Cheech & Chong's Next Movie

Starring: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Evelyn Guerrero, St Kramer, Rita Wilson, Paul Reubens
Directed by: Tommy Chong
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
1980

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Cheech and Chong continue their pot-smoking misadventures.

Review:

Tim: So, Up in Smoke was a decent (but not particularly strong comedy). Cheech and Chong realized they hit on something special, and so, we get Cheech & Chong's Next Movie. It's not exactly the most brilliant title, but it does convey exactly what this movie is. Tommy Chong takes over directing duties, although he did some uncredited directing on the first movie. If you thought the first movie was bad, you'll hate this one. I was shocked at how steep the quality dropped for this sequel. This movie was really, really bad.

I hate to harp on Tommy Chong, but his directing was atrocious here. The easy joke is that he was too high to know what he was doing, but I do wonder if that influenced the quality of the film. Large stretches of this movie are nearly unwatchable. The movie is just poorly made. It doesn't have much of a story, as much as a series of random unfunny moments that are only loosely, loosely connected. That doesn't create a very thrilling viewing experience. Cheech and Chong wrote the movie, so they have no one else to blame. The movie is just thoroughly stupid.

One of the biggest mistakes the film made was to take the movie's most likeable character- Cheech- and relegate him to the sidelines for the majority of the movie. True, Cheech Marin plays his 'cousin', so he's still on screen, but Red isn't nearly as likeable as Cheech playing "Cheech". Are you following me? Why you'd cut the screen time for the most likeable character, replace him with a more annoying lookalike, and give Chong way too much screen time is beyond me. Yes, it gives Marin a chance to play a different character and showcase a little of his talent, but outside of that, this decision was a fatal one for the movie.

Now, the movie isn't completely worthless. There are a few average/decent moments throughout the film. The few interactions between Cheech and Chong, especially early in the movie, have their moments. I did enjoy seeing Paul Reubens here, especially because he's in character as Pee-Wee Herman for a little while. While there might be a decent moment on occasion, there are long stretches of this movie that are nearly unwatchable. I really struggled at various points in the movie (which is pretty short). There was more than one occasion when I just wanted to turn the movie off. That's not good at all.

Now, you don't go into Cheech & Chong's Next Movie expecting greatness. And trust me, you won't find it here. If there was any goodwill from the average Up in Smoke, Cheech and Chong have squandered that here. The first film wasn't anything special, but it's still surprising how quickly this budding franchise nosedived.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 4.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Up in Smoke