Mac & Devin Go to High School

I normally don't write reviews, but I felt compelled to write one after being highly disappointed with the outcome of this movie. Being originally from Pittsburgh, I was exposed to Wiz Khalifa when he was just an underground mix tape artist. The moment I heard him and Snoop were doing a movie, I was dying to see what type of film they would put together. I knew it wasn't going to be a Oscar nominee, but I was excited to see it for what it was, a stoner movie. I anticipated it to be a movie like How High mixed with a little bit of Superbad. The movie starts out with a cartoon clip of this character slow burn who at first seems like a good addition to the movie. He tells you to smoke some weed before the movie because, well lets face it, you cannot watch this movie sober (it's that bad). At various points, slow burn stops the movie to say some irrelevant things that seems like they are just there to fill up some space. It really bothered me, it is like when you are trying to watch a movie and someone keeps trying to talk to you, it really messed with the flow of the story (if you can even call it a story). Also, the movie was stopped multiple times for Mac and Devin to preform full length songs, which also seems like it was there to just fill up space. It would have been less irritating if the videos were placed at the end of the movie or added into the special features. The movie didn't have a smooth flow or an actual plot line. The story was a recycled script that was generic and vanilla. I know it's a movie, but it still has to be some what realistic. I couldn't take Snoop seriously as a 15 year senior, it just wasn't logical. I laughed a few times, but only because of the stony persona they both have and because I'm a long time fan of both the artists (also i was a little spacey). The movie was pushed back multiple times and it seems like they knew it was going to be bad, but they just hyped it up so that people would buy it. I wouldn't consider it a movie. Maybe if they posted it on YouTube or made it for TV then I would not have been as upset with it. Thank God I torrented it and didn't pay actual money for it. At the end of it, I was scratching my head thinking....how in the world did this movie get made? This is coming from a fan, I wanted to like the movie, but I just could NOT enjoy it….that's saying something. It seemed short and the ending didn't feel like a real ending. I don't care if it was low budget, that is no excuse. Wiz and Snoop should stick to what they know best, making music and smoking weed. Films are definitely not their thing. The soundtrack is great though!

I am a fan of both Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa. So when I heard that they were collaborating to make a stoner comedy I was excited. But unfortunately (in my opinion) this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Here's some reasons why I think this.

The first problem is at the beginning of the movie, when we're introduced to "Slow Burn". A poorly animated cartoon joint that, really, looks like a white banana. Slow Burn delivers some of the dumbest and unfunny dialogue I've ever heard. Slow Burn then proceeds to tell us that we have to get high to enjoy this movie. Now, it's no lie that weed makes some terrible movies more enjoyable. But relying on the intoxication of your audience for a films enjoyment is pathetic.

The next issue came when I began to uncover what the overall plot was. A cool kid helps a nerdy kid become cool. This story has been reused 1000 times over. When put into the right hands, this plot could possibly become effective, but usually this is not the case.

Now I could be wrong about this, but, while watching, it seemed that the overall point of the movie was to sell music. When you make a movie specifically to sell something or some things ("Jack and Jill") it will usually not turn out well. Especially when it's obvious.

I could go in depth about how bad the acting was or how flat the jokes fell, but I'm not trying to write a book. Which is sad because this is a movie that I've been anticipating as a fan of Wiz and Snoop, and a fan of stoner comedies. But good stoner comedies have good characters that you like and care for. I could care less if Mac & Devin don't graduate (or for that matter DIE).

Before the movie started the audience are told to smoke some weed because you supposedly can't watch the film without being high. Well let's just say I don't have the best access to it so I watched sober. The movie is probably right. I thought the movie was quite boring and the relief being that it was very short and had Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa in it. The movie is sort of like watching weed porn in a lot of ways. Since half of the movie is showing Wiz and Snoop or their friends getting high in all the different ways. The plot does not have a lot of substance to it and ultimately this movie probably is only for when your high. If your not high, you probably shouldn't watch it. There are some moments that are pretty funny though even if your not high which broke some of the disinterest. I didn't think this movie was terrible, but it wasn't good either for me personally.

Being a fan of the Mac and Devin Album I found the movie to be entertaining. Whilst I found many of the reviews on this site to be rather misinformed or misleading. First off Wiz's acting wasn't up to par because let's face it he's a rapper not an actor, contrary to popular belief not all entertainers can make that transition into a different medium. Considering the circumstances, his first time on screen, I think Wiz did great and if that were something he would want to continue to do it would take work and time. While some of the reviewers found Snoop's acting a little dry I would have to disagree. But with awards and even more nominations Snoop has already proved himself to be a successful actor. Check the facts, it's not up for debate.

I can't stand the comparisons to "How High" or as one reviewer even went as far as"Superbad". As far as low budget films go it was pretty good. The "movie" was an hour long, more like a TV special if you ask me, so any comparisons to a higher budgeted feature film just seems unfair. If you didn't enjoy the film because of their promotion of weed culture Im sorry to say its Wiz and Snoop. What did you expect? I found some of the jokes to be corny, predicable, or unfunny while I found myself dying from laughter at times. I could have honestly done without Andy Milonakis character.

To those of you that didn't enjoy the musical breaks in-between scenes, I regret to inform you that the movie was adapted from the concept of a collab album, not the other way around. You would really have to be a fan of the music and the album to truly enjoy the film. The film wasn't meant to sell an album that was released almost a year ago, nor was it meant to be an extended music video to songs they already have videos for. It was made to go that extra mile and give a little extra to the fans and they succeeded in that delivery.

I think a lot of the other reviewers missed the point of this movie... the mediocrity is what makes this movie good. The jokes are dumb and the movie plays bad stereotypes and that's why it's funny! This movie isn't about character development or conflict... its ridiculous and just for fun. The fact that we have "slow burnin" the animated joint chiming in at random points in the movie just adds to the ridiculousness. Honestly if you look at the cover and saw that you were going to watch a movie where 40 year old snoop dogg is playing a high schooler of the same age who just hasn't graduated yet, you should expect what you're about to watch.

This is the kind of movie you watch when you want to just relax and watch some low class comedy. Invite some people over, talk through the movie, drink or whatever, and just enjoy something stupid for a while.