The Hit
Not as funny as James Franco in Pineapple Express, and a little too broad and undisciplined to be called "believable." But probably the most influential stoner performance of the last 15 years.
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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 15, 2008 at 1:05 PM
comment #1
George Prager says ...
My favorite stoner is Robert F. Lyons in GETTING STRAIGHT (Can someone please put this out on DVD? Motherfuckers!)
"Stoner" by John Williams is one of my favorite novels.
Posted by George Prager at August 15, 2008 1:23 PM
comment #2
JHRussell says ...
Jeff Spicoli...
Posted by JHRussell at August 15, 2008 1:39 PM
comment #3
Muttley Laugh says ...
"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man."
Posted by Muttley Laugh at August 15, 2008 1:39 PM
comment #4
Mjs says ...
Franco. Bridges. Pitt. Penn. Rory Cochrane.
All brilliant, the best of the best.
Posted by Mjs at August 15, 2008 1:41 PM
comment #5
coxcable says ...
Anna Faris spends 80 or so minutes completely baked in "Smiley Face." The idea I guess is to show what would happen if someone like Floyd from True Romance got his own movie. It's a trifle but her high wire performance is brilliant.
Here's a taste....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmojtjhucy4
Posted by coxcable at August 15, 2008 1:46 PM
comment #6
George Prager says ...
Helen Hayes in AIRPORT.
Posted by George Prager at August 15, 2008 1:48 PM
comment #7
Joshua Mooney says ...
"Don't you fuckin' conn-den-send to me, man. Fuckin' kill you."
I love Pitt in "TR." I don't think he's "broader" than Franco in "Pineapple" at all. And if he was more "believable," he wouldn't have gotten all that dialogue out in a Tony Scott time-frame.
Anyway, I doubt it was exactly Method acting.
Posted by Joshua Mooney at August 15, 2008 2:02 PM
comment #8
cinefan says ...
Fred Savage in Rules of Attraction.
Posted by cinefan at August 15, 2008 2:05 PM
comment #9
George Prager says ...
Scout in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.
Posted by George Prager at August 15, 2008 2:14 PM
comment #10
VoiceOfReason says ...
Holy cow! I forgot Kevin Corrigan was a hitman/mob goon in True Romance also.
Posted by VoiceOfReason at August 15, 2008 2:24 PM
comment #11
DarthCorleone says ...
O.k., Mr. Wells, perhaps you can help me out here, on the topic of the depiction of drug use in film. Maybe this is a longshot.
A while back in your column - possibly prior to Hollywood Elsewhere and at least a three or four years ago - I remember your praising some drug trip in a movie as being the most vivid/accurate you had ever seen. I'm not sure you dug the movie as a whole, but you were extremely impressed with one scene in particular. I'm fairly certain you saw it at a festival, so it had disappeared from my memory by the time it had a theatrical release (if any). The scene might have taken place partially in an airplane restroom, but I don't know.
Sorry if that's vague, but do you have any idea what I'm talking about? I recall reading your description and wanting to check it out. Much appreciated if you can answer...
Posted by DarthCorleone at August 15, 2008 2:27 PM
comment #12
George Prager says ...
DarthCorleone: The movie was HARVARD MAN.
Posted by George Prager at August 15, 2008 2:38 PM
comment #13
actionman says ...
Harvard Man has some of the best acid-trip on screen moments ever put to film.
True Romance is one of Tony's masterpieces, and Pitt is stonerific in it. When he asks the mafiosos to smoke a bowl with him and they cock their shotguns I always let out a laugh.
Posted by actionman at August 15, 2008 2:45 PM
comment #14
Midwest Doug says ...
Jeff Bridges, we hardly knew ye...
Posted by Midwest Doug at August 15, 2008 2:47 PM
comment #15
shepherd12345 says ...
zahn in out of sight would make any thinking man's top 10 list.
Posted by shepherd12345 at August 15, 2008 2:55 PM
comment #16
The Hoyk says ...
Granted, it's not weed, but where's the love for "Ajax lady" June Fairchild in UP IN SMOKE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsf_TmSoL4A
Posted by The Hoyk at August 15, 2008 2:58 PM
comment #17
Josh Massey says ...
Jessica Tandy in Cocoon: The Return.
Posted by Josh Massey at August 15, 2008 2:59 PM
comment #18
115thDreamer says ...
Well, if we're talking the last 15 years, Spicoli is out, so it's The Dude, I'd argue, by a longshot. As much as I like the Pitt performance + Franco's in PE, we're talking about the fucking Dude here....that's your Gold Standard as far as stoner potrayals go. As Walter might say about any other contenders, "fuckin' amateurs"....
Posted by 115thDreamer at August 15, 2008 4:09 PM
comment #19
Mgmax says ...
Last 21 years: Ralph Brown, Withnail & I
Posted by Mgmax at August 15, 2008 4:18 PM
comment #20
Edward says ...
The Dude does rock, but so do Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro in Fear and Loathing. Damn, I'm almost getting a contact high!
Posted by Edward at August 15, 2008 4:44 PM
comment #21
D.Z. says ...
Ironic you should bring it up, since Apatow said his motivation to do Pineapple Express stemmed from having Brad Pitt's character as the lead. http://www.darkhorizons.com/interviews/apatow.php
Also, the most influential stoner performances are in Dazed and Confused.
Posted by D.Z. at August 15, 2008 4:45 PM
comment #22
BurmaShave says ...
One of the related videos on the bottom there is Gary Oldman's scene on 'puss', which is one of the strangest bits of acting I've ever seen.
Posted by BurmaShave at August 15, 2008 4:52 PM
comment #23
lipranzer says ...
"Get some beer...and some cleaning products!"
Posted by lipranzer at August 15, 2008 5:39 PM
comment #24
ZayTonday says ...
Hell yes, True Romance FTW. This, the Dennis Hopper/Christopher Walken scene where Dennis makes fun of Christopher's Sicillian heritage and all the parts with Gary Oldman are EPIC.
Also, I never noticed that was Soundgarden in the background before. Haven't heard that in a while.
Posted by ZayTonday at August 15, 2008 5:56 PM
comment #25
The Winchester says ...
Michael Douglas in Wonder Boys.
And Matthew McConaughey in Reign Of Fire.
Posted by The Winchester at August 15, 2008 6:11 PM
comment #26
Richard_Stone says ...
Michael Douglas in Wonder Boys, really? I could hardly tell when his character was supposed to be stoned and when he was supposed to be straight.
Posted by Richard_Stone at August 15, 2008 6:34 PM
comment #27
Richardson says ...
When I was a young high school stoner, the one we all loved was Steven Wright in 'Half Baked'. Over the summer before college, the sudden rage was Chris Tucker, and 'Friday' in general. (I can't believe he wasn't brought up yet.)
In college, the stoner camp split. Some went the way of Johnny Depp -- or, worse, Benicio del Toro -- while others remained true to the mellow moods of Jeff Bridges. And, of course, a lot of the girls looked up to Annie Hall. (Well, sorry, there aren't as many great pothead roles for the ladies.) And you'd get stoned with guys like Harold and Kumar -- people who seemed ridiculously far along the "right" track who also smoked a lot of weed. And, of course, when we came back home for the summer, we would run into old high school friends who had gone the way of Jay and Silent Bob.
Posted by Richardson at August 15, 2008 7:47 PM
comment #28
Richardson says ...
I can't believe I made that whole post and didn't mention Dave (Gruber) Allen. Fuck!
Posted by Richardson at August 15, 2008 7:48 PM
comment #29
D.Z. says ...
Richardson: Yeah, actually, my generation was into Friday and Half-baked, too, with the deep druggie film being Fear and Loathing; but the mainstream was hyping True Romance and Trainspotting, mostly because the concept of gangsters getting high was considered "deep".
Posted by D.Z. at August 15, 2008 8:58 PM
comment #30
George Prager says ...
Audrey Hepburn in THE NUN'S STORY.
Posted by George Prager at August 16, 2008 7:56 AM
comment #31
George Prager says ...
"Last 21 years: Ralph Brown, Withnail & I"
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PObknmaH9po
Added bonus:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW7xS3V5jtg
Posted by George Prager at August 16, 2008 8:01 AM
comment #32
JHRussell says ...
Finally saw Pineapple Express...Franco is great, but the movie really slips off track in the second half...I mean, it was OK for what it is, but not a movie I would recommend to others...
Posted by JHRussell at August 16, 2008 8:13 AM
comment #33
The Winchester says ...
Richard-Stone: it's because He's stoned the entire movie. And because he's not acting like a typical pothead. That's why I like it. He's not a buffoon. Don't get me wrong, I love the Dude, and Franco and Floyd (And Jim Bruer in Half Baked, and The dudes from Dude Where's My Car), but I really liked how Douglas kept it hidden, and kept it constant. Probably because he reminded me of my own professors who had their love of the reefer.
Posted by The Winchester at August 16, 2008 10:01 AM
comment #34
nemo says ...
Not a stoner on weed, but Matthew McConaughey's speed-freak trucker in the otherwise poor Larger Than Life.
After McConaughey has motor-mouthed in a high-pitched Texas accent for 12 straight hours:
Bill Murray: Don't you ever sleep?
McConaughey: Well sure! I slept last week!
Posted by nemo at August 16, 2008 10:17 AM
comment #35
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comment #36
janee
says ...
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