IMDb user comments for
Super High Me (2007)

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12 comments in total

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67 out of 75 people found the following comment useful :-
I think some of these comments are missing the point, maybe., 11 March 2008

Author: ocelotfilm-2 from United States

While I agree that this is not the most political nor the most medically conclusive of documentaries, it seems to me that this misses the whole point of what the filmmakers were trying to do. There is no need for another "Grass" type documentary -- as that one already exists. Super High Me is a comedy first and a documentary second. And that's OK. More than OK, it might even be better, because it has the potential (since it is funny and entertaining as well as informative) to reach a wider audience and make more people aware of the entire medical marijuana issue, the existence of 'dispensaries' in California and the conflict between state and federal laws.

So is there another more activist documentary to be made about medical marijuana? Sure. But it would probably be boring and no one would really go see it. (Kinda like the fate of "Grass" for example.) This one is fun AND informative. And it will probably do very well and get more people talking about the issues, even more than if it were a "real" documentary.

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21 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
You wanna get high?, 20 April 2008

Author: quanto99 from Rio de Janeiro

It's 4/20 and I couldn't have found a more appropriate date to watch this movie. It stars comedian Doug Benson, who I knew from The Marijuana-Logues.

As Benson describes in the beginning of the film, the basic premise is like the one in "Super Size Me", but with pot instead of McDonald's.

He goes through 30 days of "detox" only to spend another 30 days smoking marijuana non-stop. He has 'tests' done, interviews a bunch of other comedians and his stand-up routines all intertwined with the 'experiment'. This makes for a nice, light-hearted, fun movie. There's offensive language, but it's what you'd expect from stand-up comedians.

Stoners will certainly find something to enjoy here. And although this movie is a comedy and Doug claims he just wants to get stoned, there are a few key moments in the film that show people who actually need medical marijuana and the ridiculous state of affairs in which the DEA violates state laws and makes things difficult for folks that are in pain - these moments are intense and sad. One can only hope this will change in the near future.

Had this movie turned into a more political direction, it would be deserving of a much higher mark, in my opinion. As it stands, it's a nice and funny movie about pot and I'm glad I had the chance to watch this today and celebrate.

Peace out, 8/10

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9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Pass the lip balm, man., 6 June 2008

Author: ElijahCSkuggs from Happy Land, who lives in a Gumdrop House on Lolly Pop Lane

Doug Benson, a stand-up comic you may know from VH1, got the idea to make a documentary about himself smoking weed for 30 days. Ya know, just like Morgan Spurlock from Super-size Me where he ate McDonald's for 30 straight days. This has got to be one of the coolest ideas for a documentary in the history of documentaries. It was a pretty interesting flick, but unfortunately from a person who makes people laugh for a living, not very funny.

The flick starts off with Doug not smoking for 30 days and then once that 30 day sequence ends he begins to smoke constantly for the next 30 days. With each sequence he's subject to a bunch of tests, from taking the SATs to a psychic test. Also, he doesn't quit his day job while he's making the film. You get to see him perform his acts when he has them booked, high or not.

Doug Benson, is a pretty good comic. He has his own slightly flamboyant, immature style, that he's got down pretty well. He made me smile a few times and possibly giggle once or twice, but none of it was really that funny. He talks about pot, about how it's cool and he misses it, and that's about it. But if you're a fan of Doug's or stand up comedy, you should definitely find this flick funny. The two funniest scenes for me was when he wasn't on stage telling jokes, but when one of the producers was making a mess of Doug's apartment because of his butter fingers. And a fart gag with some tuba's was nice.

Doug, even before he began this little experiment, was a pot-head. There's no doubt about it. And this is what makes the whole process not so intriguing. If you know a seasoned burn-out, you know they tend to just get stoned. They can easily be high in almost any situation. If Doug wasn't such a pot-head, it would have been much more entertaining. Morgan Spurlock was a very healthy person, so eating McDonald's nonstop would have drastic affects. But since Doug is a pot-head in real-life this little 30 day bender isn't really anything too amazing to watch. He's such a veteran smoker that he doesn't exhibit any humorous side-effects. You don't see him paranoid, see him geek-out in a laughing fit, seeing him cough his brains out etc. etc. Pretty much all the things that's made any Cheech and Chong flick incredibly funny. But I do thank him for being a pot-head, if he wasn't this movie probably would never have been made.

Super High Me, was a cool documentary that gave some neat information concerning California laws, the history on Marijuana Dispensaries in California, and how many types of ways you can actually get high by THC. Lip balm. Believe it.

I firmly believe that if Doug wasn't a seasoned smoker this film would have been much more funny. If you've seen one glassy-eyed pot-head you've seen them all, and unfortunately his smoking didn't help make his stand-up act any funnier either. Then again, maybe I'm to blame. Maybe I need to lighten up and just light one up.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Fun, wholesome film, 8 May 2008

Author: mospeedracer02 from United States

This film is a lighthearted, funny, and wholesome presentation of (1) the conflict between state medical marijuana laws and federal anti-drug laws, and (2) the evidence that marijuana can't do you much harm. If you are steeped in cannabis culture or follow legal developments concerning medical marijuana, none of the information will be new to you. You already know that the war on drugs is out of step with the science about cannabis use, and you know the current state of the law affecting medical dispensaries. Benson is likable and wholesome, and the movie is pleasant and funny. Because the movie is not dense or righteous, it has the capacity to reach interested folks who aren't already in the know and don't want to hear a rant about legalization.

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9 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
Benson goes to Pot (again), 16 March 2008

Author: emshon from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

AUSTIN/SXSW – "High Times Magazine" named Doug Benson as the second-ranked pot comic in the nation a few years ago. Benson must have decided not to settle for anything less than the top spot, because although the magazine hasn't since repeated their ranking, the frequently-stoned funnyman has gone out and made an entire movie about his life-long love affair with marijuana.

"Super High Me" started out as a joke—part of Benson's stand up routine. Riffing off Morgan Spurlock's documentary "Super Size Me," in which that filmmaker documented the effects of eating nothing but McDonalds fast food for thirty days in a row, Benson wondered what would happen to his health if he smoked pot non-stop for thirty days straight. As he joked with the packed SXSW crowd following the film's screening, the experiment wouldn't be too far removed from what he was doing already.

Let the experiment begin.

Just to make sure that everything was as scientifically pure as could be expected in such a dubious experiment, Benson goes clean and sober for a month. He has doctors check his general health and memory while he does the temporary rehab. Then it's thirty days of non-stop tokage (Benson has a prescription, so he's not really breaking any laws here). Bemused doctors monitor Benson's health throughout his "ordeal." He ends up gaining weight and his lung capacity goes down, but his intelligence scores and sperm count go way up. I think that it's safe to say that neither Benson, nor the audience learn anything notable about marijuana use from "Super High Me."

But that's not the point. "Super High Me" works simply because Benson is a very funny dude, stoned or not. The film works as an amusing experiment, made all the more enjoyable by Benson's funny observations, and an occasional bon mot by his semi-famous comedian friends. The pro-marijuana crowd at SXSW was thrilled by the film's wit. Naturally, more conservative audiences won't be quite as amused.

"Super High Me" does eschew humor at the end and somewhat awkwardly looks into the conflict between California and Federal laws regarding marijuana. The issue is too serious to merge with the rest of the film's humor, but not given enough weight within the film to serve as an effective rallying cry for the audience. Who knows? Perhaps Benson needs to make a sequel to give the issue its full due. As it stands, the film can't seem to decide if it wants to be an all-out comedy or a critique of US drug policy. It tries to do both and only partially succeed.

The bottom line is that "Super High Me" is still a lot of fun, particularly if you see it with the right crowd. Benson knows that finding the right audience is half the battle, and since he admits that many of his fans will be too stoned to go to the theater, he is offering to ship a DVD copy of the film to anybody who will set up a screening in their city. You can get all the details at www.superhighmemovie.com.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Great fun with a serious side., 6 June 2008

Author: Ithok1 from United States

Before saying anything about this movie let me say this. I do not smoke pot.

I rented this movie thinking oh great, a funny stand-up doing material and thats what it was. A stand-up, who got all his stand-up friends to do little interviews about smoking pot. I gotta say, was laughing like crazy through most of it. But mixed in, was a lot of serious opinion and anger about government control of pot and clashes between state and federal laws.

If you are looking for something truly scientific and credible, this isn't it. If you are looking for a good time and don't mind some opinions, I highly highly recommend this movie. Doug Benson is funny as are his friends who appear and even the studies are funny.

Watch it, enjoy it, don't take it seriously!

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Roll your own screening..., 8 May 2008

Author: valerie-185 from United States

While currently on the festival circuit, Super High Me will be allowing audiences to sign up for their own free screenings of the film on the official website (www.superhighmemovie.com) in an attempt to initiate a series of grassroots screening events across the country starting on April 20th.

If any of u get the chance to watch it make sure u check the special thanks list in the end credits for a funny easter egg. Super high me definitely sits among some of the best stoner movies, right beside...Half Baked, Dazed and Confused, and Harold and Kumar. If you don't get a chance to see it before the DVD release on June 17th definitely drop by the movie's site to get a free copy. Remember Cucumber, Boat, Wire

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0 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Mostly a one-sided PRO point of view !, 23 June 2008

Author: Mike Legentil from Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Nietsche used to say that «To accept common morality (not humane ethics) is a condemnation of Life!»... Perhaps it all boils down to everything being «political». Or is it all a matter of time (and a lot of unnecessary suffering before our so-called civilized» societies liberate themselves from some still «primitive» or «middleageous» moralistic laws and mores. This being said, I admit that I would have wanted that movie to be much less of a kind of self-promoting views of a marijuana «affectionado» and a take-off on «Super Size Me». And, at the same token, a more «objective» (relatively speaking) rendering on that controversial subject : none of the possibly «negatives» aspects of pot use were pointed out. Doug Benson's whole movie «enterprise» and approach SEEMED rather sincere but very rarely subtle or funny -- not even in his stand-up comic scenes. They were often very crude with a strong tendency towards scatology («Is there an anal obsession hidden somewhere, dear Dr Freud» ?) even if I kind of like their very directness. To me -- on a more «superficial» note -- physically, I globally saw Benson as a slightly cross-eyed guy (with his left eye much more opened than his small left one !). Obviously intelligent, eloquent and quick-witted, alas he looked like an unattractive young man well on his way to a quickly advancing chubby side. Good try and better luck next time, Doug !

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0 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Minimally entertaining, utterly unscientific, 23 June 2008

Author: pyx (matb@cix.co.uk) from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I watched this so-called documentary in the hope that it would shed some light on the true effects of marijuana, even just on one man. However, the whole experiment was so lacking in empirical evidence, meaningful scientific controls, or detail about the exact nature of what Doug Benson was smoking, or in what quantities, as to be worthless.

The fact that Doug Benson only gave up pot for a month before starting the experiment all-but invalidated the results, especially as the man spent most of his life until that point, out of his head.

The ultimate misleading conclusion of this documentary seemed to be that pot only diminishes one's mathematical abilities, but otherwise, the effects are all positive. What seemed to be ironically ignored, especially by Doug Benson, was that he spent the entire movie in a droopy eyed, slightly slurred state of very mild stupor, that may feel great to him, but is very uncomfortable to those around him.

It was interesting that known marijuana problems, such as paranoia were barely touched upon, and even examinations of respiratory risks were restricted to measurement of lung capacity, with no discussion of whether marijuana presents a greater or lesser risk than tobacco to lung cancer.

The sad thing is, this documentary could have been a great opportunity to educate about any benefits or hazards connected to marijuana usage, but instead it was just a pathetic excuse for a self-avowed stoner to go on the ultimate bender.

Self-indulgent rubbish.

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2 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Huge disappointment, 23 April 2008

Author: partizan182 from Hungary

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I was expecting a fun documentary on weed, and the medical use of weed, instead I got a standard, not too smart, slightly funny, very manipulative anti-drug campaign film. Seriously, it's like a south park episode (without the wit and the irony), it even has a US flag full screen at the end with the appropriate music to go with it.

In a nutshell, the movie says that if you smoke pot you'll be an unfunny, awkward, ridiculous waste of space, you degrade yourself as a human being. It uses so obvious manipulation and propaganda techniques, sometimes it was painful to watch (for the wrong reasons).

It doesn't get a 1/10 for 2 reasons: it was interesting to see how the medical marijuana problem is being handled in the US, and there were some really nice scenes involving marijuana shops, cafés, and some nice plants.

Don't see this movie unless you are already an anti-drug fighter at heart. In that case, it's gonna be heaven for you. For everyone else: there are more fun ways to be manipulated (you ever tried Scientology?).

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