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Release Date: June 24th, 2005 (NYC-Quad Cinema) The Cast: Tara Platt, Yuri Lowenthal, Joseph Greene, Brett Colby. Directed by Cevin D. Soling. BASIC PREMISE: A parody of the U.S. government's war on drugs in over 60 short clips. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: Most of the small vignettes are very funny in an offbeat, bizarre way. None of them really stand out except for one where it is argued that you are more like to be killed by a moose than die of marijuana overdose. This is quite an absurd, alternative argument but so is the entire film that actually tries to promote drugs. Even George Washington tried drugs even while he was in office. The most hilarious scenes are the falsely-dubbed scenes of an old black-and-white film that has nothing to do with sex or drugs. There’s a very disturbing scene where a science teacher shows a student how to make a drug—not a very good role model. Another scene has a woman making “hash” brownies. Fortunately, none of these scenes are to be taken literally; the director does pop up at the end to remind the audience to that it is alright to try drugs, but he does not seem serious at all. The different ways he pokes fun at the government’s anti-drug war is funny enough to be entertaining without being particularly memorable SPIRITUAL VALUE: Unfortunately, there isn’t enough proof to show the validity of the pro-drug argument. One exaggerated scene that simply does not work other than to shock is where the D.A.R.E. program is compared to the Nazi regime’s power and control over the young soon-to-be Nazi soldiers. It is somewhat interesting that drug laws ignore science, but it never amounts to anything profound. Not that this film is a documentary—it is more of a mockumentary, but it eventually becomes too absurd and silly to be anything more than a series of entertaining vignettes without any serious messages to take with you. INSULT TO YOUR INTELLIGENCE: How can the Nazi youths be compared to the D.A.R.E. students? That is just going too far. Also, what is wrong with having laws against drugs? Misuse of drugs does actually kill people. NUMBER OF TIMES I CHECKED MY WATCH: 2 THE BOTTOM LINE: Entertaining and somewhat funny, but it lacks punch because either the scenes are too absurd or are just simply unremarkable. I don’t think this director can start another Woodstock with this ineffective mockumentary. RECOMMENDED WAY TO WATCH: VHS/DVD Main Page Alphabetical Menu The "W" Menu ______________________________________________________ |
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