High School

Seriously, this was an AWESOME and a really fun and funny movie! A great film, even right from the very second the movie studio company names came on screen. Funny throughout and it was a decent length, not like some of these new comedies/films that just make it past an hour, this makes it the full hog!

From a 24 yo guy (with a wicked sense of humour) that watched this un-stoned for the first time, well it was funny as f^ck! Can't wait to blaze up for the second watch!

As to all the hate/res, WHAT!? the hell man!? I see many haters hating, but not reviewing, as there's really nothing that bad you can say about this film. You could almost go as far to call this masterpiece a great 'family' movie... I mean is there not enough quotable jokes and analogies in here for you all? Was the fine acting, by all, BUT WOW was Adrien Brody SOOOOOOOO good, not enough? This movie made me search more with him in it, as well as a bunch of the other actors/crew!

In my opinion this will become a cult CLASSIC stoner film! But saying that, I understand these 'new-age-hipster' stoners think it's not cool to just have fun and relax, hence why they don't find movies like Smiley Face funny (if you haven't watched Smiley Face high, you haven't seen it). I know as a community of potheads we are changing the 'cheech-chong-hippie' image to something more 'suit-like' and 'get-it-legal' type image, but I beg of you all, let us not forget that weed shouldn't be taken so seriously as to not allow ourselves to unwind and laugh at pointless nonsensical feats of 'wisdom'... at least from time to time. I get the 'legal' stance, hell, I'm actively doing something to make it legal, but it doesn't mean we should wear these hats 24/7/365, that in itself couldn't be healthy. Just remember to unplug and laugh once in a while... :)

I highly recommend you all give it a chance, I'm sure there's so much going on in it, that by the end, you'll feel you could just rewind (if we all still did that) and start it from the beginning, all over again.

To cast and crew, WOW, thanks for making a rare 'modern' stoner classic. Adrien Brody, that performance deserved an Oscar! I'd love to see a sequel. But regardless, it's right up there, probably higher than some of the best of them - think How High type funny, quiet possibly funnier.

Hope this helps some of you!

The first 35 minutes of High School is some of the most comedy I have seen this year. Yea its in the vein of the Apatow/Seth Roganequse vein of witty banter and ridiculous situations. Unfortunately this films script is so sub plot ridden and contrived it losses me at a lot of places and as the movie goes on the novelty stops working.

Slacker/Stoner/High School Outcast films can work on many levels as character pieces, comedies, faux-action, satires, dramas, romances etc etc, there is very little that hasn't been tried and there is very little that hasn't had a good variation of said sub-genre. High School tries to do it all and its got that copy paste feel only a lazy screenplay can have.

Once again, there are some weird good things about this film, the people being high isn't always super over blown. Matt Bush owns his role pretty well. While Brody and Chikilas are over the top and having fun with what they have to do but it doesn't go anywhere there isn't anything new but at the same time its too all over the place to be a homage to stoner films of yesteryear.

If you like stoner comedies its worth a rental and there is stuff to laugh at but there isn't much of comfort zone in between laughs and boredom.

5/10

"Drugs, fornicating, a grown man singing about his feelings, it's time we win this war, expunge this school of all dope fiends." Henry Burke (Bush) has everything going for him. He has a scholarship to MIT and is in line to be his classes valedictorian. After an accident leads to detention he is brought back together with his old friend Travis (Marquette). They decide to take a break that night and unwind with a joint. After the school's representative in the national spelling bee loses it on TV the principal (Chiklis) institutes a mandatory drug test for everyone in the school. Fearing he will lose everything Henry and Travis come up with a plan. I am not really a fan of "stoner' comedy (I did like the Harold & Kumar movies) but the plot to this and the cast made it seem interesting to me. I was not disappointed. Adrien Brody is very funny as the man they steal from and Colin Hanks is good as a clueless asst. principle but Michael Chiklis steals the movie. Playing a clueless borderline pervert in charge of the school he is perhaps the funniest clueless principal since Ed Rooney. This is a very different style of stoner comedy and it is more like "Girl Next Door" then "Pineapple Express". This is nothing amazing but I enjoyed it and laughed quite a bit. Overall, a funny movie you can just put in and not think about, those are fun sometimes. I give it a B.

Stoner comedies are one of my favourite sub-genres, especially when they are done right, perfect examples being How High, Harold & Kumar, Half Baked... High School cannot be added to this hall of fame, but it sure is a movie that will satisfy your need for laughter and maybe something else. Considering that this is a directorial debut for John Stalberg, it turned out pretty awesome, and without major mistakes. Thing that annoyed me was the typical cast, that was thrown onto us without an ounce of shame. Two guys, one funny and fatty screw up and one sciency-nerdy type become partners in crime, I mean come on. This plot I have seen at least a dozen times, and although it worked here, it is something to be avoided, luckily the rest of the script is pretty good, and it has that original weed vibe (especially if you watch while being high).

High School would be another lame budget weed comedy if not for three actors in supporting roles that colored this movie and gave us, the viewers, something to go back to after a while. Lets start with Adrien Brody AKA Psycho Ed, a guy who started as a shy piano player now is a vicious and psychotic tattooed drug dealer. Michael Chiklis, a bold thug from The Shield, AKA Dr. Leslie Gordon, a by-the-books principal who wants to eliminate drugs from his school. Colin Hanks AKA Brandon Ellis well, there's nothing special about this killer from Dexter, apart that he was that high school kid in Orange County [2002], a movie with a similar subject. We can also see Curtis Armstrong, and if you can't still remember who he is, I have only one word for you: Booger.

As I said earlier meet Henry and Travis, two unlikely friends brought together by the icky sticky - weed. Henry is a really smart kid with perfect grades, and he can't wait to get into Harvard, while Travis has one goal in his life: to get stoned. While Travis is stoned almost all the time, Henry hasn't even tried weed, so after detention he decides it is finally time. As the school principal Dr. Leslie Gordon decides to test all the students for drugs, Travis and Henry must find a way to stop him, and how will they accomplish that is up to you to find out, enjoy...

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Most of the stoner comedy films that come along play pretty stupid and are an acquired taste. The latest High School looks to take the same template but add something a bit unique to it with more story. Is it possible to really be able to make a stoner film that stands out as more than just that or is it just a guise to attract a bigger audience.

High School follows a valedictorian who decides to take his first hit of pot only to find out that they are having random drug testing the same day. To try and nullify the test he teams up with the school's biggest stoner to attempt to get the entire school high. For the most part this is your typical stoner comedy, but thanks to the great cast and new twist with the story it manages to become something more and quite entertaining. Of course the story is highly unbelievable, but if you can set that aside and just have fun with it you are sure to have a great time. The entire cast does a great job, but two standouts come in the form of school faculty with Colin Hanks and Michael Chiklis. Hanks seems to just letting it all out to having a lot of fun not taking himself seriously and delivering some memorable moments. If Hanks is letting it all out, then Chiklis has split open and pours it out on the floor. His delivers a performance out of character that is both hilarious and a bit creepy. The obsessed principal he brings to life would easily become one of the more memorable film characters if this film got a wider release. Every aspect of his performance works and is bothersome on so many levels. The other stand out is Adrian Brody who is always good and seems to enjoy the stranger roles, but here just seems to lose his mind inside the character and become one with this psychotic drug dealer.

This movie is a lot of fun and reminiscent of the comedies of the 80's. Filled with a great cast, over the top story, and an original take on the stoner comedy High School will have you eager to light it up and smoke until the last puff.

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