My first recollection of Dave Chappelle involved him wearing Reebok pump sneakers. This struck me as hilarious in Mel Brook’s parody film, Robin Hood: Men in Tights. He made me laugh then in the early 90’s and continues to do so now, on Chappelle’s Show. In between these two points he made Half Baked, classified as a stoner comedy, but more simply put a fun ninety minute movie with many laughs.
Kenny (Harland Williams) is sent out on a munchies run for his pothead buddies. Upon exiting the supermarket he notices a police horse and being generous begins to feed it a vast assortment of food. The horse is diabetic and it dies. Kenny is arrested and put behind bars as the horse is an officer of the law. His stoner buddies must find a way to raise his bail so he can get out of prison. Comedic antics ensue.
Originally I thought this was only a stoner comedy and this didn’t appeal to me as a non-toker. Also I thought the lead was Jim Breuer from Saturday Night Live and I didn’t know if he could carry a movie. I was mistaken for it’s an amusing film. While the premise does center on marijuana, more importantly it has funny jokes and performances. The lead turned out to be Dave Chappelle. Chappelle has a great natural delivery in comedy with his unique sounding voice providing the instrument for his material. The man is inherently funny plus he comes off as a regular person giving him mass appeal.
The story written by Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan offers an outrageous premise beginning with the incarceration of a person for accidentally killing a diabetic horse.
This distinct event sets the tone for the humor of the film showing us that the comedy will be broad. The second story line involves Thurgood (Dave Chappelle) falling in love with Mary Jane (Rachel True) who is anti-marijuana to her core creating further conflict for our protagonist. He is trying not only to spearhead his friend’s release from prison but battling his love for Mary Jane the person versus his love for reefer. The plot has many jokes which move the film along nicely. This film hints at some of the humor to come later in Chappelle’s Show created by the same writing partnership.
Half Baked succeeded in making me laugh and rid me of some of my preconceptions about films. Sometimes by classifying movies in genres we miss the point. Films are meant to entertain or provide an escape. Comedies are meant to make us laugh. When watching movies lend yourself to the experience because you may be surprised how rewarding that can be.
Bonus Materials
Alternate Ending
- After you watch the film look at this ending that takes the film in a completely different direction. It’s interesting to see what options were out there for the conclusion to the film.
Five Minutes with The ...
