How High

This affable stoner comedy stars rappers Method Man and Redman as ne'er-do-wells Silas and Jamal, who try some magic weed that dramatically enhances brain power. (Is this a "high" concept, or what?) In the tradition of Cheech and Chong's pothead humor and 1998's sporadically funny Half Baked, the limited comic appeal of this film stems from the means by which our couple of twitchy users manage to get themselves in a major pickle: Silas and Jamal use their newfound intelligence to enter Harvard University--only to run out of their special shag and extra smarts in short order. With a supporting cast that includes the great Fred Willard (Best in Show), the film gets funnier as it becomes more anarchic, though not enough to transcend the inherent shortcomings of the marijuana-genre school of comedy. Not a necessary purchase. [DVD extras include commentary from Method Man and Redman, two edited music videos (hilariously so, due to How High's extremely colorful dialogue), goofy outtakes, thankfully deleted scenes, and a "Hide the Stash" DVD-ROM game.] (T. Keogh)