I'm probably one of the most anti-drug people in the world. In my entire life, I've never done any drug, not even pot. Drugs disgust me. Still, as anti-drug as I am, I'll be the first to admit that marijuana is pretty tame. I've never done it, and I never will, but when compared to cocaine or heroin, it's no big deal. Besides, there's a popular conspiracy theory that the only reason that marijuana is illegal is because billionaire William Randolph Hearst saw to it that people believed that marijuana was deadly. He ran dozens of newspapers around the country, so he had the power to do just that... and that's exactly what he did. Eventually, marijuana was illegalized. The reason he did this was because he had millions of dollars invested in cotton (or some other material), and he feared that the superior hemp, which comes from marijuana, would jeopardize those millions of dollars he invested.
Anyway, I believe that conspiracy theory to be true. I personally think that if tobacco is legal, than marijuana should be. I smoke neither, but what's right is right.
I'm getting sidetracked. I have a review to write.
This is my second time watching a pot movie. The first one was "Dazed and Confused," which wasn't so much a pot movie as it was a film where the characters happened to smoke it a lot. It was a great movie, one I really enjoyed. I highly recommend it. As for "Half Baked," I hate to admit this, but though it wasn't nearly as good as "Dazed and Confused," it was very entertaining.
It stars Dave Chappelle (who co-wrote the film with Neal Brennan) as "Thurgood." He's the kinda leader of a group of potheads who include Harland Williams (he was the guy who starred in "Rocket Man") as "Kenny," Guillermo Diaz as "Scarface," and Jim Breuer (he's Joe Pesci in "The Joe Pesci Show" on "Saturday Night Live") as Brian, the extreme pothead who steals the movie. It also stars Rachel True (from "The Craft") whose character's name is ironic. Take a guess what it is.
"Half Baked" was directed by Tamra Davis and this marks her third stint as director of a film with an actor from "Saturday Night Live" (the first two were "CB4" with Chris Rock and "Billy Madison" with Adam Sandler). She gets really clever during scenes when the characters are high, and the fact that she made a name for herself directing music videos is utilized for one of the movie's many gags.
There's a
whole bunch of movie-related jokes throughout, and there are enough cameos
to keep your eyes busy. "Half Baked" is not a great movie, but it's really
funny. It's a nice waste of time, even if you're not into pot.