Main Cast: Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Diaz, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams, Rachel True
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 84 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Returning from a food run, kindly kindergarten teacher Kenny (Harland Williams) makes the mistake of feeding a massive amount of junk food to a tired-looking, diabetic NYPD horse, which drops dead. Tossed in jail, Kenny relies on his totally stoned roommates (Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Diaz, Jim Breuer) to devise a way to raise the 100,000-dollar bail. Their solution? Sell marijuana stolen from a government research lab. Cameos in this comedy include Stephen Wright, Janeane Garofalo, Stephen Baldwin, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Willie Nelson, and Jon Stewart. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Review
Nostalgia for the '70s continues in Half Baked, a light-headed comedy that joins films like Dazed and Confused and Up in Smoke in the venerable "stoner genre." The bawdy storyline proudly teems with sex and drugs, and is not intended for those who find no humor in marijuana use. Director Tamra Davis starts out the stoned story on a "high" note, as the four main characters discover pot during the ninth grade. Unfortunately, the structure soon collapses and the countless pot jokes become repetitive. The humor evaporates altogether whenever the film focuses on the tepid love story between Dave Chappelle and Rachel True. However, strong performances from Jim Breuer and Harland Williams elevate many of the bland scenes, and Chappelle's performance as Sir-Smoke-A-Lot is absolutely hysterical. The movie also features a number of wonderful cameos, including Willie Nelson, Tommy Chong, and Snoop Doggy Dog. While Chappelle's film cannot rival those of grass gurus Cheech and Chong, many thick-skinned moviegoers in the mood to thumb their noses at political correctness may find merit in this drugged-out effort. ~ Adam Goldberg, All Movie Guide
Paul Denham Austerberry - Art Director, Rita Smith - Associate Producer, Julia Dray - Associate Producer, Joanna Colbert - Casting, Ira Shuman - Co-producer, Vicki Graef - Costume Designer, Andrew Shea - First Assistant Director, Tamra Davis - Director, Don Zimmerman - Editor, Alf Clausen - Composer (Music Score), Gary Jones - Musical Direction/Supervision, Perry Andelin Blake - Production Designer, Steven Bernstein - Cinematographer, Robert Simonds - Producer, Mark Lane - Set Designer, Martin Malivoire - Special Effects, Bob Hall - Special Effects, Dean Stewart - Special Effects, Gary S. Gerlich - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard Legrand, Jr. - Sound/Sound Designer, Dave Chappelle - Screenwriter, Neal Brennan - Screenwriter
