We are back with another rendition of Hippie Hotties and this time we are going to look at the popular countercultural comedy duo: Cheech and Chong. They revolutionized buddy comedies and brought us the stoner comedy genre, so let's take a look at the films that put them on the map.
Cheech Chong consists of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. The two of them started doing standup together and recording albums in the 70s where they rose to popularity. They met before that in Canada where Chong, a Canadian citizen, met Cheech in Vancouver. Cheech went up to Canada to avoid the Vietnam War draft, so the two started smoking pot and making jokes.
Up in Smoke is their 1978 comedy that may have been negatively critiqued, but it was a huge hit in the theaters. It's THE cult classic. The plot follows Anthony "Man" Stoner - with a name like stoner, you know what he likes to do for fun - who is an unemployed drummer. His parents tell him he needs to get a job or they will send him to military school, so hits the road and hitchhikes.
That is where he gets picked up by Pedro de Pacas who is a huge stoner. The two of them share a joint and start a wild adventure that lands them in Mexico. They have to get back to the US, but that's where some of their hilarious drama stars.
Paramount produced this film and had every intention of marketing it towards fans of the comedy duo. One way they did that was to fill screenings with their fans and to promote the movie through comic strips. That might be why the movie made so much money in theaters - $104 million - despite being panned by critics. It even had a midnight screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 1979.
They followed that film up with a bunch more comedies such as Nice Dreams, Things Are Tough All Over, Still Smokin' and Cheech Chong's The Corsican Brothers. Still Smokin, released in 1983, features nudity queen Linnea Quigley so you know that this film is the most skintastic.
Nice Dreams starred Evelyn Guerrero who gave audiences everywhere wet dreams when her cleavage-baring dress slipped and showed off her busty nips.
Cheech Chong continued to work together on and off for decades, but both of them also made several appearances in other projects. Tommy Chong even played a part on That 70's Show, playing a chronically stoned record store owner. The pair have also been guests on Doug Benson's podcast Getting Doug with High. They've made online videos, appeared at comedy festivals, and still go on late night TV shows - together and apart. They still keep busy!
When it comes to Hippie Hotties, their films obviously come after that era, but that's probably why they make comedies. They are clear products of the hippie era when it comes to drugs, but their distance from the era is what makes them able to skewer it so well. Plus, this is where we get stoner comedies. Pineapple Express and Harold and Kumar owe a lot to Cheech and Chong.
So get yourself nice and high off of the hot babes in this scene from Still Smokin':
