Half Baked

Plot

Thurgood Jenkins and his friends Brian and Scarface are forced into selling marijuana stolen from the lab where Thurgood works as a "master of the custodial arts". They do this in order to bail their friend Kenny out of jail for $100,000 after he accidentally kills Buttercup, a diabetic police horse, by feeding it junk food. Their business, named Mr. Nice Guy in honor of their good-natured friend, becomes immensely popular, even attracting famous clientele. Thurgood's personal life is ruined once his adamantly anti-drug girlfriend, Mary Jane Potman, discovers that he is Mr. Nice Guy.

Soon, all of their lives are in danger once Samson Simpson, a local drug lord, learns that Mr. Nice Guy is costing him business, including his former client, rapper Sir Smoke-a-Lot. He threatens to kill them if they do not pay him $20,000 every week. Brian buys a pouch that is supposed to contain the ashes of Jerry Garcia with some of the money they are making, and Scarface buys a rottweiler named Killer.

Thurgood tells police about a future meeting he has with Samson Simpson after they arrest him for stealing marijuana from the laboratory. The police agree to drop the charges if Thurgood wears a wire, that way they can get the proof they need to arrest the drug lord. Before the guys go into Samson's home they smoke a joint in the police van. The cops get high from the second hand smoke. The cops tell them to say "abracadabra" when they have purchased the drugs. During the interview, Samson discovers that Thurgood is wearing a wire and is about to kill them. They scream "abracadabra" into the wire to try to get the cops to save them. But the cops are high from second-hand smoke and busy mocking a letter Thurgood wrote to Mary Jane. A fight breaks out with Samson and his army of women. Brian throws the pouch he bought earlier on the ground. The ghost of Jerry Garcia emerges and hits Samson with a guitar, knocking him out. The police then rush in and recover all of the drugs, and arrest Samson after he wakes up. Thurgood, Brian, and Scarface's deal with the police works to get Kenny a pardon from jail. Thurgood gives up smoking and is able to win back Mary Jane, whose dad is a marijuana dealer.

Cast

Box office

Half Baked hit U.S. theaters on January 16, 1998, earning $7,722,540 in its opening weekend, ranking #6, and, by the end of its run, grossed $17,460,020. With the estimated budget being $8 million, the film can be considered a box office success.

Critical reception

Half Baked received generally negative reviews, currently holding a 29% "Rotten" rating by critics based on 24 reviews. On Metacritic, the film received a score of 16 out of 100, indicating "overwhelming dislike". However, the film has garnered a cult following with an 81% audience approval rating.