a/k/a Tommy Chong (2005)

71% of critics liked it
(21 reviews)
73% of users liked it
(1,213 ratings)

When comedy legend Tommy Chong was arrested in 2003 and given a nine-month prison sentence for the manufacture and sale of drug paraphernalia, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's revamped war on drugs soared, like a mighty eagle stricken with vertigo in mid-flight, to new levels of absurdity.… More When comedy legend Tommy Chong was arrested in 2003 and given a nine-month prison sentence for the manufacture and sale of drug paraphernalia, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's revamped war on drugs soared, like a mighty eagle stricken with vertigo in mid-flight, to new levels of absurdity. Fortunately, filmmaker Josh Gilbert's cameras were rolling at the time, offering viewers a firsthand account of the vengeful American justice system in action. In addition to glamorizing drug use, prosecutors argued that Chong was also guilty of trivializing efforts by law enforcement agencies to combat drug proliferation. When all was said and done, Chong, along with 54 others, was indicted on federal charges. For two years, Gilbert's prying lens followed the highly publicized case, allowing an amusing and sometimes frightening portrayal of eroding civil liberties in modern-day America. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 18 min.
Directed By: Josh Gilbert
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: Jun 14, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Aug 26, 2008
Studio: Gravitas

Critic Reviews

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
This isn't a great piece of nonfiction filmmaking, but it has its moments.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Even those unimpressed with [Cheech and Chong's] genially lowbrow work will be intrigued by the political tenor of this portrait.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
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.
Manohla Dargis, New York Times
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.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
How 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.
Rob Nelson, Village Voice
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.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
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.
Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
A very scary documentary considering the carte blanche accorded Big Brother by the Patriot Act.
Kam Williams, EURWeb
A very scary documentary illustrating the carte blanche accorded Big Brother by the Patriot Act
David Noh, Film Journal International
What comes across is Chong's innate elegance and intelligence, two qualities often missing from his trademark comedic work.
Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
This is an important propaganda film. After all, Gilbert has all the facts in hand and presents it halfway decently.
Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com
should have gone for more
Nathan Rabin, AV Club
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.
Ethan Alter, Premiere Magazine
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.
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
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.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
Its dramatic thinness doesn't dilute its simultaneously ridiculous and terrifying portrait of federal prosecution run amok.
KJ Doughton, Film Threat
A surprisingly clear-eyed, sober account of what it's liked to be embraced by a culture, while loathed by the Powers That Be.
Luke Y. Thompson, LYTRules.com
The movie's value varies according to how much of the story you already know.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Wu C

A little history on cheech & chong and marijuana humor.
ken j

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 so all… More
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 so 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.