Five of the Best Movies to Watch High
Curated Cinema for Cannabis Consumers
Level One - Entry-Level Stoner Suggestions
As a film critic, one of the most practical things I can provide is curated content. If you’re like me (i.e. above the legal age to consume cannabis), you might enjoy getting high and watching a movie. I don’t know your life! I do, however, know a fair deal about getting high and watching movies.
As the first installment in an ongoing series, I’ve selected one film from each of the five most popular streaming services: (HBO) Max, Netflix, Prime, Disney+, and Hulu. Since this is the first round of recommendations, I steered clear of any films that I think would harsh your vibe. I tried to curate a variety of films, some more explicit than others, but I avoided any “freak cinema” … for now, at least.
Best Movie on HBO Max
The Beach Bum (2019)
From (arguably) depraved writer/director Harmony Korine (Spring Breakers) comes The Beach Bum. Matthew McConaughey is “Moondog,” a hedonistic poet of great fame and marginal talent. He floats through life in a haze of drugs, women, and privilege. When Moondog’s carefree existence is derailed, a run-in with the law forces him to clean up his act and complete his novel. His journey is an episodic series of uproarious shenanigans and celebrity cameos. I am convinced that The Beach Bum is designed to be watched under the influence.
Best Movie on Netflix
The Boss Baby (2017)
When I tell you that The Boss Baby is a cult film, I do not mean it in the traditional sense. The Boss Baby is a cult film insofar as I created a literal cult around it. In my freshman year of college, I stumbled across the trailer for The Boss Baby while I was stoned and scrolling through Facebook at 3 am. Stunned by the absurdity of the premise, I reposted it to my profile without comment. The next day I had two options:
Quietly delete the bizarre post.
Double down.
I tripled down, pledging my allegiance to The Boss Baby. I talked about the film incessantly. I evangelized to anyone that would listen, “The Boss Baby is in theaters on March 31st!” For the nonbelievers, I could only say, “Goo goo go with god,” and hope that “upper management” would be kind to such misguided souls. Those smart enough to join my cult quickly learned that “cookies are for closers.”
I recruited a group of approximately ten college-aged adults to see the film on opening night. It was a transcendent viewing experience though I must admit, I was extremely stoned. I’ve revisited this holy text many times since, and I enjoy the eye-popping animation and outlandish premise every single time.
Best Movie on Prime
Guns Akimbo (2019)
Guns Akimbo is a hyper-violent dose of comedic carnage and chaos. In a world where Daniel Radcliffe isn’t Harry Potter, he is Miles, a lowly internet troll whose comments inadvertently provoke the ire of criminal kingpin, Riktor. Riktor uses nails to attach a gun to each of Miles's hands and enters him into “Skizm,” a deadly game of cat and mouse that is broadcast on the internet as entertainment. It’s kill or be killed in this gleefully deranged romp that produced this iconic photo:
Best Movie on Disney+
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
When I saw Avatar: The Way of Water in IMAX, I was left unenthused. My ambivalence towards this titan of blockbuster spectacle was, in part, the inspiration for this publication. My own qualms and quibbles aside, it is impossible to deny that Avatar: The Way of Water is a visually dazzling return to Pandora that will leave your baked brain in awe.
(Avatar: The Way of Water is also streaming on Max)
A Personal Crisis on Pandora
“It’s preposterously egocentric to call anything we enjoy art — as if we could not be entertained by it if it were not; it’s just as preposterous to let prestigious, expensive advertising snow us into thinking we’re getting art for our money when we haven’t even had a good time.”
Best Movie on Hulu
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)
In Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Andy Samberg is Conner4Real, the pop star at the center of this delightfully stupid mockumentary, lampooning films like Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011). Conner4Real’s highly anticipated sophomore album turns out to be a massive flop. His preposterous attempts to stay relevant are interspersed with star-studded interviews that cohere into a ridiculous retrospective/rebirth of the most famous pop star to never exist. The movie also features original smash hits such as “Finest Girl (Bin Laden Song)” and “Equal Rights,” which takes aim at Macklemore’s well-intentioned but widely derided 2012 gay-rights anthem, “Same Love.”
Bonus: Best Movie on Kanopy
Greener Grass (2019)
Review: Greener Grass (2019)
On the other side of sanity lies Greener Grass, the delirious brainchild of the writing/directing/starring duo of Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe. They meticulously render a farcical simulacrum of suburbia where every adult has braces and drives golf carts. These peculiarities, and so many more, go unremarked by the film. Oddities pervade a picturesque w…
10 Fantastic Movies to Stream on Kanopy
Is Your Kanopy Covered? The answer is probably yes. Kanopy is an online database that contains tens of thousands of thoughtfully curated films that is available via public libraries all across the country. Check if your local library offers access to Kanopy
Stay lit with weekly newsletters delivered directly to your inbox every Sunday.
Puff puff pass this post to all your stoner friends.
Happy toking, film freaks. See you next week!