Cheech & Chong's Last Movie
Director David L. Bushell's film rapidly summarizes the post breakup lives of Richard "Cheech" Marin and Thomas Chong. I would've liked a bit more, but this doc is a celebration, a recount of two unique comedic talents who happened to both be in Canada at the same time in the late '60s. Vancouver, where Chong, who spent much of the decade as a musician, was from. Marin was dodging the Vietnam draft. They "hit" it off. Audiences loved them.
There were several classic albums. Routines I memorized during adolescence. "Sister Mary Elephant", "Let's Make a Dope Deal", "Pedro de Pacas and the Man Go to the Drive-In", and of course "Dave". The duo partnered with producer Lou Adler. A happy collaboration until Adler directed their first movie - UP IN SMOKE. The boys have fond memories of the man, who at one point joins them in present day in a convertible pushing across the desert. They're looking for weed as they reminisce, you dig? By the time C & C tell sad tales of Adler's stern directing style, Adler breaks the fourth wall and announces, "This is where I get off."
The boys also got screwed on their royalty contract. This would be corrected when they made several follow up films, mostly directed by Chong. But then he became a bit of a martinet behind the camera. There's no business like show business.
Fascinating stuff for fans. A wealth of archive photos and clips. Maybe a few too many featuring Geraldo Rivera. Many of the old routines we get are funny, some are painful. The scenes from the movies are a reminder of how variable in quality they are. We get parts of an interview from the early '80s they did for the Playboy Channel. For good measure, Bushell includes the moment when two bunnies emerge topless from the pool behind them. Far out, man.
LAST MOVIE maybe runs a bit long. but is surprisingly deep and honest. The men are much older and wiser. They act like an old married couple. Unapologetically. Refreshing. Dudes were more complex than many thought.
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