Welcome to the Movie Club! This week’s movie is Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, Andy Fickman’s film adaptation of the 1998 stage play Reefer Madness: The Musical, which is already a humorous, musical adaptation of the original Reefer Madness from 1936.
The events of the movie play out as a story being told by a Lecturer (played by Alan Cumming) to a group of parents as a warning about the dangers of marijuana. It follows the tragic story of two high school sweethearts, Jimmy Harper and Mary Lane (played by Christian Campbell and Kristen Bell), whose lives are forever altered once they touch the devil’s lettuce.
Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical was written by the same writers that wrote the stage play, Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, and Andy Fickman also directed the premiere of the original play as well. The movie first premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, before having its television debut on Showtime on April 16, 2005. 4 days later, on 4/20, it aired again back-to-back with the original Reefer Madness that inspired it.
- While it received no theatrical release in North America, it did receive a small one in Czech Republic and Slovakia, where it earned $8,972.
- The original musical was inspired by the music of Frank Zappa and rock operas like The Who’s Tommy.
- The film was shot on the same sets that were built for the pilot of Showtime’s The L Word.
What did you think? Share your thoughts below!
Up Next: We’ve got another musical! Our next film is Gene Kelly’s musical rom-com, Hello, Dolly! We’ll meet to discuss it on May 16! Check out the trailer and where it’s playing below:
USA
- Steam: Disney+
- Rent or Buy: Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Amazon, Cineplex Store, Fandango At Home
Canada
- Steam: Disney+
- Rent or Buy: Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Amazon, Cineplex Store
UK
- Stream: Nada!
- Rent or Buy: Amazon, Apple TV, Rakuten TV, Google Play, YouTube, Sky Store