November 21, 2024

“Abracadabra!” Half Baked turns 25 years old

You might not think so, but “Half Baked” is a comedy classic, and the medical marijuana stoner story had audiences rolling back in 1998 and still does to this very day.

It proved that Dave Chappelle was box office and brought us one step closer to “The Chappelle Show”.

There were several legendary scenes such as when Guillermo Diaz’s Scarface quits his burger job with a “*bleep* you” to everyone except for the older woman who was cool (later parodied in the Britney Spears “I wanna go” video).

We got our first mainstream adult comedy look at the late, great, Bob Saget who was still mostly know for “Full House”. There were also cameos from Snoop Dogg, Tommy Chong, and Willie Nelson.

Rachel True, who was as cute as could be, was Chappelles’s love interest, with Clarence Williams III as the Samson Simpson bad guy.

There was the “Dead Presidents” heist scene, the FBI surveillance scene that brought back “Abracabra”. The “Guy on the Couch”, “Killer” the dog, and just so much more.

All of this was to get a friend out of jail. The crew in this movie weren’t drug dealers. They were fundraisers. They told us so.

This is an anniversary, so we have to talk about the film’s staying power. It ranks right up there with “Friday”, “Dazed and Confused”, and “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”.

Its the unlikeliest of classics. But it made people happy and I guess that’s what all of this is all about.

Half Baked (at 25 years)

GRADE: B+

Rate: R

Running time: 82 minutes

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