STILL SMOKIN'(1983) Reviewed by Jerry Saravia October 3rd, 2001
Cheech and Chong have never been favorites of mine in comedies. I remember liking "Nice Dreams" and "Up in Smoke" but basically their act consisted of getting stoned and scoring some babes while certain hijinks would ensue. "Still Smokin" is nothing different except that during its entire 90 minute running time, I hardly smiled or chuckled while watching it. It is one of the unfunniest pictures I have ever seen, so desperate to make us laugh that it even includes stock footage of animals mating!
Cheech and Chong play themselves as they mistakenly arrive at a film festival in Amsterdam to promote their comedy routines. Apparently, Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson were to attend the festival. How did Cheech and Chong end up going? Well, the film festival director gave out the wrong tickets, or something like that. Nevertheless, C & C arrive at a ritzy hotel where they are introduced as Burt and Loni and the onlookers cheer them on, believing they are Burt and Loni! This stupid joke is repeated again and again that I swear a half-hour had passed by before the next joke.
Meanwhile, Chong gets the bright idea of saving the financially troubled festival by raising a dope-a-thon and performing live for the festival attendees. So we get scenes from their own live act and a few snippets of other routines shot as movie in-jokes that would have greeted more groans than laughs on "Saturday Night Live." All of it so cheaply produced and poorly directed, not to mention rottenly written, that it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
The idea of two comic stoners coming to Amsterdam where marijuana is legal seems like a good idea but the film never follows suit. It is so boring and insipid to sit through that I began to wonder if I ever really liked Cheech and Chong in the first place. Maybe I was too young when I saw "Nice Dreams." To be fair, there are some moments of acceptable humor during the last ten minutes such as watching the twosome bark like dogs. Otherwise, you may as well keep smoking that joint than watch such a painful movie experience.
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