Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Extremely vulgar, drug-filled comedy from 1970s material.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie
What's the Story?
In a series of segments, Cheech & Chong -- and various other characters also voiced by Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong -- smoke a great deal of pot, hide it from the cops, or try to sell it. Fake TV commercials sell more drugs, zit cream, or suicide arrangements. Sister Mary Elephant tries to teach her class of drug-addled students, yelling at them to "SHADDUP!" Dogs pee and poop and try to have sex with other dogs. The simple animation is new, but the voice and sound recordings are from the comedy duo's famous early 1970s albums.
Is It Any Good?
Branden and Eric D. Chambers had a great idea: resurrect Cheech & Chong's funniest, most legendary material for a new movie, with new animation. After all, unlike other comedians that simply recorded live stand-up routines in concert, Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong actually taped skits in the studio, using different voices, sound effects, and music. But whereas the comedians were clever enough to use the strength of radio, and its lack of visuals, for their humor, the Chambers brothers have oddly killed the humor by showing much of it.
Additionally, they have decided that being as disgusting and as shocking as possible is the way to go. As enjoyable and memorable as some of those classic routines are, especially "Dave's Not Here," the new visuals add a kind of sick, nauseous quality to them. The listener's imagination was once able to provide the duo's punchlines, and now they're just gone. Longtime fans may actually wish that they could unsee this movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why drug humor is funny. Are drugs really that funny? What would really happen if someone took as many drugs as these characters do?
What was it about Cheech & Chong's prime, in the 1970s, that won them success? Was it just the drugs, or the shock humor that did it? What was going on at the time that made them relevant?
Are Cheech and Chong cultural stereotypes, or not? Why?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : April 23, 2013
- Cast : Cheech Marin , Tommy Chong
- Directors : Branden Chambers , Eric D. Chambers
- Inclusion Information : Latino Movie Actor(s) , Asian Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 83 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : crude and sexual content, drug use throughout, and language
- Last updated : March 13, 2020
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