Top 10 Stoner Films

Stoner films share many elements: cameos from stoner icons, killer soundtracks, incompetent authority figures or bad guys who are just as weed crazed as the good guys, good intentioned yet air headed main characters, and a loveable supporting cast. Many of these films are loose in structure and thin in plot, but pack more than enough character and laughs to make traditional storytelling irrelevant. Whether completely sober or to the moon high, the best stoner films are undeniable fun. Here are the 10 best…

10. How High (2001)

The plot is simple: two high school seniors have hazy futures until their brilliant friend dies and they smoke his ashes, thus summoning his ghost for only those who smoked him to see. The two ace their THCs (a play on SATs), and end up at Harvard on scholarships. The two stoners are played with charisma and chemistry by hip-hop legends Method Man and Redman. The film really shines when it moves to Harvard, as the interplay between Method Man’s Silas and Redman’s Jamal with the preppy Harvard students and dean results in pure culture clashing comedy.

9. Cheech & Chong’s Up In Smoke (1978)

Before their debut feature film, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong were a successful comedy duo that was heavily under the influence, as well as heavily influenced by the hippie movement of the 60s and 70s. This film signaled the pair’s successful transition from stand-up to cinema, and is one of the stoner genres earliest entries. It follows two unemployed stoners (Cheech & Chong) as they drive around southern California in a car with the license plate MUF DVR and later a van made of marijuana. They’re on a hunt for some bud and a record contract. It’s a hilarious misadventure with more than enough “man’s” to forget your own name. Or maybe that’s just the weed.

8. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

The fictional Ridgemont High School, based off writer Cameron Crowe’s stint as an undercover student at the real Clairemont High School in San Diego, California, is full of colorful characters: Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) is a long haired stoner who studies breasts and surfing more than he does American history. Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) are young virgins trying to get hip to the game of love, while their elder, more seasoned counterparts Linda (a smoking hot Phoebe Cates) and Damone (Robert Romanus) show them the ropes. It’s an accurate foray into the dichotomies of the average American youth. The film’s “plot” wanders just a bit, but it stays anchored by a strong cast and a rollicking 80s soundtrack. 

7. Half Baked (1998)

Half Baked is a fully cooked weed fueled adventure that’s powered by hilarious performances by Dave Chapelle (who also co-wrote the film), Jim Breur, Guillermo Diaz and Harland Williams. Oh, and it actually has a plot (and tons of pot): Kenny (Harland Williams), out of the goodness of his heart, feeds a diabetic police horse junk food. It dies. Kenny goes to jail, where he’s Squirrel Master’s (a brilliant cameo by Tommy Chong) bitch, and his bitch only. His three amigos “fundraise” his bail money by selling weed that they stole from a science lab, thus making full profit. Roll in a crack head dog named Killer, a collection of crossbow slinging chicks and a guy (comedian Steven Wright) who lays on a couch the entire movie, and you’ve got the 7^th best stoner film of all time.

6. Dazed and Confused (1993)

Set in a small Texas town (really a stand-in for any town in America at the time) during 1976, Dazed and Confused is as structure-less and free flowing as the time period. Written and directed by Richard Linklater, the connoisseur of loose narrative, character based films, Dazed and Confused captures the counter culture, repressed youth movement perfectly. All the archetypes are there: the deep thinking group of outcasts who search for enlightenment, the big breasted, small brained sorority chicks and their football playing male equivalents. Linklater finds a wonderful ensemble to fill each mold perfectly, and the film features a cast that would go on to be known for much more then their parts here: Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey and Adam Goldberg, among others. The film is an effective time capsule and investigation into the realities of the high school to college transition, with no sensationalized drama or action in the least. And that’s a good thing.

5. Friday (1995)

What’s a typical Friday like for a couple of young, unemployed men living in South Central L.A.? Chasing skirts, avoiding an ice cream truck driving pot dealer and a crooked eyed neighborhood bully, eating Captain Crunch with water and smoking dope. Lots of dope. It’s one hell of a day. Ice Cube (also a co-writer) and Chris Tucker guide us through a Friday in the life of Craig and Smokey, and it’s their performances, particularly Tucker’s, that dominate this one. The film is also full of great music: Dr. Dre, Cypress Hill, Rick James and a whole bunch of West Coast underground hip-hop veterans. Debbie (Nia Long) is sexy as hell and is reason enough to warrant a viewing. Craig’s parents, played by John Witherspoon and Anna Maria Horsford (both also played husband and wife on The Wayans Brothers TV show) offer more than their fair share of laughs, but it’s ultimately Chris Tucker who makes this film what it is. “And you know this, maaan!”

4. Pineapple Express (2008)

Pineapple Express is the next in line for the Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg scripted, Judd Apatow produced holy trinity of films (others being Knocked Up and SuperBad). James Franco is unexpectedly hilarious as Saul, a sensitive pot dealer whose character is based on Brad Pitt’s stoner from True Romance. The characters here have unexpected depth, and the story is uncharacteristically engaging and filled with action that doesn’t deter from the film’s humor. The “Paper Planes movie”, that title owing to the film’s trailer’s ubiquitous pairing to M.I.A.’s tune, also features hilarious showings from Danny McBride and Craig Robinson, who play two inept hit men. Their boss, Ted (Gary Cole), grows Pineapple Express in an abandoned military facility, and is a weed kingpin who has only one goal: kill “the Asians” who threaten his turf.

3. Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

This is an example of everything a stoner film should be and more. A ridiculous premise (a stop at nothing hunt for the perfect munchies), an unexpected cameo that threatens to steal the show (Neil Patrick Harris as Neil Patrick Harris), a stoned wild animal (a cheetah), and a fine woman living in the woods with her husband who’s covered in boils and has three strands of hair. Much of the film’s humor is due to its protagonists and the stereotypes that are attached to their respective races (John Cho’s Harold is Korean and Kal Penn’s Kumar is Indian). These aren’t your classic brain dead yet deep-thinking stoners, these guys are intelligent. They just like to smoke and overthink things. Just when the stoner genre needed a new injection of talent, Harold Lee and Kumar Patel stepped up to the plate and went on a hunt for some sliders.

2. The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Big Lebowski is for stoners and cinephiles alike. Jeff Bridges’s “The Dude” has been cemented as the coolest of the cool in cinema, and The Coen brothers humor is at its finest here. It’s a more artful take on the stoner film genre conventions, with a seemingly complex plot that boils down to one thing: a Dude who likes to smoke weed and go bowling. John Goodman’s Vietnam veteran Walter is the perfect complement to Bridges, and the film’s score is up there with the best of them. TBL has left the biggest legacy of the films on the list, due to its cast (Steve Buscemi, Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour-Hoffman), The Dude, its script and direction. But there is still one stoner film I enjoyed watching more. Read on.

1. Knocked Up (2007)

Yes, Knocked Up is my favorite stoner film of all time. Some might not consider it to be a stoner film, per se, but it most certainly is. The film’s lead, Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), makes a living hitting bongs and blogging about female nudity scenes in films. He and his pack of stoner pals (Jonah Hill, Jason Segal, Jay Baruchel and others) listen to Wu-Tang and play Ping-Pong all day. That is until Ben has unprotected sex with a young, independent, weed-free Alison Scott (Katherine Heigel) and gets her pregnant. Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann play a married couple with two kids (played by Judd Apatow’s actual daughters) and a relationship in shambles. Knocked Up is funny, heartwarming and dramatic all at the same time, and served as the proper introduction of Judd Apatow and Seth Rogan’s brand of humor that would dominate comedy for years to come.