Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie (hopefully, the title will prove to be inaccurate) is an insightful documentary about the comedy duo who rose to fame in the 1970s on the strength of their counterculture comedy on stage, on albums, and in the movies.
Buy Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke Blu-rayAs they drive along a desert road looking for a sign, the comedy team of Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong tell most of their story. Mexican American Marin grew up in Los Angeles while Chinese Canadian Chong grew up in Vancouver. Marin left the states to avoid the Vietnam war draft and fate brought them together when Marin was assigned to write about Chong’s improv comedy group, City Works, which performed at the strip club Chong co-owned. Eventually, the group disbanded, but Cheech and Chong still wanted to work together so they returned to Los Angeles and persevered.
Last Movie is filled with archival material of the pair performing and being interviewed. They are also joined on the road by people from their life, offering their perspectives, such as Chong’s wife Shelby and music producer Lou Adler. It’s surprising they are still on good terms with Adler when it’s revealed how terrible the contract was he got them to sign for their first movie, Up in Smoke, a box-office smash that saw them earn very little.
They don’t gloss over what drove them apart. As Chong took over the directing duties of their movies, Marin didn’t (and still doesn’t) feel like he got enough credit for his contributions to their act and the movies, which were proving to be less and less successful. It’s not mentioned but society’s prevailing attitudes about drugs, such as Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign, likely had an impact.
Marin had an opportunity to turn his song parody “Born in East L.A.” into a music video and then a movie. He asked Chong to be a part of it, but Chong felt the role offered was just a cameo and to add insult to injury was that of a cop. Granted they are both good actors, but the friction over this and the other issues that drove them apart still angers them both greatly.
Getting a bit meta, Marin jumps out of the car, which is being towed by the film crew. The director kicks them both off the rig. By happenstance, they are dumped at the destination they were looking for.
Oddly, Last Movie doesn’t cover their reunion. Clips in the credits show some of what they have been up to since their break-up, such as Chong’s conviction for selling drug paraphernalia and Marin’s art collection finding a home at the Riverside museum known as “The Cheech,” but what led to their reteaming in 2008 and going out on the road again is not mentioned.
Fans of the duo and those curious about them will enjoy Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie. Although incomplete, kudos to them for exploring the reasons for their breakup, an integral part of their story, which at its core is a story of two men who became brothers and defied the odds by believing in themselves. The clips of their comedy remain fresh and funny, partially because few others mined the same material.
