Super High Me
Encyclopedia
Super High Me is a 2007 documentary film
about the effects of smoking cannabis for 30 days. The documentary stars comedian Doug Benson
. The documentary's name and its poster are plays on the 2004 documentary Super Size Me
.
owners, politicians and patients who are part of the medical marijuana
movement. The DVD was released on April 20, 2008.
Benson took various tests to gauge his physical and mental health both before 30 days of not smoking cannabis, and after doing so for 30 days straight. Benson's physician concluded that the effects on Benson's health from his use of cannabis were generally inconsequential. The greatest changes noted were in his weight (Benson gained eight pounds during his "high" month). His sperm count actually increased, contrary to the expectations of medical studies. His overall score on an SAT
test increased (mostly verbal), although, it was mentioned that his mathematical skills were significantly reduced. The one effect that Benson was surprised at by the end of the smoking month was that he was sure that he would be sick of smoking cannabis for a continuous extended period and that he felt like he was going to need an extended break afterwards. He instead felt perfectly fine with his continued casual smoking with no apparent, acquired disdain of any kind. In the end credits, the movie was dedicated to Michelle Benjamin, a friend of the filmmakers' who was killed in a traffic accident involving a drunk driver.
, said that the conception of the film originated with a joke in his stand-up act, asking, "If there's a movie called Super Size Me
about a guy who ate McDonald's every day, why couldn't there be this movie called Super High Me, where I smoke pot every day?" He shared the joke with friend and filmmaker Michael Blieden, who saw potential in producing a film. When they made the film, Benson ensured that his "antics" were legally tolerated in the state of California
. The comedian said of the experience, "It would be difficult for anyone who has obligations to do, so I wouldn't break the law. I didn't operate a motor vehicle for the 30 days of filming. The crew drove me everywhere." The documentary also featured notable cannabis advocates, including Marc Emery
, the Canadian "Prince of Pot", and Dennis Peron
, founder of the Cannabis Buyers Club
and coauthor of California Proposition 215. The film was reportedly marketed for the same budget as the cost of a two-inch advertisement in The New York Times
.
film festival in March 2008, where it screened alongside two other marijuana-focused films, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and Humboldt County
. The documentary premiered to the public in the widest documentary opening ever, screening at over 1,000 venues on April 20, 2008. The release date is 4/20 in American vernacular, intended to reflect the number 420 in cannabis culture
. The film was distributed by Red Envelope Entertainment (a distribution arm of Netflix
), B-side, and Screen Media Films in a partnership. The companies arranged for grassroots
screening events, where people could sign up on a website to receive a free DVD and have a public screening with a group of any size. The aim of the distribution strategy was to encourage later DVD sales.
Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter
thought that the documentary consisted of Benson merely "expanding a bit from his stand-up act to strained results". Scheck wrote, "Super High Me mainly is an excuse for a series of comic riffs from its undeniably amusing subject who apparently is a favorite among the stoner crowd." The critic thought that the examination of the issues of medical cannabis
and the conflict between the drug policy of California
and the drug policy of the United States
was "superficial". Mark Rahner of The Seattle Times
wrote, "Benson's [stunt] isn't as much of a revelation [as the one in Super Size Me], and it's more amiable than funny." While Rahner applauded the on-screen graphics as "professional caliber", he found the video footage to be "distractingly poor". Rahner concluded, "In the end, this is a weak advocacy film without much to interest anyone else."
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the effects of smoking cannabis for 30 days. The documentary stars comedian Doug Benson
Doug Benson
Douglas Steven "Doug" Benson is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on Comedy Central Presents, Best Week Ever and was a contestant on Last Comic Standing in the show's fifth season....
. The documentary's name and its poster are plays on the 2004 documentary Super Size Me
Super Size Me
Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he eats only McDonald's food...
.
Synopsis
Super High Me documents Benson avoiding alcohol and cannabis for a cleansing period and then smoking and otherwise consuming cannabis every day for 30 days in a row. Benson says that Super High Me is "Super Size Me with weed instead of McDonalds". The film also includes interviews with marijuana activists, dispensaryDispensary
A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital or other organization that dispenses medications and medical supplies. In a traditional dispensary set-up a pharmacist dispenses medication as per prescription or order form....
owners, politicians and patients who are part of the medical marijuana
Medical cannabis
Medical cannabis refers to the use of parts of the herb cannabis as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine...
movement. The DVD was released on April 20, 2008.
Benson took various tests to gauge his physical and mental health both before 30 days of not smoking cannabis, and after doing so for 30 days straight. Benson's physician concluded that the effects on Benson's health from his use of cannabis were generally inconsequential. The greatest changes noted were in his weight (Benson gained eight pounds during his "high" month). His sperm count actually increased, contrary to the expectations of medical studies. His overall score on an SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
test increased (mostly verbal), although, it was mentioned that his mathematical skills were significantly reduced. The one effect that Benson was surprised at by the end of the smoking month was that he was sure that he would be sick of smoking cannabis for a continuous extended period and that he felt like he was going to need an extended break afterwards. He instead felt perfectly fine with his continued casual smoking with no apparent, acquired disdain of any kind. In the end credits, the movie was dedicated to Michelle Benjamin, a friend of the filmmakers' who was killed in a traffic accident involving a drunk driver.
| Sober | High | |
|---|---|---|
| Psychic ESP Test | 1/25 | 7/25 |
| The S.A.T. | 980/1600 | 1030/1600 |
| Mini-mental Status Review (Normal = 22+) | 27/29 | 24/29 |
| Lung Capacity | 92% | 89% |
| Sperm Count (20 million is normal) | 21 Millions/mL | 32 Millions/mL |
| Weight Change | -2 lbs. | +8 lbs. |
Cast
- Brian UngerBrian UngerBrian Unger is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and commentator.-Biography:Born in Granville, Ohio in a family with Romanian ethnic heritage, Unger graduated from Ohio University in 1987, where he majored in communication...
- Gary Cohan
- Robert Gore
- Sean Tabibian
- Paul F. TompkinsPaul F. TompkinsPaul Francis Tompkins , best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American actor and comedian.-Life and career:Tompkins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a receptionist mother and railway worker father. He started out in stand-up comedy in 1986 at The Comedy Works, Philadelphia, PA, where he...
- Bob OdenkirkBob OdenkirkRobert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
- Graham ElwoodGraham ElwoodGraham Elwood is an American comedian, actor and writer.Elwood hosted the Game Show Network original series Cram and the USA Network and syndicated game show Strip Poker. From October 2006, he appeared in a DirecTV testimonial commercial as "Graham - Customer since '01"...
- Jimmy DoreJimmy DoreJimmy Dore is an American stand-up comedian who has been performing for over 20 years.-Life and career:...
- Greg ProopsGreg ProopsGregory Everett "Greg" Proops is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work as an improvisational comedian on the UK and U.S. versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?...
- Rob HuebelRob HuebelRob Huebel is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his sketch comedy work on the MTV series Human Giant. He currently co-stars on the Adult Swim series Childrens Hospital.-Early life:...
- Rob RiggleRob RiggleRobert Allen "Rob" Riggle, Jr. is an American actor, comedian and United States Marine Corps officer. He is best known for his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show from 2006–2008, as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2004–2005, and for his comedic roles in films such...
- Brian PosehnBrian PosehnBrian Edmund Posehn is an American actor, voice actor, musician and comedian, known for his roles as mail clerk Kevin Liotta on NBC's Just Shoot Me!, a cast member and writer on HBO's Mr. Show, and most recently as Brian Spukowski on Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program.-Early life:Posehn...
- Patton OswaltPatton OswaltPatton Oswalt is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and voice actor. He is best known for portraying Spencer Olchin in the popular sitcom The King of Queens, voicing Remy from the film Ratatouille and Thrasher from the Cartoon Network original series Robotomy.-Early life:Oswalt was born...
- Sarah SilvermanSarah SilvermanSarah Kate Silverman is a Jewish American comedian, writer, actress, singer and musician. Her satirical comedy addresses social taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and religion....
- Arj BarkerArj BarkerArjan Singh , known by the stage name Arj Barker, is an American stand-up comedian and actor from San Anselmo, California. He has toured in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. He was born to an engineer father and artist mother, and is half-Indian, half-European...
- Zach GalifianakisZach GalifianakisZachary Knight "Zach" Galifianakis is an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his numerous film and television appearances including his own Comedy Central Presents special...
Production
The star of the film, comedian Doug BensonDoug Benson
Douglas Steven "Doug" Benson is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared on Comedy Central Presents, Best Week Ever and was a contestant on Last Comic Standing in the show's fifth season....
, said that the conception of the film originated with a joke in his stand-up act, asking, "If there's a movie called Super Size Me
Super Size Me
Super Size Me is a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day period from February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he eats only McDonald's food...
about a guy who ate McDonald's every day, why couldn't there be this movie called Super High Me, where I smoke pot every day?" He shared the joke with friend and filmmaker Michael Blieden, who saw potential in producing a film. When they made the film, Benson ensured that his "antics" were legally tolerated in the state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The comedian said of the experience, "It would be difficult for anyone who has obligations to do, so I wouldn't break the law. I didn't operate a motor vehicle for the 30 days of filming. The crew drove me everywhere." The documentary also featured notable cannabis advocates, including Marc Emery
Marc Emery
Marc Scott Emery is a Canadian cannabis policy reform advocate, as well as a former cannabis seed seller. He is currently serving a five year sentence in a United States federal prison for selling cannabis seeds....
, the Canadian "Prince of Pot", and Dennis Peron
Dennis Peron
Dennis Peron is an openly gay American medical marijuana and LGBT activist and businessman who was the figurehead for the legality of cannabis throughout the 1990s influencing many in California and thus changing the political debate of marijuana in the United States...
, founder of the Cannabis Buyers Club
Cannabis Buyers Club
The San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club was the first public medical cannabis dispensary in the United States. It first opened in 1992, in the wake of the success of Proposition P, which passed in 1991...
and coauthor of California Proposition 215. The film was reportedly marketed for the same budget as the cost of a two-inch advertisement in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Reception
Super High Me had a regional premiere at the South by SouthwestSouth by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
film festival in March 2008, where it screened alongside two other marijuana-focused films, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and Humboldt County
Humboldt County (film)
Humboldt County is a 2008 comedy/drama film by Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs. It stars Jeremy Strong, Fairuza Balk, Frances Conroy, Madison Davenport, Brad Dourif, Chris Messina and Peter Bogdanovich. The film made its debut at SXSW on March 7, 2008...
. The documentary premiered to the public in the widest documentary opening ever, screening at over 1,000 venues on April 20, 2008. The release date is 4/20 in American vernacular, intended to reflect the number 420 in cannabis culture
420 (cannabis culture)
420, 4:20 or 4/20 refers to consumption of cannabis and, by extension, a way to identify oneself with cannabis subculture. The notable day for these is April 20.- Origins of terms :...
. The film was distributed by Red Envelope Entertainment (a distribution arm of Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
), B-side, and Screen Media Films in a partnership. The companies arranged for grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
screening events, where people could sign up on a website to receive a free DVD and have a public screening with a group of any size. The aim of the distribution strategy was to encourage later DVD sales.
Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
thought that the documentary consisted of Benson merely "expanding a bit from his stand-up act to strained results". Scheck wrote, "Super High Me mainly is an excuse for a series of comic riffs from its undeniably amusing subject who apparently is a favorite among the stoner crowd." The critic thought that the examination of the issues of medical cannabis
Medical cannabis
Medical cannabis refers to the use of parts of the herb cannabis as a physician-recommended form of medicine or herbal therapy, or to synthetic forms of specific cannabinoids such as THC as a physician-recommended form of medicine...
and the conflict between the drug policy of California
Drug policy of California
Drug policy of California refers to the policy on various classes and kinds of drugs in the U.S. state of California. Cannabis possession has been decriminalized, but its cultivation and sale remain criminal offenses, along with the possession, sale, and manufacture of harder drugs such as...
and the drug policy of the United States
Drug policy of the United States
Drug use has increased in all categories since prohibition except that opium use is at a fraction of its peak level. The big decline in use of opium started already after the Harrison Act of 1914. Use of heroin peaked between 1969 and 1971, cocaine, between 1987 and 1989 and marijuana between 1978...
was "superficial". Mark Rahner of The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
wrote, "Benson's [stunt] isn't as much of a revelation [as the one in Super Size Me], and it's more amiable than funny." While Rahner applauded the on-screen graphics as "professional caliber", he found the video footage to be "distractingly poor". Rahner concluded, "In the end, this is a weak advocacy film without much to interest anyone else."
External links
- Official website
- Official song from Super High Me on Songpull