Up in Smoke | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Lou Adler |
Written by | |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Gene Polito |
Edited by | Scott Conrad |
Music by | |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $2 million [2] |
Box office | $104 million [3] |
Up in Smoke (also referred to as Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke) is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Lou Adler and starring Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Tom Skerritt, Edie Adams, Strother Martin and Stacy Keach. It is Cheech & Chong's first feature-length film and was based on their experiences as students at Cobequid Education Centre.
Cheech & Chong had been a counterculture comedy team for about ten years before they started reworking some of their material for their first film. Most of the film was shot in Los Angeles, California, including scenes set in Tijuana, while scenes set on the Mexican border were actually filmed at the border in Yuma, Arizona.
While negatively received upon its release, Up in Smoke grossed over $104 million, is credited with establishing the stoner film genre, and is now considered a cult classic.
Anthony "Man" Stoner, an unemployed, marijuana-smoking drummer, is told to either get a job by sundown or be sent off to military school by his parents. Man leaves the house and later becomes stranded on the highway. Man is picked up while hitchhiking by the equally enthusiastic stoner Pedro de Pacas, and the two share a large joint, which is revealed to contain Labrador feces after the dog ate Man's supply. When Pedro freaks out and seems to have trouble breathing, Man accidentally gives him an extremely powerful dose of LSD. The police find their car parked on a traffic median with them in it, discover that they are high and arrest them. At trial, the pair are released on a technicality after Man discovers that the judge is drinking vodka.
In an attempt to procure more marijuana, they visit Pedro's cousin Strawberry, a Vietnam War veteran. During the party, a lady snorts a couple of lines of Ajax set up by Man, under the presumption it was cocaine, despite Man trying to warn her. They narrowly escape a police raid on Strawberry's house while Strawberry has a flashback and thinks the police are the Viet Cong, but are soon deported to Tijuana, by the INS, along with Pedro's relatives, who actually called the INS on themselves, so they could get a free ride to a wedding in Tijuana.
In order to get back to the United States, they arrange to pick up a vehicle from Pedro's uncle's upholstery shop, but arrive at the wrong address: a marijuana processing plant disguised as an upholstery shop. They end up unknowingly involved in a plot to smuggle a van constructed completely out of "fiberweed" (hardened THC resin derived from marijuana - a play on the word fiberglass) from Mexico to Los Angeles, with an inept police narcotics unit led by the insane and anti-drug Sgt. Stedenko hot on their trail. At the Mexican–American border, they almost get arrested but attention is diverted to a group of nuns (into whose car Man had thrown his joint unintentionally to avoid getting arrested). The duo then cross the border into America as Stedenko finds out from his unit that they have apprehended the wrong group. Stedenko realizes that Pedro and Man’s van is their target, and begin a pursuit; however, one of Stedenko's men accidentally shoots out one of their own tires, abruptly ending the chase.
Pedro and Man pick up two hitchhiking women who convince them to perform at a Battle of the Bands contest at the Roxy Theatre. After narrowly avoiding arrest by a motorcycle cop who had gotten high off fumes from the “fiberweed” van, they arrive at the venue to find that most of the bands performing are being negatively received by the audience, which causes Man to freak out. One of the women gives Man what she believes is an "upper", but mistakenly gives him the wrong drugs. The duo's band, Alice Bowie, win over the audience, including the cops, who get stoned due to a large amount of marijuana smoke from the burning van being funneled into the venue. The pair win the contest and a recording contract.
The film concludes with Pedro and Man driving in the former's car and dreaming how their future career will pay off. Man then lights a small portion of hash and gives some to Pedro. However, it falls into his lap, causing him to panic and swerve the car while trying to put it out; Man attempts to put the hash out with his beer. During the scuffle, the car swerves down the road and smoke billows out the windows.
The screenplay was written under the title The Adventures of Pedro & Man. [5] Paramount Pictures provided the budget of $1 million but refused to provide the additional $800,000 needed to complete the film after studio president Michael Eisner saw a rough cut, so Lou Adler used his own money to complete it. [6]
As this was the comedy team's first film, Paramount wanted the initial screenings to be filled with their most ardent fans. [7] Cheech and Chong also came up with the novel (and ultimately successful) idea of advertising the film through comic strips, which they left on bus benches.
The film had test screenings in August 1978 and opened in nine theatres in Texas in early September, grossing $344,785 in its first 10 days. [6] [7] The film went on to become a huge success. Prior to its official release date, the film had grossed $1.7 million, and by the end of the first month of release it had grossed $20 million [6] and went on to gross $76 million at the domestic box office and over $104 million worldwide. [3] [8]
The film had midnight screenings at the Cannes Film Festival on May 17 and 18, 1979. [9]
The film was banned in South Africa during apartheid. Censors in the country said that the film "might encourage the impressionable youth of South Africa to take up marijuana smoking". [10] It was also banned in Colombia. [3]
On April 10, 2018, a 40th Anniversary Edition set was released, which featured the movie on Blu-ray and DVD, and the album on vinyl record and compact disc, as well as a 7-inch picture disc vinyl record single featuring the songs "Earache My Eye" and "Lost Due To Incompetence (Theme From A Big Green Van)", with an image of Cheech from the film on the A-side and the "YESCA" license plate image on the B-side. [11]
The 40th Anniversary Edition CD featured two bonus tracks, a previously unreleased version of the song "Up In Smoke" with an additional Spanish verse by Cheech, and a newly recorded "2018 version" of the same song. [11]
The set also featured oversized Up In Smoke branded rolling papers, a 11×17 film poster and a booklet with new essays by both Marin and Chong, along with rare and unseen photos. [11]
Up in Smoke | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 1978 [12] | |||
Length | 40:05 | |||
Label | Warner Bros./Ode | |||
Producer | Lou Adler | |||
Cheech & Chong chronology | ||||
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Singles from Up in Smoke | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The soundtrack album was released in 1978. [12] Allmusic gave the album a score of 3 out of 5 stars. [13] In 2017, Billboard named Up in Smoke as one of the 10 best stoner film soundtracks. [14]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Performer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Finkelstein Shit Kid" (dialogue) | Strother Martin | 0:14 | ||
2. | "Up in Smoke" | Cheech & Chong | Tommy Chong | Cheech & Chong | 2:24 |
3. | "Low Rider" (first appeared on the 1975 album Why Can't We Be Friends? ) | War Jerry Goldstein | War | War | 3:13 |
4. | "1st Gear, 2nd Gear" (dialogue) | Cheech & Chong | 7:20 | ||
5. | "Framed" (first appeared on the 1976 album Sleeping Beauty ) | Cheech & Chong | Jerry Leiber Mike Stoller | Cheech & Chong | 2:44 |
6. | "Searchin'" | Cheech & Chong | Jerry Leiber Mike Stoller | Cheech & Chong | 2:44 |
7. | "The Ajax Lady" (dialogue) | Thomas Chong June Fairchild | 0:54 | ||
8. | "Strawberry's" | Danny Kortchmar Waddy Wachtel | Yesca | 3:28 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Performer(s) | Length |
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9. | "Here Come the Mounties to the Rescue" | Danny Kortchmar Waddy Wachtel | Yesca | 2:58 | |
10. | "Sometimes When You Gotta Go, You Can't" (dialogue) | Cheech Marin Stacy Keach | 1:04 | ||
11. | "Lost Due to Incompetence" (Theme for a Big Green Van) | Danny Kortchmar Waddy Wachtel | Yesca | 3:45 | |
12. | "Lard Ass" (dialogue) | Cheech & Chong Stacy Keach Karl Johnson | 1:27 | ||
13. | "Rock Fight" | Cheech & Chong | Cheech & Chong | Cheech & Chong | 3:13 |
14. | "I Didn't Know Your Name Was Alex" (dialogue) | Cheech & Chong Zane Buzby | 1:26 | ||
15. | "Earache My Eye" (first appeared on the 1974 album Cheech & Chong's Wedding Album ) | Cheech & Chong | Cheech & Chong Gaye Delorme | Alice Bowie | 2:38 |
16. | "Up in Smoke" (reprise) | Cheech & Chong | Tommy Chong | Cheech & Chong | 0:56 |
No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
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17. | "Up in Smoke" (Spanish verse) | Cheech & Chong | 3:26 |
18. | "Up in Smoke 2018" | Cheech & Chong | 3:57 |
No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Earache My Eye" (Side A) | Alice Bowie | 2:38 |
2. | "Lost Due To Incompetence (Theme From A Big Green Van)" (Side B) | Yesca | 3:45 |
Chart (1979) | Peak position |
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Australian (Kent Music Report) | 80 [15] |
On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 47% based on reviews from 19 critics. The site's consensus reads, "Oft-quoted but undeniably flawed, Up In Smoke is a seminal piece of stoner cinema thanks to the likability of its two counterculture icons." [16] On Metacritic it has a score of 57% based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [17]
Vincent Canby of The New York Times called the film "a genially slapdash, sometimes winning live-action cartoon" with "several genuinely funny moments." [18] [ better source needed ] Variety wrote that the film "gets off to a great start" but "once the more obvious drug jokes are exhausted, Adler lets the film degenerate into a mixture of fitful slapstick and toilet humor." [19] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film half of one star out of four, calling it "one of the most juvenile, poorly written, awkwardly directed pictures I have ever seen. And my guess is that even if you saw it in a pleasantly altered state whether from grass, a banana daiquiri, Frango mint milkshake, or a Weight Watchers' Veal Parmigiana frozen dinner, Up in Smoke would still be a real downer, man." [20] He later put it on his year-end unranked list of the worst films of 1978. [21] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Cheech & Chong were "a likable, funky duo, but the script they've come up with for their film debut is severely underwritten." He also found it "hard to watch the effects of gulping Quaaludes and the like being treated as something hilarious—especially when one realizes that the kids for whom the film was so clearly intended are probably going to love it." [22] [ better source needed ]
Pauline Kael of The New Yorker compared the film favorably to The Groove Tube , writing that Up in Smoke was "also crudely done but is more consistently funny." She added that "Cheech and Chong are so gracefully dumb-assed that if you're in a relaxed mood you can't help laughing at them." [23] [ better source needed ] Art Harris of The Washington Post wrote that the film "may give you a buzz, but don't count on it to keep you high. Like, you know, the film suffers from a bad case of burn-out, leading one to nod off between jokes and wonder why producer Lou Adler bothered to attempt a Doper's Delight in this post-Woodstock age of Clean Living." [24] David McGillivray of The Monthly Film Bulletin observed that the film "looks, unfortunately, as if it were more fun to make than it is to watch." [25]
In December 1978, Rolling Stone published an article stating that Cheech and Chong had "seven scripts waiting in the drawer" which included one for an animated film, and one for a sequel to Up in Smoke. [12] No sequel was ever produced, and Cheech and Chong's Next Movie , released in 1980, did not feature the characters of Pedro and Man, although the characters they played had personalities and character traits that were virtually identical to those of Pedro and Man.
The Grammy Award Museum in Los Angeles features an Up in Smoke exhibit which displays the master tape for the soundtrack album, the annotated original script, limited-edition 40th anniversary "smoking devices," and part of Marin's collection of "Blazing Chicano Guitars." [5]
In 2021, an officially licensed graphic novel entitled Cheech & Chong's Chronicles: A Brief History of Weed was released by Z2 Comics. Written by Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, and Eliot Rahal, the graphic novel acts as a sequel to the Up in Smoke film, as it features Pedro de Pacas and Anthony "Man" Stoner as the main characters of the story. [26]
Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo founded in Vancouver and consisting of American Cheech Marin and Canadian Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films, which were based on the hippie and free love era, and especially the drug and counterculture movements, most notably their love for cannabis.
Thomas B. Kin Chong is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, musician and activist. He is known for his role/inspiration in the marijuana industry, his marijuana-themed Cheech & Chong comedy albums and movies with Cheech Marin, and playing the character Leo on Fox's That '70s Show. He became a naturalized United States citizen in the late 1980s.
Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin is an American comedian, actor, musician, and activist. He gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dominguez, on Nash Bridges. He has also voiced characters in several Disney films, including Oliver & Company, The Lion King, The Lion King 1½, the Cars franchise, Coco and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. He also played as Padre Esteban in the 2009 film The Perfect Game.
"Earache My Eye" is a comedy routine and song by Cheech and Chong from their 1974 album Cheech & Chong's Wedding Album. The skit is about a teenager who wakes up and listens to a song by "Alice Bowie", while his father yells at him to get ready for school.
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.
Cheech and Chong's Next Movie is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Tommy Chong and the second feature-length project by Cheech & Chong, following Up in Smoke, released by Universal Pictures.
Still Smokin is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Tommy Chong, featuring Cheech & Chong sketches with a wraparound story involving the duo arriving in Amsterdam for a film festival. While the film grossed $15 million, it received predominantly negative reviews.
Nice Dreams is a 1981 American action adventure comedy film directed by Tommy Chong and starring Cheech & Chong, in their third feature film. Released in 1981 by Columbia Pictures, the film focuses on the duo having gotten rich selling cannabis out of an ice cream truck, and evading the Drug Enforcement Administration, led by Sgt. Stedanko, who are trying to bust an alleged drug kingpin named "Mr. Big", and discover a strain of marijuana that turns people into lizards, including Stedenko, who has been smoking cannabis to get inside the head of a drug user.
Things Are Tough All Over is a 1982 American action comedy film directed by Thomas K. Avildsen and starring Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin as two aging hippies, and additionally as Arab businessmen Mr. Slyman and Prince Habib.
Cheech And Chong is the 1971 debut album of Cheech & Chong, produced by Lou Adler. It features "Dave", one of their most famous routines. The album peaked at #28 on the Billboard 200 the week of March 4, 1972. The album was nominated for Best Comedy Recording at the 14th Grammy Awards, but lost to Lily Tomlin's This Is a Recording.
Lester Louis Adler is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of high-profile musical artists, including The Grass Roots, Jan & Dean, The Mamas & the Papas, and Carole King. King's album Tapestry, produced by Adler, won the 1972 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and has been called one of the greatest pop albums of all time.
Get Out of My Room is an album and short-form video featuring comedians Cheech & Chong, released in 1985. The opening track "Born In East L.A." and "I'm Not Home Right Now" were released as singles from the album.
Far Out Man is a 1990 American comedy film written, directed by and starring Tommy Chong.
Let's Make a New Dope Deal is a 1980 comedy album recorded by Cheech & Chong. Originally released on LP, 8-track and cassette in 1980, the long out-of-print album was finally released on CD on November 15, 2005, along with another long-awaited out-of-print album, Sleeping Beauty. It was their first project created without the involvement of Lou Adler or his company Ode.
Los Cochinos is a 1973 comedy album recorded by Cheech & Chong. The Spanish term cochino is a derogatory way of referring to a pig, as it also means "dirty", in contrast to cerdo, a more neutral word for a pig as an animal. In this context, "cochino" equates to the American derogatory term "pig" for "police officer".
Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers is an American film released in 1984, the sixth feature-length film starring the comedy duo Cheech and Chong. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong star as the two twin brothers in a parody of various film adaptations of the 1844 Alexandre Dumas novella, The Corsican Brothers.
"Basketball Jones featuring Tyrone Shoelaces" is a song by Cheech and Chong that first appeared on the 1973 album Los Cochinos.
Where There's Smoke There's Cheech & Chong is an anthology album by Cheech & Chong. Released in 2002, it collects the duo's most popular comedy routines and songs from their eight studio albums, and additional rare material, including tracks that are exclusive to this set, including radio commercials for the film Up in Smoke, "(How I Spent My Summer Vacation) Or A Day At The Beach With Pedro & Man" and "Santa Claus And His Old Lady", which were previously only released as singles, and a live recording of the duo performing the "Old Man In The Park" sketch.
"Sister Mary Elephant" is a comedy sketch by Cheech and Chong. The recording appeared on the duo's second album, Big Bambu, released in 1972. It was re-released as a single in 1973 and peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974. It is one of very few entirely spoken-word recordings to make the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie! is a 2013 American adult animated comedy film by Branden Chambers and Eric D. Chambers. It stars comedy duo Cheech and Chong in their first feature film since 1984's The Corsican Brothers, and the first to feature them as animated characters. The film features several of their original comedy bits such as "Sister Mary Elephant", "Sgt. Stedanko", "Ralph and Herbie", "Let's Make a Dope Deal", "Earache My Eye", and the classic "Dave". It was released on March 18, 2013 by 20th Century Fox and was released on DVD/Blu-ray on April 23, 2013.