HIGH School (2010)
3.5
COMEDY
U.S. Release Date: TBA
Running Length: 93 Minutes
MPAA Classification: NR
Cast: Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, Matt Bush, Colin Hanks, Sean Marquette
Director: John Stalberg
Screenplay: Erik Linthorst, John Stalberg, Stephen Susco
Cinematography: Mitchell Amundsen
Music: Harold Faltermeyer
U.S. Distributor: Parallel Media
Review by: Carter Moulton
06/21/10
Adrien Brody plays a cracked-out drug dealer named “Psycho Ed” in John Stalberg’s stoner comedy, HIGH School. Ed, if I may, is a walking tattoo parlor and a threat to barbers everywhere. He’s from a different world, and he’s in a different world: he’s eternally stoned. He’s the Wal-Mart of drug dealers, and two high school students, Henry (Matt Bush) and Travis (Sean Marquette) are about to steal his secret stash.
“At times like this, you need to think like a stoner,” Travis tells Henry.
Travis distracts the heavily stoned Ed, who has blood lapping over his twitchy eyelids; Henry, the film’s main protagonist, plays burglar. Stealing this substance is Henry’s only chance at saving his title as valedictorian of Madison High School.
Henry’s academic prestige hinges on stealing marijuana because of Principal Gordon (Michael Chiklis), the funniest authoritative failure since Principal Rooney in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Gordon will stop at nothing to keep his school clean, and as a kick-starter to this quest, he orchestrates a mandatory drug test for all students.
The day prior to this announcement, Henry smoked weed for the first time. Instead of trying to pass the drug test—there's only a 40% success rate with Travis' gadgets—the two buddies hatch a new plan: get everyone in the school stoned to void the results.
 |
Photo © Parallel Media
|
Stalberg plays with film form to reproduce the effects of marijuana, including slow motion, retro zooms, deepened and heightened voices, and depth-of-focus. It’s effective because these techniques are often matched with humorous moments, such as a scene where a baked teacher has his students repeat the word “beverage” over and over whilst discussing the Boston Tea Party.
HIGH School’s politics reminded me of the 1936 exploitation film Reefer Madness. In that film, we see marijuana lead to rape, murder, and a whole host of other horrible happenings. The film has since been embraced by viewers as a quasi-cult classic for its outlandishness, and Principal Gordon’s “marijuana will be the end of civilization as we know it” is mocked in a similar tone. However, I wouldn’t say the film advertises marijuana use, as Psycho Ed reminds us how we shouldn’t live our lives.
A few other characters are worth noting, although they are unnecessary additions to the narrative. Colin Hanks stars as an assistant principal, and Adhir Kalyan is Sebastian, a soon-to-be salutatorian who looks to dethrone Henry at all costs. The cast is excellent all the way around, with the chemistry between Bush and Marquette a definite highlight.
The revelation, though, is Gordon. His coffee-stained mustache and crooked glasses match his coffee-stained teeth and crooked smile. A simple image of his winced grin had me laughing out loud. His dialogue is villainous, his manor swift. He’s a wonderful character. Stalberg knows Gordon's comedic qualities and has the camera linger on his smiling face from time to time.
Stalberg’s also knows the absurdity of his story and doesn’t ask us to buy it on the grounds of realism. Instead, we get zany characters, loads of physical and verbal humor, and a once-in-a-lifetime situation. I started thinking about how my high school, which is not far from the film’s shooting location—it was shot in Howell, Michigan—would respond to a sabotaged bake sale. A stoner comedy evoking nostalgia? I'm sold. HIGH School, which was met with applause as the credits rolled, is the funniest film of the festival thus far and could rake in the green with a wide release in the United States.