Rolling Kansas

Rolling Kansas has the unique opportunity of actually being a good character driven film hidden beneath the paper mache surface of a stoner movie. A gaggle of young men, a car, a cooler of beer on a search of mythical medical marijuana oasis in Kansas. Need I say more, Yes! These guys are interesting, and they are funny dare I say that they have depth, but not in the traditional sense, more like we don't dumb ourselves down to be funny, depth. Yes, it is a silly movie with a silly premise, three brothers attempt to make a financial killing from harvesting pot that their parents found in Kansas when the boys were wee lads. They find a map and get the wheels, hyjinx ensu. Nothing new there, it's just that the pace and the dialog are actually engaging. Roll on kansas, roll on!

Ok. So i saw this movie yesterday at the USCAF 2003 and was graced with the presence of Haden Church for the screening. I always have a hard time watching a movie with the filmmakers (I know, poor me!) because I feel like I have to laugh and that my perception of the movie is changed) Yet the more I think about this movie the more I like it. It is like Road Trip minus the trite love story that always takes away from the film. Though it (sort of) has that element, it really isn't a big part of the movie. I already had a sweet spot for it when I saw Charlie Finn as one of the main characters (the Dimpus Burger guy from Super Troopers) who, I think, is f**king hilarious, though he will probably turn out to only play these kind of parts, the dim-witted yet charming stoner. ANYWAYS, the movie is funny. The characters are vibrant and funny, each carrying their weight of the movie equally well. Gratuitous nudity is always a plus, especially when the chick is smoking hot, and she is. Rip Torn has a sweet bit part as an old stoner, to which i was laughing so hard because, well... it is Rip Torn. It was also good to see the reunion of Thomas Haden Church and Kevin Pollack as comical cops

(the cops from 3000 Miles To Graceland.. awful movie) who are so good together I wouldn't be surprised if they came out with a movie where they were the main characters. It could definitely work and I for one would go see it. Well I'll quit rattling on and just say that if this movie hits theaters nationwide, definitely check it out.

...you might like to read "cows are freaky when they look at you". it is a compilation of anecdotes and history of Lawrence, ks, in the sixties and seventies, focusing on the "kaw valley hemp pickers" most/all of the stories are told in the first person and are great. the movie reminds me of an account in the book,but for some reason, i can't locate my copy to figure out which one. the stories are great, and some of the "locals" in the book are still around 30, 40 years after the events recounted in the book. some of my co-workers have attested to the truth in many of the accounts. the book should hold you over between viewings of this hilarious, random, movie.

The children of hippies find a map to the "magic forest of marijuana" and set out to find it before they must return for finals.

The plot of this movie is very simple (see above) and strikes me as the sort of thing MTV films would produce ("Porn and Chicken" or "Jailbait"?) but I guess it wasn't them. But the simple plot also doesn't matter, because the characters are incredibly funny.

One character in particular, Kevin, is amusing as he tries to find out if he's gay or not after a run-in with an old man and some "cutting implements". He's not sure if he's gay, but he knows he "likes dudes".

And Rip Torn, who is becoming known among the younger crowd for his characters after "Dodgeball", is great in this as a hitch-hiking gardener.

This review is poor, but seriously... good film. Thomas Haden Church is a great actor ("Sideways") and a respectable director.

Stoner comedies seem like the easiest type of movies to make. All it takes is a decent cast, a bunch of drug jokes, a good soundtrack, and a smattering of crude humor to make at least a somewhat enjoyable stoner comedy. However, as HOW HIGH proved, not all stoner comedies are funny. Some just downright suck. Luckily, ROLLING KANSAS isn't one of them. That's not to say that ROLLING KANSAS is going to be on my list of best stoner comedies any time soon, but it provided enough laughs to keep me entertained throughout its running time. It wasn't hilarious yet it was funnier than I expected it to be since I was expecting it to be really awful. Recommended to fans of the genre.