Up in Smoke

I remember a long ago Friday night double feature on the Showtime cable network.   Part of my thirteenth birthday party.  Me and a small group of friends gathered 'round the old wood paneled T.V.  What better way to celebrate becoming a teen than with Cheech and Chong?  Guess my parents weren't so strict after all?  They must not have been concerned that I would go on my own quest to seek out the finest herb.  They were correct; despite (perhaps because) being surrounded by the waft of weed, I did not try it until I was in my twenties.  Even in the 1980s, it was everywhere - the parking lot at school,  the kitchen at my first job in fast food, and those two forever coughing and puffing dudes who rented a garden apartment on the next street, right behind our backyard.  

 

I was already familiar with the albums.  I had more or less memorized "Pedro de Pacas and the Man Go to the Drive-In" and "Let's Make a Dope Deal".  Really funny stuff.  C & C successfully transitioned to Hollywood with 1978's UP IN SMOKE, directed by music industry veteran Lou Adler, who features his famous club The Roxy during the climax, where Pedro (Cheech Marin) and the Man (Tommy Chong) enter a battle of the (punk) band contest.  Even if they only know three chords.  All the better, perhaps.

Up 'til then our friends comb Los Angeles for some primo grass.  Along the way they'll even smoke a little dog shit.  Pedro and the Man will end up in Tijuana, mistakenly deported and then returning to the U.S. after accepting a gig driving in a van completely made out of marijuana, something of which they're unaware.  How do they make it across the border?  A carful of nuns will distract the authorities, which includes the much put-upon Sgt. Stadenko (Stacy Keach).  See it for yourself. 

UP IN SMOKE cheerfully ignores that Pedro has a few kids and an "old lady".  The Man comes from a rich family.  None of that matters as we slide from one misadventure to another.  Including a few scenes involving a crazed Vietnam vet played by Tom Skerritt.  Wonder what he thought of that performance?

The film achieves the sort of laid back vibe it seeks.  The pace lags here and there, but Adler nicely captures the feel of late '70s L.A.   Love me some grainy Panavision, too.  Plus the music is so cool.  I'll forever associate War's "Low Rider" with the opening credits of this movie.  Danny Kortchmar provides some groovy instrumentals.  Los boys themselves sing fun tunes, including the climatic "Earache, My Eye".  "Rock Fight" has always been my fave. 

1980's CHEECH & CHONG'S NEXT MOVIE was the bottom half of the double bill at my party that night, and quite a step down.  The duo's films did not improve as they fell into the '80s.  UP IN SMOKE is all you really need, maaaan.  And those amusing LPs.  Much of the material here is cribbed from them.