Far Out Man

I had zero expectations going into this film but, OK maybe I thought it was really going to stink.

It didn't.

Sure, it doesn't have the subversive, cool, heady tripping of a Cheech & Chong flick and Tommy's casting his talentless wife in a lead role was way wrong, but there are still enough cool clips to keep your attention.

One of the things that's sort of distracting about this film production is the excessive number of scenes that appear to be obviously overdubbed. Must have been a one take fix it later wonder film!

If you like Chong, Soul man or C Thomas Howell then this is the movie for you. Chong is trying to make us laugh on his own, but realistically is in desperate need of Cheech for this one. I liked it, but have also met people who didn't, maybe Im being bias cause im a C&C fan. Honestly speaking, it doesn't touch classics like "the Corsican Twins" or "Up in Smoke" but something about the film seems to draw me to it. We begin with an old skool hippie (chong) who goes on a road trip in search of his long lost family. He meets up with his son (Paris Chong, Tommy's real-life son), who is pretty straight in real life, but in the movie he's totally the opposite. Together they go off to see America. A majority of Tommys real life family have roles, daughter Rae Dawn and Wife Shelby both have lines. I think in order to make a judgment you should view it first.

I had heard bad things about this Chong solo effort. But surprisingly its quite entertaining. I wasn't expecting much after the later Cheech and Chong films such as Still Smoking but this is much better.

Essenstially its just Cheech and Chong without Cheech, although he does have a brief cameo in this. Also there is not much in the way of drug use either. Chongs character even at one point advising another not to use cocaine. Some cast members acting abilities are questionable and a lot of the jokes fall flat. But it is a lot of fun.

Just don't expect another Up In Smoke! That way you should enjoy this more than say, Still Smoking.

Watch it next time its on TV...

"Tommy Chong's "Far Out Man" may not be one of his best but its still worth the watch. There some laughs to be had in this movie. Many of those laughs are delivered by Reynaldo Rey. Rey gives a very funny performance in this movie. The rest of the cast is also likeable, including the always dreamy Rae Dawn Chong. Sure there are quite a few clunkers in this movie but with a very friendly running time of 81 minutes, who wants to nitpick. "Far Out Man" is worth the watch, especially for fans of Tommy Chong (like me). (Just for the record I just bought a pipe from Cheech & Chong glass. I guess Chong figured out a way to sell that kind of stuff without going to prison this time.)

If you are a big fan of the Cheech and Chong films,you might want to give Far out Man a try, but unless youre really starved for Tommy Chong and his Hippie comedy, I say to stay Far Out of this movie's way. The plot is rather thin, the humor is far-placed and unfunny, and overall I'd say that this film is quite boring. You'll get to see Chong's son and daughter, along with his wife--all of whom can't act in the slightest, and take up large portions of the movie. It's basically a home video, which he probably put together just to have a good time with the family. I'm sure it was great fun for them, but for us it's only a lame film.