three lesser known stoners in the cinema

Directors have shot weed for the big screen since the golden days of Hollywood. We care about a lot of these films, but there are so many that it can be hard to keep up. That is why we have selected three stoners who are less well known in the cinema and who also deserve our attention.

The term “stoner movie” often evokes images of psychedelic skies, anthropomorphic sacks of grass, or – rightly – Cheech & Chong, but there are other films with, for and about the average cannabis user that aren’t about smoking the biggest burrito blunt, that you can imagine. Don’t get me wrong now. I could watch Dave Chapelle for days, but the stoner flick’s limitation to raunchy, dark comedies limits the scope of the genre and hides otherwise worthy films from sharing the spotlight in stoner circles. Let’s take a moment to spot the cinema’s lesser-known stoners who just don’t get the credit they deserve.

The rogue – Face / Off (1997)

The absolute Mind Trip by John Woos Face / Off has established itself as one of the iconic action films of the 90s. The film is almost a psychedelic experience in which two of the most eccentric movie stars of the decade swap bodies à la Freaky Friday. It’s essentially two hours with Nicholas Cage and John Travolta getting impressions of each other, and what more could you ask for?

Who is the stoner in Face / Off?

At the beginning of the film, we see Nicolas Cage’s evil mastermind Castor Troy approach his crew in a private jet. There he is offered his “go-box” with the most important items: chiclets, various medications and a healthy number of joints. Godzilla vs Kong director Adam Wingard will be directing a new face / off movie with an updated remake. Maybe we’ll see Castor Troy finally take a hit off a dab rig to start the movie. One can only hope for another stoner in the cinema.

The Freshly Anointed – Easy Rider (1969)

Dennis Hopper’s counter-cultural sensation, Easy Rider, explored a tense America as free-spirited vagabonds crawl through the country’s darker sides. The two remaining members of a biker gang (Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper) travel across the country to settle down with their newly acquired fortune. The film lacks some of the transgressive luster that I can only assume came out in theaters when it was released, but it’s still compelling American text for a film that’s over fifty years old. I took many of the rebellious topics in Easy Rider for granted because, like many of our readers, I grew up in a media environment influenced by film. Establishment disapproval and nihilism pervade the picture as we watch two lonely drifters grapple with their futility.

Who is the stoner at Easy Rider?

Jack Nicholson plays a civilized bastard who is on his way to see “the best” [brothel] in the south ”and is offered a ride with the biker duo. During one of their campouts, Peter offers Fonda’s character Nicholson – who has never smoked – a joint. In addition to being intimate, the following section is emblematic of the relationships that outcasts find in seeking each other. You will know the feeling after entering a session with a stranger and coming out with a new friend.

The Token King – Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2006)

The team at Mystery Inc. returns for yet another monster mush in a very early James Gunn script. Monsters Unleashed is a solid monster film. Not only is it confident, it’s also respectably silly, satirizing the original cartoon with bold colors and ’70s fashion. Yes, this is a kids’ movie, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth watching or that there is no cannabis depiction. The film is littered with so many stoner jokes – or potshots – that one might think it was Seth Rogen Joint (no pun intended).

Who is the stoner in Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed?

The movie begins with the Mystery Inc. crew walking the red carpet, flanked by a crowd of enthusiastic fans. Shaggy (Matthew Lillard) stops and sniffs – like a cartoon character lured onto a cake on the windowsill – through the crowd to find his friends: a pack of disheveled hippies who probably smell like pot and are very happy to see him to see. Later in the film, we see Shaggy and Scoob hot boxing the van while they feed their nibbles.

What are your favorite unspoken stoners movies? You can share them in the comments and follow us on Twitter and Instagram