Part of a series on |
Cannabis |
---|
![]() |
Stoner film is a subgenre of comedy film based on marijuana themes, where recreational use often drives the plot, sometimes representing cannabis culture more broadly or intended for that audience.[1]
Stoner film genre
The midnight movie scene in theaters of the 1970s revived the hectoring anti-drug propaganda film Reefer Madness (1936) as an ironic counterculture comedy. The broad popularity of Reefer Madness led to a new audience for extreme anti-drug films bordering on self-parody, including Assassin of Youth (1937), Marihuana (1936), and She Shoulda Said No! a.k.a. The Devil's Weed (1949).
The duo Cheech & Chong established the archetypal "stoner" comedy throughout the 1970s, taking their antics to the big screen for Up in Smoke in 1978, establishing the contemporary stoner film genre.
High Times magazine sponsored the first Stony Awards in 2000, celebrating stoner films and television, recognizing a broad scope of noteworthy cannabis media.
The enduring influence of Reefer Madness led to a musical comedy remake in 2005.
Common elements
Many stoner movies have certain elements and themes in common.[2][3] The template involves a protagonist or protagonists who have marijuana, are attempting to find marijuana, or have some other task to complete. The protagonists are often two friends in a variation of the buddy film.[2]
Stoner films often involve evading authority figures who disapprove of the protagonists' marijuana usage, usually out of a greater lack of acceptance of their lifestyle of leisure and innocence. Authority figures are often law-enforcement agents, who are portrayed as comically inept, as well as parents, co-workers, friends, and security guards. Most serious moments in stoner films are intended ironically, often to parody overwrought counterparts in mainstream cinema. The comic story arcs often approach or fall over the line into slapstick.[2]
List of stoner films
- Jewel Robbery (1932)
- Reefer Madness (1936)
- Easy Rider (1969)
- Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)
- Fritz the Cat (1972)
- The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat (1974)
- The Chicken Chronicles (1977)
- Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke (1978)
- Rockers (1978)
- Cheech & Chong's Next Movie (1980)
- Cheech & Chong's Nice Dreams (1981)
- Things Are Tough All Over (1982)
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
- Still Smokin' (1983)
- Les Frères Pétard (1986)
- Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986)
- Far Out Man (1990)
- London Kills Me (1991)
- Dazed and Confused (1993)
- The Stoned Age (1994)
- PCU (1994)
- Friday (1995)
- Bio-Dome (1996)
- Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
- Bongwater (1997)
- Half Baked (1998)
- Around the Fire (1998)
- Harvest (1998)
- Social Intercourse (1998)
- Homegrown (1998)
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
- Dead Man on Campus (1998)
- Detroit Rock City (1999)
- Blowin' Smoke (1999)
- Human Traffic (1999)
- Outside Providence (1999)
- Dude, Where's My Car? (2000)
- Next Friday (2000)
- Saving Grace (2000)
- How High (2001)
- Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
- Lammbock (2001)
- Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
- The Wash (2001)
- Scary Movie 2 (2001)
- Super Troopers (2001)
- Ali G Indahouse (2002)
- Friday After Next (2002)
- Slackers (2002)
- My Dinner with Jimi (2003)
- High Times' Potluck (2002)
- Rolling Kansas (2003)
- Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
- Soul Plane (2004)
- Without A Paddle (2004)
- Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005)
- Clerks II (2006)
- The Evil Bong series (2006–2018)
- Grandma's Boy (2006)
- Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (2006)
- Smiley Face (2007)
- Kush (2007)
- Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
- Weirdsville (2007)
- Remember the Daze (2007)
- Knocked Up (2007)
- Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008)
- Growing Op (2008)
- Pineapple Express (2008)
- Strange Wilderness (2008)
- The Wackness (2008)
- Humboldt County (2008)
- Stone Bros. (2009)
- The Cops Did It (2009)
- Stan Helsing (2009)
- Extract (2009)
- High Society: A Pot Boiler (2009)
- Van Wilder: Freshman Year (2009)
- Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day (2009)
- Due Date (2010)
- High School (2010)
- Eat Me! (2009)
- Leaves of Grass (2010)
- Anuvahood (2011)
- A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)
- Stonerville (2011)
- Paul (2011)
- Our Idiot Brother (2011)
- High Road (2011)
- Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011)
- Ted (2012)
- Liberal Arts (2012)
- The Newest Pledge (2012)
- Mac & Devin Go to High School (2012)
- Easy Rider: The Ride Back (2012)
- Kili Poyi (2013)
- Hansel & Gretel Get Baked (2013)
- Idukki Gold (2013)
- Honey Bee (2013)
- Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie (2013)
- This Is the End (2013)
- Go Goa Gone (2013)
- Gingerdead Man vs. Evil Bong (2013)
- The Coed and the Zombie Stoner (2014)
- Awkward Thanksgiving (2014)
- Trailer Park Boys: Don't Legalize It (2014)
- Kid Cannabis (2014)
- Ted 2 (2015)
- American Ultra (2015)
- The Night Before (2015)
- Midnight Delight (2016)
- Jil Jung Juk (2016)
- Sausage Party (2016)
- Asockalypse! (2016)
- Grow House (2017)
- Ripped (2017)
- Dude (2018)
- Super Troopers 2 (2018)
- The Beach Bum (2019)
- How High 2 (2019)
- Waldo on Weed (2019)
- The Marijuana Conspiracy (2020)
- Good Mourning (2022)
Stoner crossover films
- The Harder They Come (1972), stoner crime film
- The Big Lebowski (1998), stoner crime comedy film
- Grass: History of Marijuana (1999), stoner documentary
- Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005), stoner sex comedy
- Puff, Puff, Pass (2006), stoner crime film
- The Tripper (2006), stoner slasher film
- Super High Me (2007), stoner documentary
- The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (2007), stoner documentary
- Sex Pot (2009), stoner sex comedy
- Mr. Nice (2010),[4] stoner crime film
- Your Highness (2011), stoner comic fantasy
- Bong of the Dead (2011), stoner horror film
- Paulette (2012), stoner crime film
- Savages (2012), stoner crime film
- We're the Millers (2013), stoner crime film
- The Culture High (2014), stoner documentary
- Inherent Vice (2014), stoner crime film
- Mile High: The Comeback of Cannabis (2014), stoner documentary
- Halloweed (2016), stoner horror film
- Grass Is Greener (2019), stoner documentary
- The Smoke Master (2022), stoner kung fu film
See also
References
- ^ Meltzer, Marisa (26 June 2007). "Leisure and Innocence: The eternal appeal of the stoner movie". Slate. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
- ^ a b c Pastorek, Whitney (27 July 2004). "Joint Ventures". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 April 2007.
- ^ Meltzer, Marisa (26 June 2007). "The eternal appeal of the stoner movie". Slate.com. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
- ^ Alchimia Blog, Cannabis and Cinema