Inspired by Mr. Porvaznik’s comment at What Would Toto Watch – just what are the greatest stoner performances of all time? Don’t ask me, man, but here are my favorite.
1. Brad Pitt in True Romance: What movie defined the 90s? Tony Scott’s True Romance. Penned by Quentin Tarantino, the film featured goody after goody: Christian Slater at his youthful peak, Walken and Hopper going back and forth, Gary Oldman popping in, Val Kilmer as an imaginary Elvis, and lest we forget, Bronson Pinchot stealing it as the weasel assistant (who could forget the cocaine in the car). But no one topped Floyd. Brad Pitt, smoking bongs to Soundgarden, and nailing it as the all-time greatest stoner buddy ever put to film. There are two types of people in this world – ones that knew Floyd, and ones who were Floyd.
2. Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong in Up in Smoke: There would be no stoner movies if not for Cheech and Chong, whose Up in Smoke is still the funniest stoner movie ever made. Whether it was the van made of grass, whizzing in the hamper, street vendor burritos in Mexico, the band performance at the end, or Stacey Keach freaking out on a buzz in the parking lot during the concert, Up in Smoke is to potheads what Star Wars is for geeks.
3. Jeremy Piven in Highway: Does it count if you play yourself? Piven is all at once funny and terrifying, making you wonder if his spastic acting and his unforgettable performance was wired into something more based in reality. But Piven has the chops and shows his agent character on Entourage isn’t a one-trick pony.
4. Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski: Not all hippies are created equal. Some go on to become preachy college professors, some go on to become preachy college students, but give me the freedom-loving do-nothing hippie who is good for jamming to Stevie Ray Vaughan, hanging out on a porch for hours on end drinking beer or loaning some ATV parts. The Dude is the latter, a man with no discernible ID except his discount card for the local grocery store. Detest him for his lack of a footprint on society, or love him for it, Bridges knocked it out of the park with his speech on The Eagles in the back of the cab.
5. Jason Mewes in everything by Kevin Smith: Outside for his lack of restraint in destroying all political correct mythos, Smith’s work is absolute garbage, the one redeemable element being Mewes, who excoriates all around him in impressive fashion. Mewes, playing essentially his own drugged-out self, drops Smith’s trademark raunch all over the place, but he’s good for a laugh. The rest of Smith’s work is good for a smirk for his geeked-out overly-acne-ed cult following. Smith never worked as a real director, but his inclusion of his own best buddy did lead to a few laughs.
My favorite of the week was about Al Frankenstein trying to debate a real person.
Chris Farley in full Tommy Boy mode.
Old school props to Foster Brooks and Dean Martin
Bob Denver in Dobie Gillis
As much as I hate Sean Penn Spicoli is the best thing about Fast Times at Ridgemont High
I don’t know his name but the stoner suicidal friend of Tom Hanks in Bachelor Party.
Floyd is the the king (junior year of college, I roomed with who could have been his double so, yes, I’m in the “knew him” category) and The Dude is his Yoda, followed by …
Spicoli AND his crew (Stoltz and Edwards cannot be ignored) — Jeff also understood what the Founding Fathers were all about … for the most part.
Wooderson (Dazed and Confused) — sure, Matty-boy’s playing himself, but muscle car aficionado, pedophiliac burnouts don’t get any better. Triple threat, man!
Slater-san (Dazed and Confused) — The monologue on Martha and George Washington simply hip, hip, hip.
Honorable Mention to Dave Chappelle — never saw Half-Baked, but judging from the weed material on his show, the man obviously knows the sweet leaf.
“Floyd is king”… Indeed.
And for the kids… today’s (or since the late ’50s/early ’60s) “stoner” follows in a long line of characters known as “the drunk” — so I ascertain no difference.
“Aw right,aw right ,aw right…”
Agree with all the above.Pitt was perfect. When I first say it, I thought “Is that who I think it is?”
“Dazed and Confused” had some great moments, including Ben Affleck playing himself.
Woops, hit submit too soon.
Never got the whole Kevin Smith thang. Tried watching “Clerks” once, and got about 10 minutes into it before ripping the VHS out of the player (that’s how long ago it was).
“tommy boy” continues to be one of my guilty favorites – I have the “Holy Snikes” version on DVD. “Stop playing with your dinghy!”
Can we include TV shows? If so, I have to add Zach Ward as the stoner brother from Titus. Hi-freaking-larious. How did he not become a star after this show? Are Uwe Boll movies really the best he is being offered?
Also, I second JohnFN on Floyd and The Dude.