Up in Smoke
Up in Smoke | |
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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.
Cheech & Chong had been a
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.
Plot
Anthony "Man" Stoner, an unemployed,
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.
Cast
- Cheech Marin as Pedro De Pacas
- Tommy Chong as Anthony "Man" Stoner[4]
- Strother Martin as Arnold Stoner
- Edie Adams as Tempest Stoner
- Stacy Keach as Sgt. Stedenko
- Mills Watson as Harry
- Zane Buzby as Jade East
- Wally Ann Wharton as Debbie
- Tom Skerritt as Strawberry
- June Fairchild as Ajax Lady
- Rainbeaux Smith as Laughing Lady
- Angelina Estrada as Aunt Bolita
- Otto Felix as Motorcycle Cop
- Louisa Moritz as Officer Gloria Whitey
- Roxy Theatredoormen
- Rodney Bingenheimer as Himself
- Ellen Barkin (Uncredited) as Guitar-playing woman
- Harry Dean Stanton (Deleted Scenes) as Police Officer
- Gary Mule Deer as The Freak with the Basketball
- Corey Fortenberry (uncredited) little girl on the couch
- Ruth Hernandez (uncredited) court reporter
Production
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]
Release
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]
Home media
On April 10, 2018, a 40th Anniversary Edition set was released, which featured the movie on
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]
Soundtrack album
Up in Smoke | ||||
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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 | [13] |
The
Track listing
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Performer(s) | Length | |
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1. | "Finkelstein Shit Kid" (dialogue) | 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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
Charts
Chart (1979) | Peak position |
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Australian (Kent Music Report) | 80[15] |
Personnel
- Lou Adler - Producer
- Waddy Wachtel - Producer (8, 9, 11, 13)
- Danny Kortchmar - Producer (8. 9, 11, 13)
- Jerry Leiber- Producer (5, 6)
- Mike Stoller- Producer (5, 6)
- Jerry Goldstein - Producer (3)
- Steve Katz - Engineer
- Howard Frank - Assistant Engineer
- Yesca
- Waddy Wachtel - Guitar
- Danny Kortchmar - Guitar
- Jai Winding - Keyboards
- Stanley Sheldon - Bass
- Rick Marotta - Drums
- "Up in Smoke 2018"
- Bass – Cisco Adler
- Engineer, Mixed By, Mastered By – Johannes Raassina
- Guitar – Duane Betts, Jeramy "Bearbo" Gritter
- Piano, Organ, Drums – Cody Dickerson
- Producer – Cisco Adler, Lou Adler
Reception
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]
Unproduced follow-ups
In December 1978,
Legacy
The
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]
References
- ^ "Cheech & Chong's Up in Smoke (X)". Common Sense Media. March 31, 2022. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
- ^ Buchalter, Gail. "Cheech & Chong's Joint Career Is a Smoke Screen: at Home They're Not Potheads but Proud Papas". People. Archived from the original on September 22, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
- ^ a b c "Columbia Sets Cheech & Chong; They'll Write, Star and Direct". Variety. September 12, 1979. p. 6.
- ^ Chong's character name is used only once. It is during the scene in which his father berates him, and his mother calls him "Anthony".
- ^ a b "Cheech and Chong "Up in Smoke" Exhibit at the GRAMMY Museum". Discover Los Angeles. April 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c Up in Smoke at the American Film Institute Catalog
- ^ ISBN 0-688-04889-7.
- Biography.com. April 27, 2017. Archivedfrom the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
- Daily Variety. p. 3.
- ]
- ^ a b c Staff (February 14, 2018). "Cheech And Chong's 'Up In Smoke' gets the 40th Anniversary treatment". Goldmine. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ a b c Perry, Charles (December 14, 1978). "Pot Luck: Cheech and Chong Take Weed Humor to Big Screen". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ AllMusic
- ^ Semigran, Aly (January 19, 2017). "10 Best Stoner Movie Soundtracks: From 'Friday' to 'Easy Rider' & Beyond". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Up in Smoke (1978)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ "Up in Smoke". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (November 19, 1978). "What's So Funny About Potheads and Toga Parties?". The New York Times. D17.
- ^ "Film Reviews: Up In Smoke Archived November 24, 2020, at the Wayback Machine". Variety. September 13, 1978. p. 13.
- ^ Siskel, Gene (September 26, 1978). "Cheech & Chong are one big drag in juvenile 'Up in Smoke'". Chicago Tribune. Section 2, p. 7.
- ^ Siskel, Gene (January 7, 1979). "Film clips and the year's Top 10 in review". Chicago Tribune. Section 6, p. 3.
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (September 29, 1978). "Cheech, Chong Go 'Up in Smoke'". Los Angeles Times. Part IV, p. 24.
- ^ Kael, Pauline (October 9, 1978). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. p. 162.
- ^ Harris, Art (October 6, 1978). "'Up in Smoke' Is A Blast of the Past Archived April 8, 2021, at the Wayback Machine". The Washington Post. Weekend, p. 19.
- ^ McGillivray, David (October 1979). "Up in Smoke". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 46 (549): 213.
- ^ "CHEECH & CHONG'S CHRONICLES: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL - HARDCOVER - Z2 COMICS". Z2 Comics.
External links
- Up in Smoke at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Up in Smoke at Box Office Mojo
- Up in Smoke at IMDb
- Up in Smoke at the TCM Movie Database