i watched Super High Me earlier, and found myself fast-forwarding through the comedian’s stand-up routine
somewhat surprised to see sarah silverman and rob riggle pop up in the film, and it was very fascinating to see the stuff outside the film’s alleged scope - it’s a very blurry, out of focus documentary with occasional points of interest. a solid C average, although it deserved to be better with the concept more properly sponsored. It’s obviously a shoestring production, and perhaps the answer would have been to put the documentary together about the political ramifications of the events with the DEA raiding the Cannabis Clubs, rather than attempt to follow a formula.
For the first half of the movie, during which the comedian smokes no pot, drinks no alcohol, and then is tested physically by the docs and psychiatrists and what-not, I thought the film’s editor had been picking out lame jokes falling flat on the audience specifically for effect, i.e.: lab rat is unfunny without weed. I was willing to give the documentary that doubt, because otherwise this film is little more than an unfunny schtick overshadowed by the importance of social upheaval the camera crew happens to connect with, seemingly unexpectedly.
There’s a lot of interesting moments, and I found myself alternating between bored and frustrated, to captivated by the changing dynamic connected with California’s Proposition 215. Mark Emery’s rant was brilliant, and I am confounded that he was not given a longer segment.
Some clear results would have been useful: if you’re going to use Super Size Me as a model, go all out. Get in the hard facts. Bring in graphics with footnotes, relevant facts. Don’t use a comedy routine, an unfunny one at that, edited out of context in the timeline in something supposed to be built on an inquiry, it’s not funny and it destroys the argument’s validity as a documentary.
There’s all sorts of problems with this film, but it’s fucking interesting now and then, so I’m giving it a solid C. I’ll review it for real on alterati this week.
