The Stöned Age

This is my fav movie, every person in this movie is cool. I wish some day that a sequal will be made, who ever made this movie should of won some kind of award,I think this movie doesn't get the credit it deserves for being one of the best films ever. It is sad that every movie now has either some fake rapper or a billion dollar budget, blue oyster cult is way cooler then nelly or emenim and colt 45 is way cooler then smirnof ice,I'm only 18 but I have way more respect for this generation then my own.

If you read my review of this one from August of 99, then you have my opinion after watching only once and being disappointed by its comparisons to Dazed & Confused. The fact is-- after I rented it, I thought of this movie often. I thought of some of the funny lines, but mainly it was thought provoking in a sense; as though it worked on a deeper level than it was meant to deliver on. The characters were somehow very believable and the situations, though far fetched in a movie way, really reminded me of being there years ago. For example, while Joe's ramblings are misguided and nonsensical, it was evident that he had higher aspirations. His dialogue was like how a kid like that might talk in real life-- not like someone reading from a script might. Hubbs and Tack were classic movie characters, as well.

Unable to get the film out of my head, I decided I had to own it. I ordered a copy and watch it about once a month or so, howling with laughter each time. My point is that my initial impression was not nearly as favorable as it is now, partly based on certain expectations. If you realize from the outset that you're watching a B-movie and just enjoy it for what it is, you may find the hidden gem that I found.

Bit of advice to low budget filmmakers - have your film take place during the present day. Setting your film in the past is expensive and takes a lot of time and energy. This movie's depiction of 1970's era Southern California is so bad, it's as if they made no effort whatsoever. I mean, the very first scene has Crump's brother standing on the side of the highway as Ford Explorers and late 90's model Volvo Station wagons go cruising by. I didn't even know it took place in the 70's until Joe had his 8-track eaten by the Blue Bomber. Even the wardrobe and hair is terrible. Half the cast looks straight out of the Seattle grunge scene - tight, ripped jeans, leather jackets and long, straight hair. Hell, Hubbs looks more like the dude from the Cult than a 17 year-old high school kid in the 70's. The "hot" chick adds even more confusion, with her late-80's, metal groupie, "she's my cherry pie", Warrant video ensemble. Now, with that said, there are some great moments. Tack is hilarious and perfect. Joe's brush with Blue Oyster Cult and "the laser" is classic. The soundtrack of Ted Nugent, Sabbath, and the aforementioned BOC totally rocks (guess we know where the budget went). The Schnapster rules (*ping!*) Mike Dick and Mike New York and all their cases of talls rule too. Kind of amazing how such a bad flick can have so many classic moments. As a matter of fact, every poorly contrived scene of bad dialogue and even worse wardrobes is actually worth sitting through, if just for that one scene where Tack starts talking about his zits. Dazed and Confused, one of my all time favorite movies, doesn't have a single scene as funny, as candid, as just straight up randon, as that one. "I don't want no chicks with zits, I want fine chicks!" Amen, Tack.

I was a senior in high school in 76 living in West Los Angeles and this is EXACTLY what we used to do. We had more drugs than these guys were able to get but we would do ALL the exact same s***. There is no exaggeration. We had the "Crump's brother" guy who had just gotten out of Chino Correctional. We had a Tack and a Hubbs.

I had a friend who looked EXACTLY like the red haired guy (Joe) in this movie.

The language is accurate too.

This was probaby what a lot of kids in California was doing in those days.

This is an awesome movie, but the reason why is pretty subtle (or maybe not so subtle). It is one of the few movies of this genre (rock n' roll pot smoking, sex, adolescent mayhem) which actually takes the audience seriously enough to bother putting in a plot, and a character -- Joe -- that is interesting, I mean, he's a nice guy who doesn't want to be a "worm," unlike his more-popular friend Hubbs, but he keeps getting cheated out of "his" chicks! I think this movie was cooked up as a studio marketing idea, that is, "Hey! Dazed and Confused is so popular right now, let's cash in on that craze and make a '70s kids-smoking-pot movie!" but the writer/director actually bothered to write something interesting instead of mindless eye-candy. Like a character in the movie says, "At least you've got something going on up there!" I also have to say that this is one of the few movies I've ever seen where metalheads are portrayed as the heroes. Too often headbangers in movies are shown as thugs, bullies or morons, but this flick dares to have heroes and sympathetic characters headbanging to Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult. A 10, definitely!