Reefer Madness! (the Musical)

I happened to catch a 15-minute long documentary/trailer on the making of Reefer Madness before this made-for-TV movie was set to air on Showtime. Based on an off-Broadway play (that opened and closed soon after Sept. 11, 2001, when no one was going to the theater), this movie is a rousing parody/homage to the 1938 anti-pot propaganda film of the same name. And it’s a musical comedy.

Starring Christian Campbell (best known as brother of Neve, who is also in the film) as the geeky Jimmy Harper and Veronica Mars’ Kristen Bell as his syrupy sweet girlfrend Mary Lane, the small cast also features Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler in the X-Men movies), former Saturday Night Live siren Ana Gasteyer, Steven Weber and Robert Torti as Jesus.

Yes, Jesus. He sings a hilarious song trying to convince Jimmy to lay off the happy grass (and delivers the funniest line in the movie: “Listen to Jesus Jimmy/trust the guy with the stigmata…”), to which he has gotten hopelessly addicted after Weber’s character lures him to the pot house with promises of teaching him how to dance (so Mary won’t leave him).

The movie is framed by scenes with Cumming as the “lecturer” showing the film to a group of concerned parents in a small town in 1938. The parents watch and react to the film, while anyone who questions his information is labeled a communist.

Obviously this is a lesson for our times as much as it is a funny send up of a goofy film. Ana Gasteyer will surprise you with her ability to belt out “I Ought to Leave Him,” an ode to domestic violence and “the stuff” fitting for any Broadway show. This movie will have you laughing, and it will probably offend you and horrify you a little at the same time. Good fun for all.