2000 British film directed by
Nigel Cole. It's an interesting mix between typical British situational comedies - something goes wrong, everyone makes silly plans that lead up to some spiralling calamity which turns out just fine - and
stoner humor. That said, it's funny for
tokers and non-tokers alike - although the
experienced will have to wipe the drool off the lips at the copious amounts of
ganja displayed, especially since it's real - on the DVD, interviews reveal that the pop derpartment was unable to properly model
marijuana, so the filmmakers recieved a
crown dispensation for the crop, which was stored at the local police station between shots.
Set in a small southern British fishing town, the movie's protagonist is Grace Trevethyn (Brenda Blethyn). Of course, there's the obligatory group of wacky townspeople, with the druggie doctor and salmon poaching policeman perhaps the most memorable. Beset with debt after the suicide of her philandering husband, she agrees to babysit her gardener's ailing marijuana plants. When her house is threatened, she convinces him to use her greenhouse and gardening skills to grow a bumber crop for sale. The shots of the gigantic flowering buds, coated with crystals, had the stoner of the group I watched it practically licking their lips. The town's not ignorant, but shows a blind eye because of her problems - and personal habit in some cases. When her partner's girlfriend convinces her to keep him out of it, she travels to London in an attempt to find a buyer. There's some hilarious scenes of Grace randomly asking people on the street, dressed in what she imagines to be proper drug dealer attire. She meets with a French businessman (Tchéky Karyo), and the chemistry between them is a nice look at actual relationships among someone other than young adults. Of course, back home things are getting interesting, and when she returns with several characters in tow there's a wacky climax and improbable conclusion. While the humor's slightly formulaic, it's still amusing, even if you're not stoned.