The Hong Kong Cavalier's

Reefer Madness

( 1936) Starring: Dave O'Brien, Dorothy Short, Warren McCollum, Lillian Miles, Charleton Young, Thelma White Director:  Louis Gasnier

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Now...I will admit that in high school, and college (circa the years 1991 to 1994), I was a casual user of marijuana (translation: Weekend pothead).  Basically I knew enough about the stuff to "get" the lyrics of Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf" and chuckle whenever I heard the lyric from the Steve Miller Band song "The Joker", involving two lesser known henchmen of the Joker from "Batman", the Smoker and the  Midnight Toker. Okay. that last part I made up completely, but I do get a giggle out of it from the crowd whenever there's a Q and A session with a comic book professional at any of the conventions I've attended. Anyways, besides being in on the joke whenever someone played "Panama Red" on their car stereo....I was pretty naive about the stuff.  Until I saw this flick. Imagine, if you will, my first experience with the film:  It's summer 1992.  I'd just graduated high school and was enjoying myself at various parties and such, drinking huge amounts of alcohol, so that when I entered my freshman year of college that fall, I'd be all practiced up on the art of downing beers and "bonging" the substance through a funnel and hose. A side note: This another activity that I now regret because a few years ago my sister turned 21 years of age.  Being five years younger than I, she began hounding me for at least six months beforehand with the question," What are ya gonna do for me on my 21st birthday?", to which I'd ask, "What's so special about 21?  Been there, done that, wasn't impressed, moved on with my life." She then goes on to say, "Well...ya can't drink alcohol until yer 21...legally, that is."

This shocked me.  Had I known this factoid before she mentioned it, I would have never attended all o' those high school keggers.  Being a law-abiding citizen, I would have abstained from drink until 21, and would have also went to all of those aforementioned keg parties and performed citizen's arrests, confiscating all of that illegal contraband. Needless to say, good sarcasm is lost on my sister. Anyways, back to my story.... I'm eighteen and high on life....um yeah...that's it. So, some friends and I, who are film buffs as well, all get together and decide to get zonked outta our skulls and watch some flicks.  We decided to skip the standard Cheech and Chong marathons that were common for these gatherings,  or "2001: A Space Oddessey" (that flick didn't get any good until I discovered acid...waitaminnit...forget I said that).  The reason for this was because I'd ran across a VHS copy of the GOODTIMES HOME VIDEO's double feature VHS of , of all things, "Night of The Living Dead" and "Reefer Madness".  I'd heard of "Madness", but had never seen it, and an older relative who had seen the flick in health class in the early 1960's said it was a blast. I've been scarred ever since. The Plot: Dave O'Brien (from two personal favorites of mine, "The Devil Bat" and "King of the Zombies") and some pals run a dope ring, suckering poor teenage saps into getting hooked on the devil weed...marijuana.  The local PTA (man, if I'd known my mom belong to a paramilitary organization when I was in school, I woulda thought she was the coolest thing around....at least the way that portray parent teacher organizations in this flick, you'd think it was a branch of the FBI). Poor schmoe Bill, a local whitebread kid, and his girlfriend Mary get sucked into this dangerous underground network of dopesmokers, and after an accidental shooting (Mary's killed, Bill's framed for it), all Hell breaks loose.  Bill is aquitted for the crime after the dastardly mary-jane lords lose their cool, and begin heavily using their own product and either drive themselves insane with it, or jump out of windows under the influence of it.  The End. Things I learned from this film that scared me straight...well, not immediately, but after about three or four years, after I got married to my ex-wife and the price of weed went through the roof: My naive belief:  Weed causes you to laugh alot, crave the greasiest of junk food, and ya sleep for about 12 hours. The truth (as presented  in this film):   One hit, yer hooked for life.  It drives you insane and causes you to play the piano like crazy.  You tend to hide in closets and laugh nervously to yerself aot, too. My naive belief:  Weed is a great icebreaker with the ladies...especially if they're hip to it. The truth:  Ladies who smoke become wanton hussies, with an unquenchable thrist for sex, throwing their clothes to the wind at a moment's notice ,  doing anything (or anyone) to fulfill their wild, lustful desires. Hey...waitaminnit!  This is a bad thing? Ahem...sorry.  Male testosterone driven sexist statement there.  Don't even get me started on the issue of political correctness.  I'll save that rant for another review. Reccommended for fans of unintentional humor.  Would play as an interesting part of a triple feature with the excellent documentary "GRASS" and "Requiem for a Dream". Remember kids...just say No.