Weekly Top 5: Movies Under The Influence

Posted by Brian C. Gibson (brian@filmschoolrejects.com) on August 25, 2006

Time again for a very fun edition of Weekly Top 5. We all have those guilty pleasure movies that bring us back to better, and maybe even somewhat humiliating times. Even though you might not remember the lines from these films verbatim (for whatever reason), it is the thought that counts. It was really hard to limit this list to only five, but it had to be done. In the spirit of this week’s release, Beerfest, I bring you the Top 5 All Time Movies Under The Influence:

5. Half-Baked (1998)
Look no further than the film’s tagline : “Warning: this movie may cause the munchies, cotton mouth, and memory loss!”. Any film that has Dave Chappelle, Tommy Chong, Jerry Garcia and Snoop Dogg in it needs to be on this list.

4. Fear and Lothing in Las Vegas (1998)
Based on the accounts of Hunter S. Thompson’s road trip that involved a convertible and a trunk filled with various drugs and alcohol. Johnny Depp, who plays the film’s protagonist, narrates during the film and delivers the line “we had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five
sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine,
and a whole multi colored collection of uppers, downers, laughers,
screamers… Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer,
a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls.”

3. Reefer Madness (1936)
Originally made to be a cautionary tale of the negative effects of drug use, Reefer Madness became a cult phenomena. Boasting highly exaggerated side effects and sensational claims, the film was originally titled Tell Your Children but was changed to its current title in 1947. The film is pure comedy when it shows teenagers smoking the “killer weed” and then suddenly going insane.

2. Old School (2003)
Frank “The Tank” Ricard will forever be remembered in our hearts with classic lines such as “We’re going streaking!” and “Once it hits your lips, it’s so good”. This film is one of the greatest party drinking movies ever made and because of its influence, old men everywhere will forever be known as Blue to anyone who has had a few drinks.

1. National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)
Two words: John Belushi

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