How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:21
Fresh:15
Rotten:6
Average Rating:6.1/10
Runtime: 80 mins
Genre: Television
US Box Office: $0
Synopsis: a/k/a Tommy Chong is a dynamic portrait of comedy legend Tommy Chong, set against the unfolding political horror story of post 911 America. Filmmaker Josh Gilbert follows the tragic and absurd tale... [More]
Josh Gilbert's curt documentary about the arrest and conviction of comedian and former bong-maker Tommy Chong reveals the federal sting operation that put Tommy Chong in a state penitentiary for nine months for shipping glass bongs to Pennsylvania.
A very scary documentary illustrating the carte blanche accorded Big Brother by the Patriot Act
What comes across is Chong's innate elegance and intelligence, two qualities often missing from his trademark comedic work.
Click to read the article
This isn't a great piece of nonfiction filmmaking, but it has its moments.
This is an important propaganda film. After all, Gilbert has all the facts in hand and presents it halfway decently.
Even those unimpressed with [Cheech and Chong's] genially lowbrow work will be intrigued by the political tenor of this portrait.
should have gone for more
What could have been either a scathing critique of the drug war or an intimate portrait of a stoner facing mortality instead comes off as a fawning infomercial for its subject.
Apparently granted unlimited access to Chong's personal archives, Gilbert digs up some great footage and photos from his early years as well his '70s heyday.
It is also a portrait of resilience: Chong does his time (nine months) and has the last laugh, emerging as a born-again activist-survivor of the culture wars.
Josh Gilbert's film tells the depressing, often ridiculous and generally enraging story of how and why Tommy Chong ended up doing time in a minimum-security prison.
Top CriticHow the feds inadver tently resurrected the performing career of stoner comic Tommy Chong by busting him is the ironic subtext of Josh Gilbert's one-sided documentary a/k/a Tommy Chong.
This genial doc sprinkles Reagan and Nixon soundbites over its vintage stash of C&C clips for a suitably fuzzy squint at America from '69 to the buzzkill present.
Josh Gilbert's smoothly produced documentary a/k/a Tommy Chong should leave even Nancy Reagan aghast at the unfair trials of comedian Tommy Chong.
Its dramatic thinness doesn't dilute its simultaneously ridiculous and terrifying portrait of federal prosecution run amok.
A surprisingly clear-eyed, sober account of what it’s liked to be embraced by a culture, while loathed by the Powers That Be.
The movie's value varies according to how much of the story you already know.
First-time filmmaker Josh Gilbert, whose skills behind the camera are rudimentary, might be a bit too close to his subject to do disinterested viewers justice.
A cheeky, somewhat suspect documentary on the battles between an icon of stoner comedy and the Feds, a/k/a Tommy Chong serves up a biased account of Chong's arrest and incarceration for manufacturing drug paraphernalia.
Top Critic
August 27, 2008:
DEA drama chronicles case of pot comedian entrapped by the Feds following the passage of the Patriot Act. 
More...
August 25, 2008:
RT on DVD: Watch Uwe Boll Box Critic, Heroes Season Two Clips
It's a good week to catch up on your favorite shows before the new TV season begins (Heroes Season Two) and a good week to satisfy your curiosity for a certain guilty pleasure... More...
Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.
The New Matilda's Lynden Barber looks at the recent success of low-budget sci-fi -- and asks the question.
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser
Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.
We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection
IGN.com |
GameSpy |
Comrade |
Arena |
FilePlanet |
GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox |
Planets |
Vaults |
VE3D |
CheatsCodesGuides |
GameStats |
GamerMetrics
AskMen.com |
Rotten Tomatoes |
Direct2Drive |
Green Pixels
IGN RSS Feeds
Comment
