the LEISURE issue
trippy
flix FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
aklEAF.COM
30
Story by TOM BOWERS @PropagateConsultants IN HIGH SCHOOL, my friends and I draped over the furniture and howled at Cheech and Chong getting blasted with Paul “Pee Wee” Reubens in “Nice Dreams.” By the time I got to college, my roommates and I shared a room with Dave Chappelle’s smiling face looking down from a “Half Baked” poster hanging over the couch. These were the stoner films of my youth. But as a budding young writer with novel aspirations of the journalistic variety, nothing left a mark like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.” Now here was a film. Huge, uncomfortably hallucinogenic visuals. Frenetic, hilarious performances. A killer psych rock soundtrack. And at the center of it all, the razor-sharp screenplay filled with the incendiary, the legendary, the unapologetically poetic political commentary of journalist Hunter S. Thompson. “Fear and Loathing” reset the bar for what the drug culture film could be because it wasn’t just a film about getting high. It refocused the conversation on the realm of political discourse, introducing a new generation of heads and aspiring writers to the searing, literary style of Thompson’s brand of Gonzo journalism. I’ll never forget the moment when Flea walks into the bathroom, asking, “What’s the trouble?” before licking acid off of Thompson’s sleeve. Or the way the carpet crawls and slithers in those Vegas hotels. But what really left an impression were the intricate, frenzied internal monologues full of horror and beauty that sliced straight to the marrow of the skeletons in America’s closet. Now, I’ll never be the next Hunter S. Thompson. No one will. But I know 20-year-old me wasn’t alone in dreaming that maybe - just maybe I could be. MAY 1998 | DIRECTED BY TERRY GILLIAM | AVAILABLE ON ITUNES, AMAZON PRIME, GOOGLE PLAY, VUDU, YOUTUBE - $3.99
JUNE 2020
HALF BAKED Story by
NATE WILLIAMS @NATEW415
ONE OF the o’est of g’s and a solid contender for greatest stoner comedy movie of all time, “Half Baked” is an absolute classic and a favorite amongst many that consume the plant. Written by and starring Dave Chappelle, the film tells a story of a group of friends that love to smoke weed and have been lighting up together since they were teens. One night, one of them ventures out for munchies after enjoying some top shelf chronic and winds up in jail after feeding a diabetic police horse A story of a group of all his snacks, killing poor ‘Buttercup’ in friends that love to the process. smoke weed and have The weed-fueled adventure that ensues been lighting up together explores the highs and lows of stonerism, since they were teens. layered with facets of romance and the archetypal coming-of-age story. “Half Baked” is not only a comedic gem of a movie, it has helped shape today’s Cannabis market by inspiring branding for dispensaries, delivery services and consumable products for over 20 years. JANUARY 1998 | DIRECTED BY TAMRA DAVIS | HULU, SLING TV, STARZ - SUBSCRIPTION, ITUNES, AMAZON PRIME, GOOGLE PLAY, VUDU, YOUTUBE - $3.99
CHEECH AND CHONG Story by MIKE RICKER @RICKERDJ
“YOUR LICENSE, I need your license,” the police officer requests at the driver’s side window as smoke flows past. “It’s on the bumper back there,” Cheech points. Is there anything that better represents the genesis of Cannabis normalization? This proverbial slap in the face to authority set into motion a sea change toward public acceptance, while relishing in the notion that Cannabis use, and life, should not be taken too seriously. Released in 1978, this zany romp became the perfect antidote to the uptight Nixon era and post-60s war tension. And for this 12-year-old boy whose father’s daily joint toking was immediately validated, the lasting impression has not been lost 40 years later. SEPT. 1978 | DIRECTED BY TOMMY CHONG & LOU ADLER AVAILABLE ON NETFLIX, YOUTUBE TV, GOOGLE PLAY AMAZON PRIME, VUDU - $2.99
