Grass (1999) User Reviews

Highly entertaining; moderately scholarly.

[agentclaudia · 8/10 · 14 May 2005]

I watched this right after completing a research paper on marijuana policy, and it was certainly a nice break after working entirely out of dry text. Much easier on the eyes than hundreds of pages of tiny type.

There certainly is a lot of stuff this movie left out, including some of the funnier things (such as the marijuana murder trials of 1938, or the 120-second Congressional hearings for the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act), but it definitely gets the point across in a colorful, often rather silly way complete with movie clips, weird songs, goofy video-game graphics, old-ranting-politician footage, and some of the more ludicrous public service announcements. The cultural bent makes it much less dry than most of the strictly historical, legal and political reading I've done, which is saying a bit as the legal history is pretty entertaining.

Just in case you somehow miss the point (or forget about it while watching Cab Calloway tap-dance), Grass makes a heavy point of repeatedly pointing out the escalating amounts of money spent on this unobtrusive little weed, and highlights the blatant lies the public has been subjected to over the past century by reiterating "The Truth" for every decade or so.

The only real downside to the movie is that it skipped over the disclaimer that every marijuana decriminalization piece really needs to have in it somewhere: There is no such thing as an entirely safe drug.

In conclusion, I would recommend this movie quite highly if you're looking to be introduced to the subject in a tolerably entertaining fashion, or if you're sick of reading and want something a little more audially/visually stimulating. For real information on the drug, however, I'd recommend reading "Marihuana: a Signal of Misunderstanding" instead.

USA vs Cannabis, and i don't think the yanks are winning!

[dodgee_69 · 8/10 · 3 June 2005]

Woody Harrelson narrates on a very interesting and highly informative documentary on the history of US law and drug policy regarding the highly controversial substance cannabis. Highly entertaining and witty with a vast collection of clips and videotapes of politicians, musicians and pot parties. Yet again, the US government has egg on its face as the amount of money spent on the war on marijuana rises, along with the amount of people using it. Exposing some of the blatant ignoring of government reports and findings, Grass moves along a good pace and doesn't get too carried away at any point with statements of how great cannabis, mostly just the facts. However, there is a lot more to the plant that has obviously not been included, as the film focuses around the efforts made by the US government only, and not cannabis as a whole.

Definitely an interesting film, with lots to learn from it, but by no means the definitive word on cannabis.

A Stylish Documentary

[Tybalt-3 · 8/10 · 24 October 2001]

A lot of the discussion about -Grass- both here and in the press has focused on what the film is not. It isn't a documentary about marijuana use, nor is it intended to be. Instead, it's a film about the history of the "war" on marijuana in the U.S.

Mann's films are done in a "high" visual style (no joke intended) that is very graphic-intensive. While this isn't to everyone's taste, it does cut through the otherwise heavy use of archival footage. The narration is incisive, but it is kept thankfully to a minimum. The result is a documentary that entertains and instructs.

I was somewhat disappointed that the film did not go on in any detail about the post-1980 period, where some of the most interesting battles have been fought. Other than that, -Grass- is an excellent summary of how the "drug war" in the U.S. came to be fought in the way that it is today.

I suppose my other disappointment is that the film focuses exclusively on the U.S.; I had hoped that a Canadian such as Ron Mann would have examined the equally interesting history of marijuana prohibition in Canada.

-Grass- is well worth a viewing, both for its visual appeal and its committed take on an interesting subject.

Pot 101

[rzajac · 16 December 2002]

Nice that they got Harrelson for the narration (not to mention some of the Firesign guys, etc.).

Perhaps a little *too* boffo at times, but nonetheless a wonderful compendium of pot Americana crafted, accrued, and organized to drive home an important point; what on God's green earth drives this monumental institutional fuss over a weed?

I will look at anything Paul Mavrides (Art Direction) puts his hand to; he's such a monster, gob bless 'im!

For some reason, I'm driven to make a very generic point about this genre of film by highlighting the "inscrutability" of the subject matter. In my mind, "Grass" is in the same category as unexplained phenomena, religion, conspiracies, suppressed inventions, etc. I call it "topic candy", as it pushes the mind to attempt to objectivize the subjective in a fun and frolicsome way. Again: What, after all, *are* the underlying mental/spiritual/social attitudes that fuel marijuana scares, and a kind of concentrated paternalism that makes state socialism look like mom 'n' pop free enterprise by comparison? And attempts by films like "Grass" to attack these kinds of topics is a high-risk game. When you tackle a subject which is, after all, a mental state, you risk appearing irrationally predisposed, but at the same time stand the chance of turning over a rock somewhere in our collective consciousness to find something that is true and illuminating. Which leads to the questions: Does "Grass" take these risks? Yes. Do these risks pay off in "Grass"? My answer: A qualified "maybe". Whether "Grass" succeeds or not isn't as important to me as the fact that it takes those risks. That's really how I feel. And, maybe, that willingness to put things out "on the line" is a kind of success in itself.

If you are a fan of edgy sonics and graphics and have an interest in U.S. anti-drug hysteria, take the time to watch this film. It'll teach you a *few* things you may not have known before. And its highlighting of the mounting national expense for the drug war (fiscal and social) *will* give you serious pause....

A Witty look at the history of U.S drug laws.

[CharltonBoy · 7/10 · 11 January 2002]

This is a funny , tongue in cheek look at the American laws against marajuana and how naive authorities can be when it comes to drugs. The film is basically a look at old political rants and public imformation films on the evils of dope and how misguided they were and still are. There are some very funny clips such as the parents of a boy who is sent to prison for 50 years for possession of 1 ounce of grass who say" i'ts a little harsh"!!! There is nothing like a bit of understatement. Also the speech by Ronald Reagan who said "Marajuana causes insanity and memory loss"..well he should know all about that shouldn't he! I couldnt care less if it was legalised or not, im not in the habit of smoking subtances that make you lose control...i've got beer that can do that! If people want to have a joint , let them.Who are they harming?

7 out of 10.

history of marijuana, deals with the lies from the reagon era

[roospam · 10/10 · 7 October 2004]

this movie is well worth seeing whether you are for or against legalization.

i never heard about this movie, was it even in the theaters? unlike most documentary movies this was is well put together and it was entertaining to watch.

if you read a lot of the books out there that explore hemp legalization you will find that they concur with a lot of the points raised in this movie.

i found that this movie did not do enough to discuss some of hemps medicinal advantages. also this movie did not discuss it's use as an alternative biomass fuel.

it's good to educate yourself and question whether we have been hearing the real truth over the years. check out the emporer wears no clothes. you can probably find a copy at amazon.com. that books discusses in great depth some benefits to legalizing hemp.

Not so much pro-cannabis as anti-government

[ill_behavior · 7/10 · 24 October 2003]

This documentary shows how scaremongering has influenced a generation of Americans, and how effective the power of hatred can be.

I don't smoke myself, so I cannot be accused of wanting the drug to be legalised for selfish reasons. The film gives a good argument based around how much money, and it's a ridiculously, comically large figure, has been wasted on the "War on Drugs". Because when you think about it, there would be no such thing as world hunger if even an eighth (no pun intended) of this money had been used all those years ago to better effect.

But we're skipping the film itself here. It's funny, fresh, fast-paced, has crazy visuals, and is entertaining aswell as education, and well worth your time.

It's a film paranoid parents and school-teachers should see, but they won't, it's up to our generation to make the change and to make more informative films like this.

Entertaining Documentary

[EdYerkeRobins · 8/10 · 16 July 2001]

This is a great documentary, which pieces together old government propaganda videos against marijuana, along with footage of scientific documentation and/or public view to the contrary. While clips from propaganda films ranging over 70 years, including the "classic" Reefer Madness, are funny because the modern audience knows how wrong they are, it's also troubling when the film presents the increased anti-marijuana budgets and bills passed, showing that the leadership of the past really didn't know anything about the drug and believed the government's films and "scientific evidence" (e.g. marijuana causes insanity, marijuana is a stepping stone for heroin) as fact. Featuring almost no commentary, the film comes off as a pro-marijuana documentary only because it shows how uninformed and gullible the government has been, and though it's mostly all official government statistics and films, it's still informing and entertaining, the latter unfortunately for all the wrong reasons.

It might change your mind

[m67165 · 7/10 · 3 October 2005]

This movie has some fantastic archive footage. And it is easy to watch. Well, if you are absolutely against the freedom of other people to consume mind-active drugs, then this movie here will not be that easy to watch. It might even change your mind about the subject. I myself don't care if people are smoking marijuana, as long as they can handle it. And, if they can't, let them get some treatment or go to jail, but only if they act anti-social. Otherwise, it's just society messing up with individual rights, that's what the movie says.

It also says that a law that people will not obey is useless. Like prohibiting alcohol: people that really want it will find it, and give money to the Mob for it, when it could be legal and pay taxes. What's more: the authorities will waste lots of tax money to stop what won't stop. The movie would do better to talk about the various industrial uses of hemp but, as defense of human rights, it is both sharp and humorous.

Entertaining and Informative

[hpcnov · 10/10 · 7 April 2008]

I highly recommend watching this documentary and think everyone in America should see it at least once. It keeps you glued to the screen throughout the entire film and uses interesting footage, music, interviews, and clips to tell the story. The scenes are gracefully intertwined with an almost ironic perspective. Before I saw Grass, I had no idea how marijuana became illegal. The story starts from the beginning, at the turn of the century, when Americans first were introduced to the herb unfortunately by the people that they were trying to drive out. After that it shows the American hysteria and hype, fueled by the government, gradually turning the American perspective of harmless weed into a nightmarish monster drug that some still have the view of. It is those people who need to see this documentary more than anyone!

If you smoke it you will go insane!

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 15 March 2009]

Tracing the "scourge" of marijuana that hit the USA dating back to the early 20th Century "Grass" brings out the sorry record of how the US Government attempted to put an end to the marijuana menace. That noble effort actually backfired with millions of Americans, both young and old, ended up using it.

Narrated by actor and cannabis activist Woody Harrelson the film shows the extent of the many feeble attempts, filled with misinformation, that the US Government tried to convince the public that the harmless weed marijuana was far more dangerous then heroin or, starting in the 1970's, cocaine. These "studies" also went so far to show that marijuana was far worse then even alcohol and tobacco which are both considered, by the US Government, to be a legal substance! All that boggles the mind with both alcohol and tobacco being responsible for hundred's of thousands of Americans dying each year with marijuana, since records have been kept, not responsible for a single fatality to the millions of those who use it!

Firing the first shot of the war against marijuana in 1937 was the first designated, by FDR, US Drug Czar Harry J. Anslinger of the US Treasury Department. Anslinger used every effort to get the public educated on the dangers of the weed which in fact was really a massive propaganda campaign against any evidence that proved to be favorable to it.

Together with the many newspapers and magazines who carried lurid and shocking-as well as false- stories of what marijuana does to the "Youth of America" Hollywood also lent a hand with "educational" films on the subject like "Tell Your Children", or more commonly known as "Reefer Madness", and "Assassin of Youth". Despite the evidence in it's favor in the many studies on the drug that came out over the years the US Government suppressed them in favor of keeping the, that was later to become known, "War on Drugs" going.

In the end the war on pot-or marijuana-turned out to be a major disaster for those who advocated it with tens of millions of Americans, including the last three Presidents of the United States, having experimented or having become regular user of it! Even though the use of marijuana is still illegal in many states of the union most of the laws against it have been de-fanged with it's use being decriminalized. And in states like Oregon and Hawaii its use is not even considered to be a crime at all!

P.S What would put an end to the debate to either legalize or criminalize marijuana is if its use is to be put on a national ballot before the American Voters and have them have the final say on it. In the some two dozen states where it, the use of marijuana, was put on a state referendum it passed in almost, if not all, of them and it was passed overwhelmingly!

A worthy documentary

[ryanmeyer14 · 8/10 · 3 August 2006]

One of the better documentaries I have seen in recent times. Well researched and with many entertaining and enlightening clips of films, press conferences, et al.

Although there is an apparent bias, the film actually doesn't form an argument, per se. The film is really nothing more than a documented history of government sponsored propaganda.

The drawback of such an approach, however, is that one is limited to using facts which are inherently non-controversial. This provides us with an intriguing look into the war on drugs, but not necessarily an all inclusive one.

Entertaining, but it leaves one hungry for more...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 23 March 2009]

For a narcotic which has been proved by scientists to leave its user "happy...intoxicated...and, finally, sleepy", this documentary says that marijuana seems to be the one drug to have gotten an unfair rap since it first appeared on the North America scene in the early 1900s. Initially brought into Texas by Mexican labor workers, and into New Orleans by port sailors in 1914, the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics seized upon pot's early popularity, drumming it into the public consciousness--and into Washington's ear--that puffing on the devilish weed would result in instant insanity. As years passed, the law, led by Narcotics Commissioner Harry J. Anslinger, a self-imposed "Father of the Drug War", made certain pot's reputation went from bad to worse. Each state in the union banned its presence, while Hollywood churned out exploitation scare flicks (and entertainers got busted for using). This colorful, lively film isn't exactly an insightful probe into the history of drugs; it's quick and clever, but too cute to be taken seriously (and ends rather abruptly). Director Ron Mann condescends amusingly towards the politicians who have opposed grass, and his use of archival film and TV footage makes sure that all straight adults look like irrational duds and hypocrites. Still, some of the points scored for marijuana's side are worth considering, even though Mann's film seems just a high-end project. While the results are canny, one is left wanting of more...substance? **1/2 from ****

One Toke Short Of The Line

[gftbiloxi · 5/10 · 29 March 2005]

The United States of America has spent untold billions to search out, arrest, prosecute, and imprison people who use marijuana; all the time, money, and effort that has gone into this has had very little effect; and it does seem odd, particularly given evidence that alcohol and nicotine are much deadlier, that we put so much emphasis on the clearly futile effort to eradicate its use. It is a situation ripe for a documentary that combines hard fact with witty satire, and this is precisely what GRASS attempts to do.

But "attempts" is the operative word here. While the film is accurate re the facts it presents, it tends to ignore facts it doesn't like--chief among them that any drug, all the way from cough syrup to heroin, can be abused, and marijuana is no exception to the rule. Ron Mann's failure to acknowledge this tends to undercut his own argument, and what ultimately emerges is a film that argues FOR the legalization of marijuana TO people who are already in favor of it.

That said, while the film presents plenty of amusing graphics and often hilarious snips of vintage films such as the notorious REEFER MADNESS, the pace is just a shade too laid back to hold the narrative together. When all is said and done, it lacks both the informational and visual spark of a truly first rate documentary. Worth watching once, but only if you don't expect too much from it.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Grass

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 1 May 2022]

Ron Mann also made Comic Book Confidential, which is one of my favorite documentaries, as well as movies about Big Daddy Roth, Robert Altman, free jazz, the twist and Margaret Atwood. Joined by writer Solomon Vesta and narrator Woody Harrelson - no stranger to the kind bud and who did this movie for free - Grass takes a decade by decade approach to the history of US federal policies and social attitudes toward marijuana.

In the two decades since this film, eighteen states, Washington, D. C. and Guam are all legal United States places to recreationally get baked. And thirteen states have decriminalized marijuana. Yet how much money and how many lives were ruined by the "War On Drugs," which really got started when Harry Anslinger started the idea that sativa and marijuana would make you insane. That war continued through Richard Nixon creating the DEA, to Nancy Reagan urging us to just say no and Bill Clinton increasing spending to arrest drug dealers and users.

In 2015, the Drug Policy Alliance, which advocates for an end to the war, estimated that the America spends $51 billion each year on anti-drug endeavors and in the fifty years of the War On Drugs spent $1 trillion dollars.

This is something that has been known since 2011, the Global Commission on Drug Policy released a critical report that said, "The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world. Fifty years after the initiation of the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and years after President Nixon launched the US government's war on drugs, fundamental reforms in national and global drug control policies are urgently needed."

Mann so urgently believed in the message of this movie - which uses archive footage and clips from movies like Reefer Madness - that he released for free.

Must see, striking similarities to recent events

[antbolotinski · 9/10 · 5 March 2023]

A must see doco for anyone concerned about unelected and elected bureaurcrats alike pushing an agenda through lies, deceit and manipulation. Strikingly similar to what has been imposed on the public over the last couple of years, my only criticism is that out doesn't take a quick look at how prominent musicians in the UK were targeted in the late 60's by Officer Pilcher who was notorious for the enthusiasm with which he targeted pop stars as well as his dubious methods he used. Pilcher was then charged and resigned from the police force.

Furthermore, it would have been great to hear about people some of the most successful artists of the 20th century who were using marijuana and still functioning in society.

fascinating early history but boring modern wrap up

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 9 May 2015]

Woody Harrelson narrates this documentary of American official opposition to marijuana. It looks at the start of marijuana imported by Mexican laborers during the beginning of the 20th century. With xenophobia and temperance, governments over the years battle marijuana as part of a federal drug policy led by crusader Harry J. Anslinger.

What this documentary does well is that it lays out the history of the drug fight through the use of old footage and anti-marijuana propaganda. I find the first half fascinating probably because I don't know much of the early history. The last half is rather boring as it goes over things that are mostly well known to a modern audience. The attempted humor is not the best and gets repetitive. Nevertheless, the movie gets its point across and that's the main objective.

The Citizen Kane of stoner films

[hempforvictory1942 · 10/10 · 25 March 2006]

The Citizen Kane of stoner films. And much like Kane, it will open a lot of eyes, yet it barely scratches the surface and hasn't been seen by the vast majority of people some 5+ years after it's release. It tells the story of the 20th century war on weed like no other film ever could. The only thing I hate about this film is the first line... "Although people around the world have been smoking marijuana for thousands of years, the custom only reached the United States at the beginning of the 20th Century..." This is the same lie that drug warriors have been pushing down people's throats for decades and it is sad that such a great film started on such a false note. "Rosebud" was a much better opening line. But beyond that, this film is quite real. It would be a masterpiece if Ron Mann would pull a George Lucas and make a prequel called 'Hemp' and re-edit this original classic even if only to cull that ridiculous opening line. I know Woody Harrelson knows better, so I will move on. I called this the Citizen Kane of stoner films for a reason. But Grass doesn't even mention W.R. Hearst so I will leave that to Ron Mann, Harrelson and my proposed prequel 'Hemp', which still needs to be made. I understand that Grass was only an 80-minute film and those 80 minutes were used very well so lets move on. The most disturbing moment in this film occurs when JFK acknowledges Anslinger's service and shakes his hand. Okay Woody, maybe your dad was right to put a bullet in his brain... I'm kidding of course, but people in the know will get my joke. My favorite moment... well, there were too many. The Vietnam shotgun scene is an eye-popping gem that is impossible to overlook but since the JFK scene was my most disturbing moment, my favorite was when Jimmy Carter said "I support a change in law to end federal criminal penalties for up to one ounce of marijuana, leaving the states free to adopt whatever laws they wish concerning marijuana." If only Carter had half the pollen sack JFK had, this film wouldn't have been necessary... Actually, I think Reagan and the egg is the best scene in this film. Grass is amazing. It presents so much shocking footage… yet many stones left unturned. I understand that Ron Mann had to take some precautions to get it released much like Orson Welles did. But I demand a prequel… and a sequel. This could be the greatest saga in the history of motion pictures! Please keep it going. It is the first part of a story that needs to be told.

Does it's job

[raulfaust · 8/10 · 12 October 2011]

Well, a documentary involving a polemic subject should be seen without any prejudice in mind. Currently I'm convinced that marijuana should be decriminalized in my country (Brazil) for the reasons mentioned in the film and some others involving our Constitution-- but that's a different thing.

"Grass" relates the story of this drug in the United States since it was discovered. I really didn't understand why so many presidents were against it's legalization since people had thousand of arguments to do that, whilst the government was based only on urban legends like "It kills you". This documentary is filled with ironic commentaries and footage from the past, being entertaining and having the ideal length to not become tiring. As a citizen you are (whatever you're from), you should see it before saying anything about the subject. It's really worth a watch.

A Good Overall Capture of Marijuana

[punkersluta · 8/10 · 4 December 2006]

As a documentary, this film is invaluable. It has footage pertaining to marijuana use from 1920's onward. Government-sponsored radio and television ads, footage of medical testing of THC on humans, interviews with scientists, doctors, legislators, senators, lobbyists, and political activists. For the value of the footage alone, I'd rate this as one of the best documentaries on Marijuana -- of course, that's not to say that what you would learn here you couldn't find in the average introduction to any thick Marijuana book. That's just to say that Marijuana documentaries these days are quite limited, mostly due to institutional censorship and an international legal ban on experimentation with Cannabis. At moments, the video sequences of this movie are a bit hokey and overplayed. For a few seconds, there's goofy cartoons as a "hit-meter" counts up the amount of money the government has wasted on the war-on-drugs. They do this every fifteen minutes of the documentary, too. It's the only part of the film I would've left out. As a baseline statistic, it's too insignificant. The amount of suffering caused by America's War on Marijuana is more than just calculable in lost tax dollars. There are patients who have suffered from disease for years, waiting for a medicinal form of THC. There are those rotting in the prisons, our sons and daughters. To keep seeing this statistic of national debt is boring. And regardless -- no respectable documentary should be reduced to using dancing bunny rabbits as its statistics are being generated.

Overall, I'd say 8 out of 10 stars.

Not a very strong documentary

[CHendri887 · 5/10 · 2 May 2001]

I felt this was a very very simplistic documentary without much to offer. The visuals were boring, the "history" was very simpletonish, and it seemed to gloss over large spans of time as if they didn't exist. This was particularly true for the period covering 1980-2000. Kind of like the way high school history textbooks do. Not hard-hitting or deep-digging at all. Not even propagandish, just "cutsy" (i.e. those little cartoon segments talling up the amount of money the US government spent on the "drug war" for the various chronological periods in the film) and lots of "funny noises" ("wham" "bo-ing", etc.). Someone has got to be able to make a better documentary than this about marijuana use in the USA.

A War Documentary

[Hank-68 · 8 November 2000]

'Grass' is a war documentary. From small beginnings, this war has escalated throughout the 20th century, costing billions of dollars, with no resolve in sight.

This sociological piece favors one side, that of legalization, and an end to the war on drugs. 'Grass' raises questions that, whatever your feelings towards the drug, are due for some objective debate. The subject matter is exclusively Grass in America, with only occasional mention of other drugs or countries.

Grass hurtles through a fascinating account of the social and political history of marijuana in the US. Important bills, social movements, and other events are documented in an appropriately mellow manner. The production is mostly stock footage with clever animations dispersed to signal a new law or time period. The soundtrack delivered the required music; 'One toke over the line', some Louis Armstrong and the Peter Tosh classic 'Legalize it'.

While largely focusing on the socio/politics of marijuana there is also an effort to dispel many of the myths of user effects. Humorous interviews and 'informational video's' from all eras show attempts by lobby groups to portray pot as Satan in a plant. It is made clear that there is no evidence that the drug causes insanity, perversion, and homicidal behavior. Just what the drugs effects really are, the documentary admits, is almost entirely unknown.

'Grass' is not a pot adventure; it doesn't advocate use. The focus is a condemnation of American belief that throwing people in jail will change individuals private practices.

If you watch it you will.............

[PIST-OFF · 23 June 2000]

Laugh your arse off. This hilarious documentary is a real eye opener if you don't your history of the war on marajuana. The long and stupid war on the weed is just one of many misteps by the U.S. government that the mainstream media seems to ignore!?! I saw this at the Music Box theater downtown Chicago which only added to the fun. As a documentary though it missed a couple of things. It forgot to mention William Randolph Hearst's deep involvment with the war. He did after all run the huge media conglomorate that supported Anslinger's view. Hearst went on to be portrayed unflatteringly in Citizen Kane. There is barely a mention of Reagan/Bush/Clinton the trio of presidents who have more to fight this unwinnable war then any of their preddosessors. No mention of the fact that Hemp plants were indeed grown by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Andrew Jackson. The last three grew it on the White House lawn!!! As a documentary however it seems a bit one sided and therefore guilty of the very thing anti drug people are. But then again Freedom is a one sided thing, you either have it or you don't. The movie is also a bit biased in that it puts marajuana on a pedistal and ignores the fact that even though harsher drugs like cocaine and heroin are harmful, laws against them are completely and totally unconstitutional. Makes you think though, if the U.S. government is so eager to abuse their power like this, is it really a great idea to repeal the second amendment or limit it in so many way? Now I'm sounding preachy. Go see this movie with some friends, have a jay outside, and laugh at highlights from old movies like Reefer Madness, and Up In Smoke. Laugh at the directors keen sense of ironic humor. And remember that what you know just might kill you.