BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
High School is a stoner comedy. By that simple description you should know what you’re getting into. This movie came out earlier this summer and it seems no one is talking about it. If there is, it’s just not enough. The plot revolves around a nerdy high school valedictorian who smokes weed for the first time. Of course this has a domino effect that leads to a random drug test and his college scholarship being on the line. His big idea is to get the entire student body stoned to get all of the drug tests in the school thrown out. It’s a crazy idea, but the movie doesn’t attempt sanity all that much to begin with. The valedictorian is played by Matt Bush. He has popped up in a lot of movies in a lot of cool roles. He carries the movie well. He is a cross between Ralph Macchio and John Cusack. He’s got that “every day guy” thing down pact. His stoner friend is played by Sean Marquette. He’s been in some cool movies, but this has to be his biggest role. At first I didn’t know what to make of him. The stoner friend role in these lower budget stoner movies are typically loud, obnoxious, abrasive, gives bad advice, and is always the fat or chubby guy. Marquette balances on this line, but has a natural charisma that made him likeable and a good contributor to the story. Colin Hanks is in this too! He’s a teacher who is cool enough, but goes off the deep end once he gets stoned via brownie. It was really fun to see him in a supporting role like this. The real story here is the guy the movie clings onto with the “Starring” portion of their promo. Adrien Brody! I’ve been a fan of this guy for as long as I’ve been exposed to him. He is an interesting guy who finds interesting movies and puts out interesting performances. If it’s riding a train in a Wes Anderson movie or having “relations” with an alien, Adrien Brody is just one of those guys who are fun to watch. I think it’s one of those situations where the viewer enjoys it because you can tell the performer enjoys it. In this movie he plays “Psycho Ed”, a CRAZY drug dealer. It’s hard to describe this character. He is over the top hilarious but unsettlingly volatile. I would watch a movie just following that character around to see his antics. There is a scene where he and his two friends, Mykelti Williamson and Andrew Wilson, get into a car accident. The set up involved with this scene and the delivery made me laugh most during this movie. I liked it a lot, but it’s not perfect. I’ve grown to really like Michael Chiklis over the years. He seems like a cool guy, but his odd character work as “the Principal” didn’t work for me. The tone of the character just didn’t match the rest of the movie. As out there as Brody’s character was, it still flowed. Whenever Chiklis was involved it was kind of dreadful. It also dragged a bit at the start. I wanted to get into this movie and enjoy it. By like a half hour in I was looking at the clock to see how much time I had left. Soon enough it picked up and got really enjoyable. It just felt like it took too long to get to the funny. Once it did, it was very funny. If you’re into stoner movies then you will for sure appreciate this movie. If you’re into comedies but not so much stoner movies then make sure you stick with it. The first twenty or so minutes are all set up. It does get better. To be fair, this is one of those movies that should be rewatched. I’m sure I will. Rewatchablity and growing appreciation… what more can an indie stoner movie ask for? B
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