Bill Maher, Cheech Marin, George Thorogood

a/k/a Tommy Chong offers a sometimes frightening, often hilarious account of Operation Pipe Dreams, a nationwide drug paraphernalia sting operation spearheaded by former Attorney General John Ashcroft...( read more  read more... ). After a fully armed SWAT team raided the 65 year old comedian's home in February of 2003, Chong was sentenced to 9 months in federal prison for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute drug paraphernalia. Of the 55 defendants, Chong was the only one with no prior convictions to receive jail time. Justifying the 9 month sentence, the prosecutor cited the classic 1978 Cheech & Chong film Up In Smoke as evidence that Chong had become wealthy "trivializing law enforcement efforts to combat marijuana trafficking and use." As Roger Ebert said "You do not have to approve of drugs to be offended." The film explores how Chong's legacy as a pro-marijuana comedian made him the target of an over-zealous Justice Department. Operation Pipe Dreams cost tax-payers $12 million. As Chong himself put it "The only weapons of mass destruction the Bush administration has found... are my bongs."

Flixster Users

73% liked it

163 ratings

Critics

71% liked it

21 critics

G, 1 hr. 15 min.

Directed by: Josh Gilbert

Release Date: December 31, 2005

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DVD Release Date: August 26, 2008

Stats: 55 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (55)


  • September 1, 2008
    AKA Tommy Chong has got to be one of the best documentarys ive ever seen and just shows how insane and out of wack our government is and where there priorites are. This follows the court case of the government trying to get Tommy Chong and how it wasted 12 million dollars doing s...( read more)o all for making and selling glass pipes of all things half funny half serious you see Chong and his family take it all in stride and laugh along with them at how dumb this case really became up untill his 9 month sentence and his release really worth a watch for any Chong fan.
  • October 14, 2009
    What they did to Tommy Chong was a crime itself. It was wrong and evidence of fascism in America, under the Bush administration, as well as an enormous waste of tax payers money. The war on drugs is a war on people.
  • September 6, 2009
    A bit too much of an advertisement, but still very interesting. It did teach me a lot about his early career. For Instance, did you know he was once in a MoTown band called Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers (who were earlier known as Four Niggers and a Chink). Most of the back-story ...( read more)was worth the watch as you will hear little tidbits like that. But the main focus was on the ridiculous use of $12 million of our dollars by nutwads like Mary Beth Buchanan and John Ashcroft in prosecuting people under a little-used statute banning bongs. And the admittance by those prosecuting the case that Mr Chong was given harsher treatment under the law because of his celebrity status as one who mocks the laws of the country. Also to note, up to 10,000 copies of this DVD were seized in raid (ran by Mary Beth Buchanan) which was designed to look for drug paraphernalia.
  • February 22, 2009
    Fairly enjoyable documentary about the drug comedian Tommy Chong.
  • January 13, 2009
    Another good doc. Kind of scary. Remember Big Brother is watching!!
  • July 19, 2008
    the chong prison story!
    all for selling water pipes! go figure! lol
  • December 10, 2006
    I don't really have anything positive to say about this movie, so I will just leave it at that.

Critic Reviews


June 2, 2006
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Its dramatic thinness doesn't dilute its simultaneously ridiculous and terrifying portrait of federal prosecution run amok. full review

View more a/k/a Tommy Chong reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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