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Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, John Kassir, Alan Cumming, Ana Gasteyer, Steve Weber, Robert Torti

A clever send up of the midnight movie favorite “Reefer Madness”, “Reefer Madness: The Musical” plays like “Little Shop of Horrors”. Jimmy seems like a kid with a future but when he and his dim-witted but sweet girlfriend (Kristen Bell from “Veronica Mars”) get sucked into reefer madness when they hook up with a couple of folks selling the evil weed. It’s an enjoyable diversion but it lacks the satiric “bite” of “Little Shop of Horrors” and like that film it runs a bit too long. It’s still a fun, clever diversion with some outstanding performances including Steven Weber (“Wings”, “The Shining” playing a gangster) and a memorable musical score. The movie alternates between a framing story shot in black and white with Alan Cumming (“X-Men II) playing Doctor giving a lecture and showing a film to illustrate the evils of “weed” and jazz to local parents and the main story of Jimmy and his blond bomb shell of a girlfriend.

“Reefer Madness” shines with a bright, vivid color scheme and some wonderfully staged song and dance numbers. Shot in high definition the overall look of the film is exceptionally good. The images are crisp lacking any analog (naturally) artifacts but there are issues with video noise and digital artifacts throughout the movie. Perhaps it’s related to the amount of information on the disc (the original black and white movie is included as an extra). The 5.1 mix uses the format nicely and will give your speakers quite a work out. There’s also a 2.0 mix where the dialogue is more prominently featured. ***

The image quality for the original 1936 “Reefer Madness” is from a badly scratched and beaten up print of the movie. There was no restoration attempted on this film and it’s got problems with film registration so the image is quite jumpy as well as numerous analog artifacts. The mono sound is tinny and flat. ---

The original “Reefer Madness” is included as a bonus here. It’s as much a hoot as the musical which is ironic given that it was designed to frighten people. “Grass Roots” summarizes the story about how the original movie was made and the reaction to pot during the 30’s as well as providing info on the genesis of the off Broadway production. Evidently the show was dreamed up by writing partners Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney while on a drive from Oakland, California to Los Angeles while listening to Frank Zappa’s bizarre rock opera “Joe’s Garage”.We also get biographies of the main cast as well as photos and previews for other Showtime shows on DVD. ---

A fun diversion, “Reefer Madness: The Musical” is fun in much the same way as “Little Shop of Horrors”. The film could stand with a bit of pruning as it does run a bit too long but, overall, it’s an enjoyable romp with a “cautionary tale” about the “evils of weed”.