MUSIC/BIOPIC
Bob Marley: One Love
Reinaldo Marcus Green's Bob Marley biopic is sandwiched around two major events: The shooting of Marley, his wife Rita (Lashana Lynch) and manager Don Taylor (Anthony Welch) in 1976 and the One Love Peace Concert in 1978 where Marley united Jamaica's political rivals on stage. The shooting changes everything. Bob, played painstakingly by Kingsley Ben-Adir, leaves for London and doesn't return to Jamaica until 1978. This deep dive into the world of Marley offers many lessons about Rasta life (which includes constant ganja smoking), connecting messages to music (to Bob, they were inseparable) and bringing to a beleaguered planet songs of hope and freedom. It's the top stoner movie of the year.
Box office: $96.8 million
Similar to: The Harder They Come (1972)
Watch at Paramount
DRUGGY DRAMA/ASIAN/TEENS
Didi
It's an awkward life for 13-year old Chris Wang in Sean Wang's semi-autobiographical debut feature. Didi means youngest son in Chinese. He lives in Fremont, CA with his mother Chungsing (a wonderful Joan Chen), sister Vivian (Shirley Chen) and grandma Nai Nai (Change Li Hua). A bit undersized and painfully shy, Chris has trouble fitting in with the other eight-graders. It's almost laughable when he tries, like at a party where he smokes a joint, drinks a shot and then predictably throws up. His efforts to woo a girl, Madi (Mahaela Park), don't go much better.
While Chris despairs and with Vivian away at college, Chungsing holds on to him for dear life. She's a mom for the ages.
Box office: $4.8 million
Similar to: Joyride (2023)
Watch at Peacock
STONER COMEDY/WOMEN
Drugstore June
Eighteen years after directing Grandma's Boy, Nicholaus Goosen returns with another stoner classic. This one is female driven, starring and co-written (with Goosen) by stand-up comic Esther Povitsky. She plays the hilarious title character, June Fine, who works in a drugstore. An open book with her June Squad social media followers, she's perfectly post-modern, rattling on to anyone who'll listen - parents Maria (Beverly D'Angelo) and Arnold (James Remar), brother Jonathan (Brandon Wardell), boss Bill (Bobby Lee), ex Davey (Haley Joel Osment) and customers – about whatever's on her mind at the moment.
When the store is robbed, June launches an investigation that takes her to a bar where pool player Crawford (Matt Walsh) directs her to the weed store across the street. It's a funny scene with June, who's not a stoner, mistaking a preroll for a "buttered cinnamon thing." Three guys stick up the weed store, leading to more hilarity. There are several references to legal pot and weed store owner has the classic slang line, repeated twice with cap turned, "All I do is smoke weed all the time."
Box office: $18,600
Similar to: Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Watch at Prime Video
