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Normally I am not keen on the 'stoner comedies', as I have seen a good share and most of them have been pretty boring, lacking comedy and basically not really been worth watching. But the cast list credited to this movie made me sit down and give it a chance.

And "High School" really surprised me as it turned out to be the best of all the 'stoner comedies' I have ever suffered through.

The story is about Henry (played by Matt Bush) who is a student with great grades and about to makes it to MIT, but in a moment of weakness he tried smoking weed with his childhood friend Travis (played by Sean Marquette). Unfortunately the high school they are attending implements mandatory drug testing for the following day, in lieu of a former spell bee champion from the school making headline news from being high on drugs during the competition. Coming up with a clever plan, the two friends decide to drug the entire school, to make everyone fail the drug tests, and end up stealing drugs from Psycho Ed (played by Adrien Brody). The following day becomes a chaotic race against time, as principal Leslie Gordon (played by Michael Chiklis) is piecing together what is really going on.

I will say that the story was cleverly thought through, and it had some nice moments. Sadly, though, this is not the type of comedy that will have you laughing hard throughout the entire movie. I laughed only a couple of times. But it is the type of comedy that is fun to watch and entertaining.

As for the cast list, the reason why I decided to watch this movie, well I must applaud Adrien Brody for his performance in this movie. He played the role of Psycho Ed so well, and it was a sheer joy to watch him in this movie. But also hats off for Michael Chiklis for his portrayal of the oddly behaving principal. It was very surreal to see these two in a movie like this and have roles like this. But they did a tremendous job, and they really carried the movie.

If you enjoy the 'stoner comedy' genre, then you definitely have to treat yourself to this movie, because it is really great.

And with that, I will leave you with a great quote from principal Leslie Gordon: "If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this footage should be worth a thousand pictures. Which would equal a million... words."

"Drugs, fornicating, a grown man singing about his feelings, it's time we win this war, expunge this school of all dope fiends." Henry Burke (Bush) has everything going for him. He has a scholarship to MIT and is in line to be his classes valedictorian. After an accident leads to detention he is brought back together with his old friend Travis (Marquette). They decide to take a break that night and unwind with a joint. After the school's representative in the national spelling bee loses it on TV the principal (Chiklis) institutes a mandatory drug test for everyone in the school. Fearing he will lose everything Henry and Travis come up with a plan. I am not really a fan of "stoner' comedy (I did like the Harold & Kumar movies) but the plot to this and the cast made it seem interesting to me. I was not disappointed. Adrien Brody is very funny as the man they steal from and Colin Hanks is good as a clueless asst. principle but Michael Chiklis steals the movie. Playing a clueless borderline pervert in charge of the school he is perhaps the funniest clueless principal since Ed Rooney. This is a very different style of stoner comedy and it is more like "Girl Next Door" then "Pineapple Express". This is nothing amazing but I enjoyed it and laughed quite a bit. Overall, a funny movie you can just put in and not think about, those are fun sometimes. I give it a B.

High School is what you will expect it to be. At times it feels clever and fun, whilst at other times you can tell it is following a template left by its predecessors. However, if you go into this film knowing that you will be bound to have a good enough time. Whilst nothing in this film is really noteworthy, you can appreciate High School for what it is and it never tries to be anything else.

A decent film, with funny times. If you have ever been in predicaments, you will surely relate. Even though it is not a groundbreaking film, for the majority of it I felt as if I was watching a pretty good comedy of which nothing else could get my attention.

Most of the stoner comedy films that come along play pretty stupid and are an acquired taste. The latest High School looks to take the same template but add something a bit unique to it with more story. Is it possible to really be able to make a stoner film that stands out as more than just that or is it just a guise to attract a bigger audience.

High School follows a valedictorian who decides to take his first hit of pot only to find out that they are having random drug testing the same day. To try and nullify the test he teams up with the school's biggest stoner to attempt to get the entire school high. For the most part this is your typical stoner comedy, but thanks to the great cast and new twist with the story it manages to become something more and quite entertaining. Of course the story is highly unbelievable, but if you can set that aside and just have fun with it you are sure to have a great time. The entire cast does a great job, but two standouts come in the form of school faculty with Colin Hanks and Michael Chiklis. Hanks seems to just letting it all out to having a lot of fun not taking himself seriously and delivering some memorable moments. If Hanks is letting it all out, then Chiklis has split open and pours it out on the floor. His delivers a performance out of character that is both hilarious and a bit creepy. The obsessed principal he brings to life would easily become one of the more memorable film characters if this film got a wider release. Every aspect of his performance works and is bothersome on so many levels. The other stand out is Adrian Brody who is always good and seems to enjoy the stranger roles, but here just seems to lose his mind inside the character and become one with this psychotic drug dealer.

This movie is a lot of fun and reminiscent of the comedies of the 80's. Filled with a great cast, over the top story, and an original take on the stoner comedy High School will have you eager to light it up and smoke until the last puff.

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I have to admit, that I was more than pleasantly surprised while I was watching this movie. First of all this is meant to be funny and it is (unlike a horror movie A. Brody did with Mr. Argento, that was just funny, because it was bad). Apart from that, there are some very fine (weird) moments in this. One involves a frog and a word. That's all I'm going to say. It's really silly, but it made me laugh. A couple of times and I wasn't under the influence or anything. I just think it is genuinely funny.

As is the cast overall. While Brody has not a major part in this, there are a few other known actors in this movie. Which might explain why IMDb has a budget estimate that is beyond 10 million Dollar. It didn't perform well in cinemas, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try. You might enjoy it ... and I'm still talking about the movie of course

The first 35 minutes of High School is some of the most comedy I have seen this year. Yea its in the vein of the Apatow/Seth Roganequse vein of witty banter and ridiculous situations. Unfortunately this films script is so sub plot ridden and contrived it losses me at a lot of places and as the movie goes on the novelty stops working.

Slacker/Stoner/High School Outcast films can work on many levels as character pieces, comedies, faux-action, satires, dramas, romances etc etc, there is very little that hasn't been tried and there is very little that hasn't had a good variation of said sub-genre. High School tries to do it all and its got that copy paste feel only a lazy screenplay can have.

Once again, there are some weird good things about this film, the people being high isn't always super over blown. Matt Bush owns his role pretty well. While Brody and Chikilas are over the top and having fun with what they have to do but it doesn't go anywhere there isn't anything new but at the same time its too all over the place to be a homage to stoner films of yesteryear.

If you like stoner comedies its worth a rental and there is stuff to laugh at but there isn't much of comfort zone in between laughs and boredom.

5/10

Stoner comedies are one of my favourite sub-genres, especially when they are done right, perfect examples being How High, Harold & Kumar, Half Baked... High School cannot be added to this hall of fame, but it sure is a movie that will satisfy your need for laughter and maybe something else. Considering that this is a directorial debut for John Stalberg, it turned out pretty awesome, and without major mistakes. Thing that annoyed me was the typical cast, that was thrown onto us without an ounce of shame. Two guys, one funny and fatty screw up and one sciency-nerdy type become partners in crime, I mean come on. This plot I have seen at least a dozen times, and although it worked here, it is something to be avoided, luckily the rest of the script is pretty good, and it has that original weed vibe (especially if you watch while being high).

High School would be another lame budget weed comedy if not for three actors in supporting roles that colored this movie and gave us, the viewers, something to go back to after a while. Lets start with Adrien Brody AKA Psycho Ed, a guy who started as a shy piano player now is a vicious and psychotic tattooed drug dealer. Michael Chiklis, a bold thug from The Shield, AKA Dr. Leslie Gordon, a by-the-books principal who wants to eliminate drugs from his school. Colin Hanks AKA Brandon Ellis well, there's nothing special about this killer from Dexter, apart that he was that high school kid in Orange County [2002], a movie with a similar subject. We can also see Curtis Armstrong, and if you can't still remember who he is, I have only one word for you: Booger.

As I said earlier meet Henry and Travis, two unlikely friends brought together by the icky sticky - weed. Henry is a really smart kid with perfect grades, and he can't wait to get into Harvard, while Travis has one goal in his life: to get stoned. While Travis is stoned almost all the time, Henry hasn't even tried weed, so after detention he decides it is finally time. As the school principal Dr. Leslie Gordon decides to test all the students for drugs, Travis and Henry must find a way to stop him, and how will they accomplish that is up to you to find out, enjoy...

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Nothing against marijuana, quite the contrary, the idea seemed great, but it was too blurry, and it was not the curl, boring movie, boring characters, except the old lady with great shots and the adjunct kitten, little is saved from the movie ... Chatinho...

I know quite a few people I could recommend John Stalberg, Jr.'s High School to. Someone seeking a funny comedy while sober is someone I'd refer more in the direction of Judd Apatow, Kevin Smith, or even John Waters, if they craved something transgressive and daring. You know those ominous adolescents who used to hang behind your school, doing God knows what? Get in contact with them. I got a film they might want to see.

This is a stoner film that only works if you're under the influence of some pretty strong marijuana. Viewing it without smoke of some sort floating in the air serves no purpose unless you want frustration to brew for an hour and a half. Considering that stoner films like Bio-Dome and the Harold and Kumar franchise work well on their own terms, without chemical reinforcement, to see High School completely rely on its audience's level of impairment seems like a shallow cop-out.

We get generic protagonists who attend the most generic high school run by the most generic principal in a generic uninteresting and contrived story about Henry and Travis (Matt Bush and Sean Marquette), two upperclassmen that plan to get the entire high school for no real reason other than the fact that the school has recently implemented strict drug testing and they figure by getting the entire school so dazed and confused it will lead to them to second-guess their decision. That makes about as much sense as randomly shooting guns in the air to show that Americans really need them, but that's logic when you're under the influence, I suppose.

They wind up putting keef, a chemical stronger than marijuana with advanced side effects, in the school's bake sale brownies, and sure enough, the school becomes stoned and the remainder of the film follows around these two idiots (one of them is a valedictorian, but I'll question where the brains are in his head) as they go to classroom after classroom, giggling childishly at the stoned school.

Where did they get that keef, you may be asking? From the local loser drug-dealer nicknamed "Psycho Ed" (Adrien Brody), who is equipped with a raspy voice, braided hair, full body tattoos, and lazy eyes. They steal it from his shack, and he quickly pursues them for the remainder of the film. Brody gives a dedicated performance here. Even as an Oscar winner, he doesn't appear to be taking the "collect the check" route unlike our good friend Nicolas Cage. On the other hand, Michael Chiklis portrays the deranged school principal, boasting a wig, a red beard, and glasses. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

High School originally ran at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival as a midnight movie and took two years to get DVD distribution, even with Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, and Colin Hanks headlining. Perhaps this means there's a middling interest for these kinds of films. Or ones that are simply done poorly. At least Brody appears to be having fun. That's more that can be said for the sober members of the audience.

NOTE: Let's hope it didn't take you this long to discover the ambiguity of the film's title, either.

Starring: Matt Bush, Sean Marquette, Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, and Colin Hanks. Directed by: John Stalberg, Jr.

Have a bong is the main message of this extremely unstructured, but at the same time hilarious movie about how to protest against drug testing in high schools.

Well known faces of todays entertainment world makes this meshwork of teenage comedy work even today, loads of stuff i guess is very spontainously acted, however the script and fixed ideas about high school comedie genre have had some new takes to it, i just wonder why this title hasnt been recopied into todays world, with a better script and story that this.

But the grumpy old man gives a recommend.

A painfully bad movie in which an MIT qualifying student and a college failure team up to create a winning team.

It's been done before in so many other movies and there's nothing new here worth talking about

The acting is less than average and the dialogue is atrocious.

All in all, another one to avoid at all costs.

It never ceases to amaze me that movies as bad as this get funded and use up resources that could be better used in movies that would be worth watching.

I need to add one more line of text to have this review count... This movie is garbage.

Smoking makes most everything funny, and many will have a go-to selection of movies that pair especially well with pot. It's surprising, then, that movies about weed don't automatically fit into that category. If you've ever been sober in a room full of smokers you know that watching other people get stoned just ain't that funny, and it's even more difficult for a movie to impart a contact high.

Fortunately, High School straddles the divide between "stoner movie" and "movie to watch while stoned", because it's very, very funny. The plot is a lean, generic high school story - Henry (Matt Bush) is the straight-A valedictorian, tempted astray just before graduation by stoner and one-time friend Travis (Sean Marquette) after a chance accident lands them in detention. Henry tries pot for the first time, just as Principal Gordon (Michael Chiklis) is about to call for a school-wide drug test after a spelling bee incident embarrasses his school's good name. Henry and Travis plan to foil the drug test by getting the whole school high on drug savant Psycho Ed's (Adrian Brody) ultra-potent supply.

The setup is goofy but handled lightly and with a relatively straight face, which already distinguishes the movie from pure stoner material like How High or Cheech and Chong. The laughs come early and often, not relying too much on stoner tropes (although they're around if you want 'em) or character mugging, but on good, old-fashioned gags. The pace is a little uneven, perhaps because the script runs very tight around the speedy storyline, but the comedy is not.

Brody is given plenty of space to go wild; by the end his influence on the film is much bigger than his screen time. The same could be said on a lesser scale for Colin Hanks as vice-principal Brandon and Yeardley Smith as a teacher, who do typically fine jobs. Bush and Marquette, the two young leads, hold up their end of the bargain very well.

This is a movie that deserves to find wide distribution. If Pineapple Express, a perfectly entertaining movie in its own way, can find a decent audience, then for this to be left on the shelf is criminal. If you get the chance and you're even remotely curious, see it. Once again: it's very, very funny.

This is a funny movie. If you have watched the other "get high" movies like How High or Half-Baked, this one will give you a good funny alternate perception on Marijuana in high school.

This is a dull, predictable and dumb stoner movie that isn't funny or entertaining to watch. If you seen these types of genre before you can tell how everything is going to play out. The movie is called "High School" and most of the movie takes place in high school. But almost has nothing to do with high school. The whole movie could have taken place at a office building or a factory etc. And it wouldn't have made much of a difference. The plot is about a conceited teen and his stoner friend make a non-believable bromance and decides to make the whole high school high. So the conceited teen with the highest GPA in the school who smoked pot once can go to a good college even if he fails the drug test. Since they really can't do anything if the whole high school fails the drug test. But basically to sum the movie up, it's about how potheads rule and people that are against are the villains. If the movie is dumb but funny it would be watchable but that isn't the case. The whole movie is just a predictable dull mess. That tries very hard to be funny but just isn't. I don't know why Adrien Brody decided to play a part in this movie.

3.8/10

High School – TRASH IT (C+) High School movie has a very interesting concept where a high school valedictorian who gets baked with the local stoner finds himself the subject of a drug test. The situation causes him to concoct an ambitious plan to get his entire graduating class to face the same fate, and fail. The movie is funny in the beginning but as the movie progresses it loses its humor and falls into more crude humor or I would tedious one. Which made it really hard to digest as it seems impossible that it took almost hours and hours for someone to figure out that the whole school is getting stoned. Sean Marquette is good as fat stoner but Matt Bush is miscast, first of all he isn't that funny so even if bad things were happening to him we really didn't much care about him. Adrien Brody is alright well what else I can say about him. According to IMDb Michael Chiklis and Michael Vartan were also in it somehow I didn't recognize them while watching the movie so I don't know whom they played in the movie. In the end, the concept was funny and movie could have been hilarious stand out if direction and screenplay were tighter.

First off, this unfairly represents cannabis. Marijuana in particular does less bad than good.

No creativity here, just one off, shock value vulgarities poorly passed off as humor. On the surface a harmless fiction, but like an iceberg the true danger isn't easily seen. All potential viewers should be warned to keep their attention ready, and question the motivations for creating this film aside with the (seemingly) single goal of profit.

So as you watch, constantly question "why?". If successful in doing so, an entire hidden world will start to become apparent. Those whom produced this sloppy film have showed their just how sneaky and unintelligent they are all while doing the progression of humanity a huge disservice. They're ultimately fearful, simple people so the transparent agenda is partially explained. Maybe my identifying reality will teach them to be good people not so filled with self hate.

This is complete make believe land bs. The principal calls the high school an institution? The very meaning of an educational institution is that of a place of learning beyond high school level. Who would pay for these drug tests? The parents and tax payers would pay for this principal to kick out their kids and ruin their futures? At the beginning of the school year the students (over 18) and parents would have had to sign consent for this drug testing program to take place at all. This is a school, you damn well know they cross the t's and dot the i's for legal concern. This principal would have a parking lot of enraged parents before he even got off of his little news cast.

Be sure to stay after the credits for the bonus scene! Way better than I thought it would be, they really botched the trailers for this one. Hanks give a great performance. Being close friends with someone who works in public education I can say that the characters in this film do exist out there in real life. Unlike many other films in this genre there is not gratuitous amounts of time spent showing people actually consuming the herb, the screen time is instead spent on plot and some really funny jokes. The characters have some depth which helps pull you in to the story. Not nearly as many stereotypes as I was expecting. Our theater had both young and old alike in attendance and everyone was laughing at all the right spots. Slam or beer or something before you go to get in the mood, hehehehe "Whut?"

I saw this movie's meta-ratings on IMDb and rotten tomatoes expecting it to be totally woeful...It may have been the incredibly low expectations that I had initially, but I was delightfully surprised. This movie deserved way more than the $139,000 it made in the box office. It's such a shame that an awesome movie made so little, whereas Old Dogs (an absolute pile of crap) made 61 million in profit. I say ignore the ratings that other people have given it and give it a chance for yourself. Movies are so crappy nowadays, what do you have to lose? And if you like it, you may also want to give other box office flops like Tucker and Dale vs EVIL, Defendor and God Bless America a chance too. They may surprise you.

Seriously, this was an AWESOME and a really fun and funny movie! A great film, even right from the very second the movie studio company names came on screen. Funny throughout and it was a decent length, not like some of these new comedies/films that just make it past an hour, this makes it the full hog!

From a 24 yo guy (with a wicked sense of humour) that watched this un-stoned for the first time, well it was funny as f^ck! Can't wait to blaze up for the second watch!

As to all the hate/res, WHAT!? the hell man!? I see many haters hating, but not reviewing, as there's really nothing that bad you can say about this film. You could almost go as far to call this masterpiece a great 'family' movie... I mean is there not enough quotable jokes and analogies in here for you all? Was the fine acting, by all, BUT WOW was Adrien Brody SOOOOOOOO good, not enough? This movie made me search more with him in it, as well as a bunch of the other actors/crew!

In my opinion this will become a cult CLASSIC stoner film! But saying that, I understand these 'new-age-hipster' stoners think it's not cool to just have fun and relax, hence why they don't find movies like Smiley Face funny (if you haven't watched Smiley Face high, you haven't seen it). I know as a community of potheads we are changing the 'cheech-chong-hippie' image to something more 'suit-like' and 'get-it-legal' type image, but I beg of you all, let us not forget that weed shouldn't be taken so seriously as to not allow ourselves to unwind and laugh at pointless nonsensical feats of 'wisdom'... at least from time to time. I get the 'legal' stance, hell, I'm actively doing something to make it legal, but it doesn't mean we should wear these hats 24/7/365, that in itself couldn't be healthy. Just remember to unplug and laugh once in a while... :)

I highly recommend you all give it a chance, I'm sure there's so much going on in it, that by the end, you'll feel you could just rewind (if we all still did that) and start it from the beginning, all over again.

To cast and crew, WOW, thanks for making a rare 'modern' stoner classic. Adrien Brody, that performance deserved an Oscar! I'd love to see a sequel. But regardless, it's right up there, probably higher than some of the best of them - think How High type funny, quiet possibly funnier.

Hope this helps some of you!

It's awesome stoner comedy with nice plot and very funny. I'm surprised I haven't heard before for this one.

Excuse the long review but i swear its worth the read

Yes this movie had it flaws but its a weed/stoner comedy , wouldn't you expect some things to be half-baked ? pun intended .

If you can't suspend belief & are the type over analyze scenarios , plot holes , believability etc. than why are you looking n the direction of a "weed" movie n the 1st place ?

... even the classic holly grail of weed comedies and archetype Cheech in Chong's Up in Smoke had plenty

Plus the authenticity and incredibly extensive marijuana knowledge (to the point of giving away a very little known drug test beating method) far surpasses any other weed movie even documentaries . .

This is a review by a both an avid stoner & avid movie buff (plus a p.a & grip on many productions)

This is the best weed comedy to come out since Harold and Kumar 1 & how high (and that was about a decade ago , and there have been multiple efforts and some decent ones since -->

THAT seedy stress (but still gets you high) --> (Mac & Dre go to high school , Puff Puff Pass)

THAT good Reggie --> (How High & Friday 3)

THAT good seedless mid grade -> (ie. Harold & Kumar 2 & 3 , Pineapple Express)

Then some so bad that either the herb had mold on it , it was so old you just get a head ache , there was so many seed & stem pieces it basically isn't even weed

BUT this MOVIE is the dank kind bud that you found on the ground at a party that someone forgot about & obviously that cat had some indoor grow operation cause damn that herb was fire and a welcome surprise compared to what you been smoking !!!

Unfortunately this movie slipped under the cracks and didn't even make a blip on the radar despite being the only weed movie touting an academy award winner

in Adrien Brody ( an actor who wasn't nominated erroneously and deservingly won ((a rarity now a days)) unlike many winners he is one of the most brilliant actors to ever receive it , one who has more range than Charlton Heston and his rifle have seen )

Already equipped with Brody this small budget movie managed to pull one of Holloywoods finest and underrated in Michael Chiklis (the lead corrupt detective in the shield & fantastic four star, to name just a couple)

& Colin hanks (a proved comedic gem of an actor since orange county w/ Jack black & many dramatic roles where he shined , and hes tom hanks son)

Along with some off the wall quality cameos , Mykelti Williamson (bubba from Forrest Gump) , Yeardley Smith (been in 8 mill. movies & shows and is the voice of Lisa Simpson)

So the main character high school leads--> Matt bush (adventureland) Sean Marquette(TV veteran , seriously how can he be this young and be in that many shows) have tons to work with and with the arsenal of actors behind them they could crap the bed and still be carried but they do the perfect job and there skill sets fit there characters perfectly

So this weed movie is stacked with STAR POWER , more so than 9/10 of all weed comedies so how did it get overlooked and not find a home in theaters ? it must be bad ?

No , unfortunately our country (america) is still extremely conservative when it comes to drugs (i know , i know .. weed isn't anymore of a drug than alcohol ,actually less than alcohol in relation to the negatives that the word drug carries but this movie though solely marijuana at heart though totes some other drug references/use & gun packing drug dealers)

but pineapple express was at theaters you say and it had the same things!!

Well the characters weren't 16-17 yrs old involving weed being glorified and in a school setting no less , and even more so, Judd Apatow & Seth Rogan , Danny Mcbride in there whole crew are proved commodities in the debauchery comedy department .. there next movie could be called crack pipes in paradise and it will reach the theaters. . . . well i decided not to make any spoilers cause if you don't know the major plot point than it will be much more exciting

Its an original plot for a weed comedy and was very unexpected so don't read the spoilers or even the summary if you haven't already.

There are a couple "corny" type moments but the good out weighs the corny , but when i say corny it was def. intended so its not a shot at the movie

BOTTOM LINE ... this is a movie that will be loved , dare i say cherished by weed movie lovers but also a movie that will be loved by people that don't even smoke weed but love comedies

its originality, great performances , star power , genuine heart , incredibly extensive marijuana knowledge (to the point of giving away a very little know drug test beating method , comedic timing and overall feel & final product are the visual & audio personification of a fat joint rolled with some of psycho ed's Keef straight from his jar in and if you knew what that was (or wanna know) you'd be popping in the movie or metaphorically lighting that joint right damn now !!!!!!