AUSTIN/SXSW "High Times Magazine" named Doug Benson as the second-ranked pot comic in the nation a few years ago. Benson must have decided not to settle for anything less than the top spot, because although the magazine hasn't since repeated their ranking, the frequently-stoned funnyman has gone out and made an entire movie about his life-long love affair with marijuana.
"Super High Me" started out as a jokepart of Benson's stand up routine. Riffing off Morgan Spurlock's documentary "Super Size Me," in which that filmmaker documented the effects of eating nothing but McDonalds fast food for thirty days in a row, Benson wondered what would happen to his health if he smoked pot non-stop for thirty days straight. As he joked with the packed SXSW crowd following the film's screening, the experiment wouldn't be too far removed from what he was doing already.
Let the experiment begin.
Just to make sure that everything was as scientifically pure as could be expected in such a dubious experiment, Benson goes clean and sober for a month. He has doctors check his general health and memory while he does the temporary rehab. Then it's thirty days of non-stop tokage (Benson has a prescription, so he's not really breaking any laws here). Bemused doctors monitor Benson's health throughout his "ordeal." He ends up gaining weight and his lung capacity goes down, but his intelligence scores and sperm count go way up. I think that it's safe to say that neither Benson, nor the audience learn anything notable about marijuana use from "Super High Me."
But that's not the point. "Super High Me" works simply because Benson is a very funny dude, stoned or not. The film works as an amusing experiment, made all the more enjoyable by Benson's funny observations, and an occasional bon mot by his semi-famous comedian friends. The pro-marijuana crowd at SXSW was thrilled by the film's wit. Naturally, more conservative audiences won't be quite as amused.
"Super High Me" does eschew humor at the end and somewhat awkwardly looks into the conflict between California and Federal laws regarding marijuana. The issue is too serious to merge with the rest of the film's humor, but not given enough weight within the film to serve as an effective rallying cry for the audience. Who knows? Perhaps Benson needs to make a sequel to give the issue its full due. As it stands, the film can't seem to decide if it wants to be an all-out comedy or a critique of US drug policy. It tries to do both and only partially succeed.
The bottom line is that "Super High Me" is still a lot of fun, particularly if you see it with the right crowd. Benson knows that finding the right audience is half the battle, and since he admits that many of his fans will be too stoned to go to the theater, he is offering to ship a DVD copy of the film to anybody who will set up a screening in their city. You can get all the details at www.superhighmemovie.com.
"Super High Me" started out as a jokepart of Benson's stand up routine. Riffing off Morgan Spurlock's documentary "Super Size Me," in which that filmmaker documented the effects of eating nothing but McDonalds fast food for thirty days in a row, Benson wondered what would happen to his health if he smoked pot non-stop for thirty days straight. As he joked with the packed SXSW crowd following the film's screening, the experiment wouldn't be too far removed from what he was doing already.
Let the experiment begin.
Just to make sure that everything was as scientifically pure as could be expected in such a dubious experiment, Benson goes clean and sober for a month. He has doctors check his general health and memory while he does the temporary rehab. Then it's thirty days of non-stop tokage (Benson has a prescription, so he's not really breaking any laws here). Bemused doctors monitor Benson's health throughout his "ordeal." He ends up gaining weight and his lung capacity goes down, but his intelligence scores and sperm count go way up. I think that it's safe to say that neither Benson, nor the audience learn anything notable about marijuana use from "Super High Me."
But that's not the point. "Super High Me" works simply because Benson is a very funny dude, stoned or not. The film works as an amusing experiment, made all the more enjoyable by Benson's funny observations, and an occasional bon mot by his semi-famous comedian friends. The pro-marijuana crowd at SXSW was thrilled by the film's wit. Naturally, more conservative audiences won't be quite as amused.
"Super High Me" does eschew humor at the end and somewhat awkwardly looks into the conflict between California and Federal laws regarding marijuana. The issue is too serious to merge with the rest of the film's humor, but not given enough weight within the film to serve as an effective rallying cry for the audience. Who knows? Perhaps Benson needs to make a sequel to give the issue its full due. As it stands, the film can't seem to decide if it wants to be an all-out comedy or a critique of US drug policy. It tries to do both and only partially succeed.
The bottom line is that "Super High Me" is still a lot of fun, particularly if you see it with the right crowd. Benson knows that finding the right audience is half the battle, and since he admits that many of his fans will be too stoned to go to the theater, he is offering to ship a DVD copy of the film to anybody who will set up a screening in their city. You can get all the details at www.superhighmemovie.com.