Top 10 Stoner Movies (Part 1)

So when you read 'Stoner Movies' you may have been thinking; here we go, another easy to click-bait list of repetitive movies I've seen on other lists.
The lists I looked up when doing ... research... for this blog were the same; they all have some drug-related theme in them. Most likely a list of comedies that are easy to digest, buddy comedies such as Harold and Kumar, Jay and Silent Bob, Cheech and Chong, etc. Maybe someone will be brave enough to throw in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, just to say that they know not all 'stoner' movies have to be mainly about smoking weed and insulting one another.

Ogie doesn't play that way. I hated those stoner lists - most stoners I know of don't sit around discussing the finer intricacies of Harold and Kumar (or which was which) or want to watch actors pretending to be stoned when they are not. I enjoy them for what they are - comedies that have actors pretending to be stoners in them. If you know how movies are made and how pot actually works, it's pretty difficult to actually get shit done in a way that will make it easy for an editor to piece together a film. I wanted a list of movies to watch while baked. This is what I came up with.



So some of us like our movies with depth and feeling, that trick the senses, maybe play with our perceptions of truth and time. Some might strengthen our personal philosophies or make them re-think them. I found smoking up before a show helped to give that show 100% of my attention and in that attention I noticed things I wouldn't have noticed if I was sitting there, wondering if I should get more popcorn, worrying about being that guy sitting alone in a theater, or what the hell was happening to my life's savings and goals. Movies are escapism and some of them were way better than others.


So instead of the usual boring list of cliche stoner movies, I present a list of movies that you should get stoned, sit back and enjoy.


Dark Crystal (1982)

The great thing about puppet movies is that they are pretty much timeless, especially science-fiction/fantasy ones. This great little film was made by the Jim Henson company, taking a break from their Muppet series to try a bigger, more challenging vision.

From what I remember, Dark Crystal follows this little asexual gelfling named Gen around as he/she finds a shard of crystal that once connected to the aforementioned Dark Crystal will do something or the other that is in no way a spoiler. It's like Lord of the Rings, only without all the fighting or Fellowship. Along the way there are some weird naked turkey-looking things that are trying to stop him, some overgrown chronic-looking hamsters that I don't recall do very much, a scary-looking witch and a few other odd visuals that make for a fun, engrossing time.

And there's probably a message of peace and goodwill in there as well, being a Jim Henson production.

Santa Sangre (1989)

 On the other side of the scale, this is the trippiest movie I've ever enjoyed and despite my attempts to watch it sober, I don't think I have yet done it. I had it on VHS and lost it to another stoner buddy of mine, whose name I don't remember (or address). It's a Alexandro Jodorowsky film, who made a name for himself 40+ years ago by being more David Lynch than David Lynch could ever be.

His first movies El Topo and Holy Mountain are the zeitgeist of their time, early 70's surrealist cinema with so much symbolism there was a record number of movie critic wrist-related injuries pertaining to his fare. After his long detour into the failed adaptation of Dune and the subsequent 80's he came out with this amazing thriller/horror. It is intensely visually ... peculiar... and the story is two parts with a lot of religious symbolism thrown in, but not that much considering his previous work.

Jesus wept for the chickens had inherited the earth...

Outside of the religious tones and for some reason i recall a frog/Aztec allegory that involves a lot of blown-up frogs wearing Aztec headdresses, the story that i mostly recall resides around a child growing up in a circus (it's not all its cracked up to be) and that boy's relationship with his ... handicapped... mother (also, not all it's cracked up to be). Hard to talk to much of this one without throwing in spoilers one way or the other.

just your typical mother and son having breakfast.

Muholland Drive (2001)

Speaking of David Lynch, he has a whole list of trippy movies to choose from. One of my favs would be this one if you are in the mood for a mystery and want to watch beautiful women looking confused. Naomi Watts does an amazing job of being a struggling Hollywood actress who gets involved in this mind-twister involving a beautiful woman who shows up with amnesia at her front door. Rumor is this was to be a pilot for another 'Twin Peaks' type TV show but thankfully never materialized, hence the confusing man-behind-dumpster scene. Don't worry, he doesn't give away anything about the plot, which i sorta remember takes a Lynchian turn somewhere in the middle. There's also a lesbian sex scene in there too. And a cowboy. I'm pretty sure there is anyways, I was pretty stoned. A show about perceptions.

Spoiler Alert, he's not really homeless, he's an actor.

Next up; Part 2...