn't see any joke, but maybe it's my mistake, after all, I wasn't born or live in a cave, and my parents gave me a good education. Technically, the only aspects worthy of mention are the vehicles, starting with the VW Beetle modified with Rolls-Royce parts and ending with the very green van that appears in the biggest slice of the film. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong deserve the Golden Raspberry and are absolutely deplorable, as actors and as comedians. Personally, I am in favor of banning this film, on moral and educational grounds. However, it can even be seen if it is properly framed and accompanied by explanations about the danger of drug use. Lucky for us, there are lots of films with good messages about that, and yes, cannabis is a drug like any other.
More Like This
Coffee and Cigarettes
Coffee And Cigarettes is a collection of eleven films from cult director Jim Jarmusch. Each film hosts star studded cast of extremely unique...
See moreDelicatessen
In a post-apocalyptic world, the residents of an apartment above the butcher shop receive an occasional delicacy of meat, something that is in low...
See moreDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian...
See moreTenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
In Venice Beach, naive Midwesterner JB bonds with local slacker KG and they form the rock band Tenacious D. Setting out to become the world's...
See moreAttack of the Killer Tomatoes!
After a wave of reports of mysterious attacks involving people and pets being eaten by the traditionally docile fruit, a special government task...
See moreLife of Brian
Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging...
See moreA Fish Called Wanda
While a diamond advocate attempts to steal a collection of diamonds, troubles arise when he realises he’s not the only one after the collection.
See moreMonsieur Hulot's Holiday
Monsieur Hulot, Jacques Tati’s endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort, where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another...
See moreAn American Werewolf in London
American tourists David and Jack are savaged by an unidentified vicious animal whilst hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. Retiring to the home of a...
See moreParty Monster
The New York club scene of the 80s and 90s was a world like no other. Into this candy-colored, mirror ball playground stepped Michael Alig, a...
See morePieces of April
Quirky and rebellious April Burns lives with her boyfriend in a low-rent New York City apartment miles away from her emotionally distant family...
See moreToy Story
Led by Woody, Andy's toys live happily in his room until Andy's birthday brings Buzz Lightyear onto the scene. Afraid of losing his place in Andy's...
See moreToy Story 2
Andy heads off to Cowboy Camp, leaving his toys to their own devices. Things shift into high gear when an obsessive toy collector named Al...
See moreLoriot's Great Cartoon Revue
Loriot, whose real name was Bernhard-Viktor Christoph-Carl von Bülow, or Vicco von Bülow for short (1923-2011), is considered to have been the...
See moreRe-Animator
Conducting clandestine experiments within the morgue at Miskatonic University, scientist Herbert West reveals to a fellow graduate student his...
See moreNowhere
In Los Angeles, a colorful assortment of bohemians try to make sense of their intersecting lives. The moody Dark Smith, his bisexual girlfriend...
See morePipe Dreams
The hear/see/speak no evil monkeys come to life from a small statue on a shelf. They find a pipe and smoke it, and enter a world where all manner...
See moreLammbock
Stefan and Kai run a thriving business: a home-grown cannabis trade disguised as a pizza delivery service. For now they just have to fight aphids.
See moreThe 51st State
An American master chemist plans to score big on a once in a lifetime drug deal. All does not go as planned and he is soon entangled in a web of...
See moreStill Crazy
In the seventies Strange Fruit were it. They lived the rock lifestyle to the max, groupies, drugs, internal tension and an ex front man dead from...
See more