A quick cheap high: Drugs at the movies

You’re damn right we’re using drugs, man
You can thank these films for the contemporary genre of “Whoo-hooo! We’re high!” comedies. They have no moral, they just want to score without consequences. These movies live in a happy singing-flowers and magical mushrooms meadow where addiction doesn’t exist. They’re a rebuke to movies that spin themselves into a hysterical cry of anguish, to those that can’t just maintain.

And why not enjoy Cheech & Chong classics like “Up In Smoke” or “Dazed and Confused” where the goal is just recreational fun? They imagine a world where Amsterdam is everywhere. And they’re not hurting anybody except themselves.

See also: “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle,” “Groove,” “Friday,” “Half-Baked,” “How High”

In a category all their own
Finally, there’s “Valley of the Dolls” and “Scarface.” The former stars Patty Duke, Sharon Tate and Barbara Parkins in the sleazy Hollywood Grande Dame of pill popping soap operas and the latter, starring Al Pacino at his most quotable, is the wildest, most out-of-control, blood-soaked, f-bomb-throwing dealer epic ever made. That movie practically invented hip-hop.

They don’t share billing with any other movie in any clever little category name. They’re beyond categorization. They each belong in their own category, one called “Valley of the Dolls” and one called “Scarface.” Other drug movies bow down to these two, the King and Queen of Druggachusetts. Start with them and then hit the rest. But take it easy because they’re strong. Knock you on your butt.

Dave White is the author of “Exile in Guyville” and the film critic for Movies.com. Find more of him at www.imdavewhite.com.

MORE FROM MOVIES

Movies Section Front

Clooney, Streep, Bullock earn SAG Award nods Cameron aims for ‘Titanic’ results with ‘Avatar’ Effects wow, but story in ‘Avatar’ is unsatisfying This was not the decision Lucas was looking for Streep, Bullock enjoy new lease on career life ‘Avatar’ joins tradition of Hollywood colossi Golden Globe nods don’t ensure Oscar love Globe picks help sort out Oscar prospects 70 years on, ‘Gone With the Wind’ still holds up Quiz: Take our ‘Gone With the Wind’ trivia quiz Movies Section Front   Add Movies headlines to your news reader: