Hollywood High

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Take, for example, last year’s Requiem for a Dream. Though it may be the most horrific depiction of heroin (and amphetamine) addiction ever made, the film still follows standard drug film conventions—including the clichéd withdrawal scene—which dates back to Hollywood’s first famous brush with a hypodermic needle, Frank Sinatra’s 1955 classic, The Man with the Golden Arm. On the amphetamine front, check out 1967’s Valley of the Dolls, a lethal mix of show business, ambitious women, and prescription drugs.

In the leave-’em-laughing camp, drug use is just for kicks. From Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke (1978) to the Coen Brothers’ The Big Lebowski (1998), Hollywood regularly sends up the dopey antics of drug users so we can laugh with them. Pot remains the drug of choice , but LSD had its day (Pink Floyd: The Wall, 1982), and now ecstasy is on the rise with the mainstream explosion of rave culture (Human Traffic, 1999).

Whether drugs are demonized or glamorized, rarely does a drug film offer much insight into this national obsession. The most enlightening perspectives in recent years have come from documentaries. Robert Zemeckis’ On Smoking, Drinking, and Drugging in the Twentieth Century (1999), includes a fascinating account of the evolving cultural perceptions behind specific drugs in America; his exploration of America’s race-based drug stereotypes alone is worth the price of admission. And Grass (1999), directed by Ron Mann and narrated by Woody Harrelson, may be the most comprehensive film on the history of marijuana and the drug war—and a powerful boost to legalization efforts.

But if you still crave the pure Hollywood stuff, you won’t have to worry about going through withdrawal. You can find your fix at a theater near you.

Discuss Hollywood and drugs at the Film forum in Cafe Utne: cafe.utne.com

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