Celluloid High: The 4.20 Best Weed Movies

Unless you’ve been completing the modifications to hot-box your one-bedroom apartment or building the world’s best 6-person bong for the last few months, you know the Pineapple Express hits theatres this Friday. The stoner action-comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen is set to take the top spot at the Box Office this week and make enough money to supply the entire cast and crew with nothing but the best sticky-icky three times over. With what is likely to be the biggest opening for a weed movie, lets revisit the 4.20 best movies prominently involving America’s favorite greenery.

4- Friday

Getting fired on his day off is just the beginning of quite possibly the most memorable day in Craig’s life. He tangles with the neighborhood bully, dumps his hood rat girlfriend for the proverbial girl next door and gets shot at. But the most memorable aspect of the movie is Craig’s friend Smokey, the archetypal loveable pothead. Sure Smokey embroils Craig in his potentially fatal misunderstanding with Big Worm, but he’s also the only one there for him as his life hit rock bottom with the promise “I’m gonna get you high today!”

3- Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle

This silly yet rousing “road movie” plays like a modern day reboot of the Cheech & Chong franchise. Filled with dumb humor that somehow doubles as sharp and witty, this movie is extremely fun to watch. The premise is as simple as possible: title characters get the munchies after getting baked and decide only White Castle will fulfill their cravings. A series of implausible but hilarious misadventures follow, including a ROFL, career reviving cameo from Neil Patrick Harris.

2- Up In Smoke

The gold standard of the marijuana buddy-comedy template. Their underground comedy records launched Cheech & Chong into mainstream celebrity with this classic vehicle. Most pot gags in every film genre descend from their bits, many of which coming from this movie. True innovators, C&C (not the Music Factory) showed Hollywood that drug humor could appeal to everyone, paving the way for every movie on this list… except our #1.

1- Reefer Madness

Hands down, the quintessential pot movie. Originally intended to educate teenagers about the evils of marijuana (including homicidal rage), this film has probably encouraged more toking than any other film, song or TV show in history. There will always be something magical about an “educational” film with horribly distorted facts and complete ignorance of the subject matter. It’s been remade into a musical, but nothing can harsh the mellow of the original.

.20- The Big Lebowski

Lebowski gets the .20 slot simply because weed isn’t a key plot point in this imminently rewatchable Coen Brothers film. Film isn’t even a glorious enough word. Extravanganza is more like it. The Dude, possibly the most beloved stoner captured on celluloid, navigates his way through a pseudo-film noir landscape with oft-quoted supporting characters ranging from overly-agressive bowling partner Walter Sobchak to German nihilists/musicians that complain about fairness.

Honorable Mentions: Dazed and Confused, Super High Me, Half Baked, Any movie with Matthew McCounaghey.