Kid Cannabis (2014) Reviews

• Actually takes the subject matter seriously and depicts it in a, somewhat, realistic way.

  Hellmant2014-07-18

  'KID CANNABIS': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five) Crime drama/comedy flick about a high school dropout who becomes a multimillion-dollar drug lord when he and his friend start trafficking marijuana, from Canada into Idaho. It's based on the true story of Nate Norman, played in the film by Jonathan Daniel Brown (of 'PROJECT X' fame). It costars Kenny Wormald, Aaron Yoo, Amanda Tapping, Ron Perlman and John C. McGinley. The movie was written and directed by John Stockwell and it's based on articles by Mark Binelli and Kevin Taylor. I was surprised to find out the film is not a joke; it actually takes the subject matter seriously and depicts it in a, somewhat, realistic way. It's also funny at times. Nate Norman (Brown) was an overweight 18-year-old high school dropout, who lived in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho with his mother (Tapping) and kid brother (Mark Hills). He delivered pizzas, not only to support him but his family as well, and loved getting high with his 27-year-old friend Topher (Wormald). One day, while delivering pizzas, he comes up with the idea of smuggling drugs from Canada; by running them through the woods across the border. He asks Topher to partner with him, on his plan, and when the two start making a lot of money, he enlists the help of their other friends as well. Things go really well for the guys until greed and rival drug dealers become a huge problem. The movie is marketed as a teen sex comedy flick (with a lot of drug use as well). It definitely has a lot of sex, nudity and drug use but it's not a slapstick comedy in any way. There's humor frequently but for the most part it's a pretty serious attempt to depict what life was like for these two, very young, drug dealers. It's raunchy but also brutally violent and suspenseful at times. I found it involving and informative and I like how they didn't make Nate or Topher out to be heroes. Sure they're likable guys, who meant well and didn't really do anything wrong, but they were also greedy and selfish too. The performances are all good and Stockwell does a decent job writing and directing (he's directed other cool B movies like 'BLUE CRUSH' and 'IN THE BLOOD'). I enjoyed this movie and think it's definitely worth a watch. Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: youtu.be/3AK4roDokJo

• Amusing, Sexy, and Educational

  in19842014-05-09

  8.25 of 10. This is a reality based version of How to Make Money Selling Drugs (2012). It also takes a different approach in the lessons embedded in the story by providing many examples of exactly what not to do. Neither are documentaries, but at the same time contain a great deal of surprising truths. Besides learning by counter-example and having lots of amusing, stranger than fiction scenes, the film throws in the one thing that is exactly what you'd expect with young people with lots of money stuck in Idaho: lots of partying, pursuit of the beautiful, and sex. The filming and perspectives also capture, at least with the women, parts and views that rarely get done well in film or TV. There's an actual appreciation and understanding of women's bodies by the director and camera crew. Despite the fun, sex, and young cast, the film as a whole is a well-acted tragedy with a deep impact.

• Top notch cast builds a first rate tale, and this strong production takes a deep inhale.

  face-819-9337262014-04-19

  A well told story that is produced incredibly well for a small budget movie (though you can tell where some of the financing must have come from) delivered by a solid cast who are really not messing around. I am glad to see a movie this good telling a story that most people have a connection to some where. I walked into this movie completely blinded to anything beyond the title, and am thankful of it, but if you want to hear some reason that would make you pick this movie over something else then I would tell you that I really found myself lost in this movie as it was being told, and I know those are mixed metaphors. This mostly young or youthful cast give an almost Goodfellas level performance with the excellent narration work by Jonathan Daniel Brown pulling the story along really fluidly and very naturally. There is no old establishment type stereotypical bunch of munchie seeking dude nonsense. What you are given is a very adult story from a great bunch of professionals of all ages, and from a completely open to new things standpoint. I Enjoyed the fullness of the entire movie, and the delivery from the actors, and so I recommend this to people that are open to the new things that are happening, and some history some people who found their own loop holes.

• Baked like a cake

  azan-saigol72014-07-09

  Here is your average stoner movie Mixed in with a little bit of what not to do if you sell drugs, the movie has some if not all scenes where drug use is exhibited. The start as usual is slow, however once the user gets into the movie it's like a really good book that you can't keep away from. Based on away true story the movie has its high and low moments along with a lot of comedy and nudity involved. Worth the hour and forty minutes of anyone's time. Mixing a bit of the wolf of wall Street and project X this movie makes the perfect stoner party ready for all. New actors play suitable roles, hopefully going onto better brighter things, Just like pain in gain this movie takes a serious real life situation and brings comedy and makes a good Hollywood blockbuster out of it

• Seems to have had an unfair rap to me

  cornz_1-12014-05-07

  OK, there are some critical reviews on here where some folks seem to have been a tad too critical. It wont win any awards, it wont light everybody's fires BUT it is at least entertaining, much more so than a lot of other films that pretend to be something they aren't. It has its moments and it has its failings but don't look at it as some sort of realistic portrayal of drug dealing. Sit down with popcorn, a few good mates whom enjoy a smoke and watch it. I was pleasantly surprised and that takes quite a lot in my increasingly cynical life...It does, however, accurately portray how carefully picking your friends (or not carefully picking them) can have sometimes deadly ramifications. Why does a review have to contain 10 ruddy lines in IMDb. Sometimes just saying "Its bloody brilliant" is enough to convey the message that something is good, just as "its utter crap" conveys the exact opposite message.