There are so many movies that could fall under the category of a “Stoner” movie. Although previous lists have been made, they seem to pull in movies with plots not entirely centered around being stoner movies. A stoner movie has a storyline based on being high, getting high or issues caused by being around drugs. While many films have stoner scenes in them or are fun to watch while under the influence, an actual stoner film is about being stoned. While there may be many films that fall into this category, here is a list of the 10 best stoner movies.
10 Clerks (1994)
Clerks is only number 10 on this list because it comes close to breaking my main rule. The film does not center around just getting high. However, Jay and Silent Bob became such iconic characters that they deserve to be on this list. Kevin Smith laid the foundation for an entire universe of films that really revolves around this pot-dealing potty mouth pair.
9 How High (2001)
Staring Redman and Method Man, How High is the only successful feature film Dustin Lee Abraham ever worked on. Centered around Jamal and Silas, who smoke magic weed to help them pass their college exams, the film takes place at Harvard. It has some genuinely hysterical moments with a great cast, including Mike Epps, Obba Babatundé, Fred Willard, and Jeffrey Jones.
8 Easy Rider (1969)
One of the most iconic films ever made, Easy Rider is about two friends, Captain America and Billy the Kid, who trip from L.A to New Orleans after making a significant score selling some dope. A glimpse into a different time and world, this movie is full of beautiful scenery and has a fantastic soundtrack. With an all-star cast consisting of Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Jack Nicholson, Easy Rider has been a go-to movie for fans spanning generations.
7 Blow (2001)
The film’s name may be Blow, but George Jung didn’t jump right into selling cocaine in this 2001 biographical film. When George (Johnny Depp) and his best friend Tuna (Ethan Suplee) first move out to California, they begin selling weed for Derek Foreal (Paul “Pee-Wee Herman” Reubens) and later make the leap to selling cocaine. The film’s time setting, along with the fantastic cast and true stories, makes this one of the best stoner movies ever, man.
6 Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
It is 4 o’clock in the morning, and you’ve been up partying all night. You are your friends starving, but most places are closed; So where do you go? This is a scenario that stoners have found themselves numerous times, and the answer was always the same, White Castle. When Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle came out, it resonated with so many stoners that it became an instant classic. So many of those elate night White Castle trips would consist of ridiculous obstacles (primarily due to the lack of sobriety on the adventures part), and this movie just amped up those obstacles. With some of the funniest stoner moments in movie history, this movie stared John Cho, Kal Penn, Neil Patrick Harris, Anthony Anderson, Fred Willard, along with so many more great actors!
5 Friday (1995)
Co-written by its star Ice Cube, Friday is about a guy who is down on his luck deciding to smoke for the first time with his best friend Smokey (Chris Tucker). This is one of the most quoted movies on this list for anyone who grew up in the ’90s. The film came together when writers Ice Cube and DJ Pooh got tired of seeing how the hood was portrayed in other movies. They both pulled from real-life experiences they had growing up in the hood, and the film came together.
4 Pineapple Express (2008)
James Franco and Seth Rogen have been perfect together on screen since the show Freaks and Geeks. So, when they teamed up in Pineapple express, everyone knew it would become a classic stoner movie. Written by Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, the film Pineapple Express is about Dale Denton (Rogen) buying a rare strain of weed called Pineapple Express from his dealer Saul (Franco). While Denton is smoking the Pineapple Express, he witnesses a murder and goes on the run with Saul. The movie is essentially a buddy movie with murder and drugs thrown in the mix. Rogen and Franco’s characters, along with Danny McBride’s character Red continue to make some of the dumbest decisions one could make while on the run making this a hilarious entry on the list.
3 Dazed and Confused (1993)
More than JUST a stoner movie, Dazed and Confused is a coming-of-age tale written and directed by Richard Linklater. The movie is about different groups of teens from different walks of life on the last day of school in 1976. The film has so many funny scenes but is also full of more heart than most movies on this list. The entire movie is about teens wanting to get high, get drunk, and party. The cast is full of so many big named actors who had yet to break out, like Jason London, Ben Affleck, Adam Goldberg, Matthew McConaughey, Joey Lauren Adams, and Milla Jovovich. Considered to be THE film of a generation, Dazed and Confused will go down in history as one of the best stoner films ever made.
2 The Big Lebowski (1998)
The only film on the list that spawned an entire religion, The Big Lebowski, is a Coen brothers film starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, and John Turturro. A case of mistaken identity puts a slacker by the name of The Dude on a course of adventure and mishap. When asked about the film, Joel Coen stated, “We wanted to do a Chandler kind of story – how it moves episodically and deals with the characters trying to unravel a mystery, as well as having a hopelessly complex plot that’s ultimately unimportant.”
1 Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie (1980)
No stoner movie list would be complete without a Cheech & Chong entry. For many, Cheech and Chong movies are the center of all stoner films, and for a good reason. Cheech and Chong movies are all about getting high and attempting to have a good time. This film was the second movie starring Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong’s comedy duo but is considered the best one by an alarming number of fans. This stoner classic has so much going on in it, from siphoning gas, Cheech getting fired, mishaps in the welfare office, and even a UFO abduction.
There you have the top ten stoner films ever made. It was tough to narrow down the list to only ten, due to so many great ones that had to be left off. A few that almost made the cut were, Half Baked, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Fast Times at Ridgemont high, Pulp Fiction, Caddyshack, Super Troopers, Soul Plane, Road Trip, Dude Where’s My Car, Detroit Rock City, Bio Dome and Idle Hands. In the end however, there could only be ten.
Written exclusively for TheLastPicture.Show by Jacob Ruble
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