October 21, 2008
a/k/a Tommy Chong
Robert Newton READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Team up the best writers past and present and they couldn't come up with something as surreal and effed-up as the real-life story of stoner icon Tommy Chong and his 9-month prison stay for selling a bong on the Internet. First-time writer-director Josh Gilbert quickly gets to the heart of the issue -- and on a shoestring -- integrating interviews and film clips to dynamically tell this tale of justice miscarried and the making of a martyr. While Chong may play a THC-fried dum-dum in his movies, Gilbert paints him as a wise, intelligent reluctant hero, standing up to the indignity of his DEA railroading with grace. The special features are sparse, but be sure to check out the brief but telling clip that tells the story behind "Dave's Not Here," one of Cheech & Chong's greatest bits.
NOTE: Visitors to CheechAndChong.com can buy the "Rolled In Paper" edition (wrapped in a smokeable cellulose wrapper), and die-hards can get a Collector's Edition, available on November 18th.
Robert Newton is the National Film Editor for EDGE. He is also Editor of North Shore Movies Weekly, and a film and TV writer for a variety of newspapers, magazines and websites. He is also an award-winning novelty recording artist (aka "Fig"), and runs The Cape Ann Community Cinema on the island of Gloucester, MA.
