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Released by: Anchor Bay
Released on: 9/4/2012
Director: John Stalberg
Cast: Michael Chiklis, Adrien Brody, Colin Hanks, Sean Marquette, Matt Bush
Year: 2010
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The Movie:
Henry (Matt Bush) has a bright future ahead of him. He's to be the valedictorian, he's going to M.I.T after high school…things are looking good. On the way into school, a mishap involving one of the school stoners, Travis (Sean Marquette) leads to detention for both of them. These two have grown up together and used to be friends, but now they're not really close at all. A little after bonding session involving a joint, Henry's very first time trying the stuff, the two go away feeling better about each other and life goes on. That is until the very next day when it's learned that Principal Gordon (Michael Chiklis) is going to conduct a mandatory drug test for all students and faculty, and those failing will be expelled. Uh oh! Henry got stoned, will fail the piss test, and all his plans will go down the tubes. Have no fear, Travis has a plan. They can make pot brownies for the conveniently scheduled Brownie contest at school the same day as the drug testing. Then EVERYONE will fail and he'll be in the clear. What could go wrong? Now then, where to get that much weed…
Travis knows of this stuff hidden in a locked chest that can do the trick. They just have to steal it from Psycho Ed (Adrien Brody), the local pot connection and they'll be all set. They manage to get the magical keef from Psycho Ed, and they manage to pull off the brownie swap as well. But they aren't out of the woods just yet. Henry's nemesis, Salutatorian-to-be Sebastian (Adhir Kalyan) knows something's stinky and he'll do all he can to help Travis lose his place at the academic top. And then there's Psycho Ed to deal with, who figures things out with the help of his stoner pals, including Paranoid, played by Mykelti Williamson (shrimp gumbo, shrimp scampi, shrimp fried rice…). And don't forget about the Principal and his anti-drug campaign with the help of Colin Hanks. The boys are up against some big-time trouble, must use their wits and pray their luck holds out, and the boy can get the girl. Yeah, there's that crap in there too, that teen romance shit.
For a movie with some solid talent in front of the camera, High Times fails to pull anything memorable from them. The two young guys as the high school kids are fine, and are more the “straight man†in a comic duo and the grown-ups are more the “fall guyâ€, if you catch the drift. Adrien Brody is obviously there for some comic moments and is hardly threatening as a drug dealer, but his moments of jocularity seem too forced to work. Michael Chiklis, doing his best Frasier Crane impression, is not funny AT ALL, even with the crappy hairpiece. Yeardley Smith shows up as one of the teachers and gets silly on the brownies, as does the Hanks kid, but they do stuff that people on weed don't do. The one stand out is Mykelti Williamson, who has the only really funny lines, and even then he's in the background and barely in the movie.
The story is a tired one, right up to the end where various newspaper headlines tell of where each character will be in six months or a year. There's nothing new here and it's not very funny at all, even though that's the obvious intent here. Mediocre comedy is tough to recommend. Don't go out of your way for this one.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Visually, the film looks great. Colors look natural and pleasing, there's strong detail, and great clarity. Black levels are nice and deep too. It's simply a really nice looking movie. There appear to be no artifacts or issues with the disc. The audio is a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track, which delivers a rich sound with a great balance between the dialogue and music. No issues to report with it. Extras include a number of deleted/extended scenes, and an audio commentary by the director. It's standard stuff, but he has way of speaking that keeps your interest. It's a good track, to be honest.
The Final Word:
Not just a stoner comedy, but a stoner epic, or so claims a quote on the cover. Aside from a couple of moments that warrant a snicker, there's not a whole lot to get excited over. Great looking movie, though.
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