A Quick Criticism
Cheech and Chong Spin their wheels instead of spinning some new material
I first saw Up in Smoke years ago and have fond memories of the silly stoner jokes and the adult gags but I’m almost 50, and while I still have the memories of Up in Smoke etc, this is a very poor attempt at cashing in on the well-loved, but very outdated franchise. It was great hearing Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong rapping away using the old gags from their many albums and movies but there was nothing else on offer. The animation was cheaply done, and as I said the writing was basically lifted from mostly the better known audio albums, but also from their other movies. There was one bit I found extremely funny but mostly, the jokes were very tame and very old. Die hard fans might enjoy going down memory lane but I really can’t see new fans being made from watching Cheech and Chong do their old, tired, stuck in the past routines.
It’s a shame really because I had hoped they were going to breath new life into Cheech and Chong, making it suitable for a new generation but this is way too tame for today’s young adults who won’t remember when this sort of stuff was cutting edge. Sadly it’s only a very blunt edge that’s left.
For hardcore fans only as this generation need something less tame and more sophisticated.
Grade: C (5/10)
Review by E. Blackadder, special to Influx Magazine
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