Pleasure Intertwined with Pain

I didn't really know what to write about today, but I can't skip a day. I have only begun, and I refuse to break my promise to myself to write every day this early on. So I decided to do a review of a movie that makes me laugh every time I watch it. It has a little bit of everything: action, dance sequences, Jesus... Why, yes, I am referring to the musical version of Reefer Madness.

Now to understand this brillant musical, you need to know a little background information on the original. Reefer Madness was a propaganda film from the mid-30's warning parents about the dangers of the "new drug menace" marajuana. It has since then become a cult classic and therefore spawned the musical version in the late-90's.

The musical was done exclusively for Showtime, but it became a classic in it's own right and was eventually released on DVD. I picked it up at Blockbuster on fateful night since I was a fan of the original. (What can I say? I love those kinds of things. Best one is definitely Marajuana from 1936, however.) I was laughing from the first minute until the end.

Reefer Madness is a fantastic movie due to two main reasons. It is extremely funny and makes all the right jokes about the naivity of the government at that time. However, it is also a good musical with catchy songs that are great even when standing alone. Romeo and Juliet has to be one of the best love songs from a musical... even if Jimmy and Mary don't realize that Romeo and Juliet never get together at the end.

[SPOILERS AHEAD] My favourite part of the movie is that Alan Cumming plays a wide range of characters. In the style of the original, he plays the lecturer who is telling the story of Jimmy and Mary to a small town. Throughout the movie, however, he also appears as a man at the party in the reefer den, Satan and Franklin D. Roosevelt. It's just a small touch that I love.

I recommend this movie to everyone. If you like musicals, comedies or movies that are just plain crazy... this movie has it. Plus, how can you go wrong when one of the songs is called Listen to Jesus Jimmy? I mean, seriously? It's boss.