REEFER MADNESS (1936)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Yes, I know it has become a cult classic and something of a midnight show staple. I also know the title itself is still used in today's jargon when it comes to the war on drugs. For myself, there are two camps of bad movies: good/bad movies and boring bad movies. "Reefer Madness" falls in the latter category because, unlike say Dwain Esper's "Maniac" from 1934, this movie takes itself seriously but there is not a shred of unintentional humor. A big baby of a bore, if you ask me.
The movie begins in a classroom where the high-school principal talks at a PTA meeting about the deadly effects of marihuana. We see high-school students (who are more likely college-age) succumbing to the drug by attending a dull party at some house where everyone goes for a puff of deadly Mary Jane. This means that we are privy to scenes where a person stares into space like a zombie. We also see how a stressed-out individual combats his condition by smoking more and more Mary Jane and asking for the piano to be played faster and faster! Sometimes, the drug leads to sex (this is probable). There is also a shooting, an innocent pedestrian is run over, dozens of badly edited scenes, mumbling instead of clear dialogue, and so on. I can't imagine anyone taking this propaganda seriously because they would have to be awake to endure it. I nodded off several times.
The moral of this wasteful propaganda piece is that weed leads to violence, reckless driving and suicide. I am sure people still believe that today (or have we not heard of pot therapy groups). All I want is a T-shirt that reads: "I survived the 67 torturous minutes of 'Reefer Madness'."
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