Smoked is a high-energy, low-rent Oakland romp about weed and organized crime. Co-directors/co-writers Joshua Staley and Jamie Dewolf’s film follows three hapless stoner buds who wind up broke and out of luck when their house burns down after a raucous, drug-fueled party. The brain trust of Smalls (Rupert Estanislao), Ace (Geoff Trenchard), and Jimmy James (Jamie Dewolf) hatch a brilliant plan to get back on their feet by robbing a Medical Marijuana club.
The three slow-witted amigos get high, gear up, and roll up on the weed club, masquerading as law enforcement agents sent to seize the merchandise and cash. Unbeknownst to them, the club is owned by a vicious, unforgiving OG crack tycoon named Tyrone Shank (L. Abdul Kenyatta). Shank’s slogan for handling his business is “Cash. Crops. Corpses. They all burn the same.” The rhetorical enlightenment doesn’t stop there. From the three wasted entrepreneurs, we get philosophical aphorisms like “even Gandhi beat his wife.”
When the club manager calls Shank, he’s instructed to shoot the fake cops, which he tells Shank he doesn’t have the stomach for. Shank hires a barbaric enforcer named Smiley (Jaylee Alde) and his crew, known as The Four Horsemen. He sends them to find the thieves, lay his vengeance upon them, and retrieve the stolen property. High-octane hilarity ensues, with bullets and blood flying. Smiley’s posse is more “Three Stooges” than “Hells Angels,” resulting in fight sequences which are slapstick, but violent, with splashy gore.
“…follows three hapless stoner buds who wind up broke and out of luck when their house burns down….”
The Four Horsemen pursue the robbers through Oakland’s gritty neighborhoods, back yards, and streets, encountering a bizarre series of characters, many of whom are not unfamiliar with gang violence. Deliberate, raw, raunchy weirdness pervades a sequence of mini-vignettes as the chase rolls on.
Dialogue is delivered in a high-speed street patois that lands somewhere between rap lyrics and 70s blaxploitation hyper-slang. Much of it sounds made up on the fly, and freestyle rhymed. The camera angles and effects like slo-mo, along with the cheesy comic soundtrack, give the film a raw indie, punk rock energy. The viewer is also treated to some poorly executed White rap.
It should be clear by now that this is not cerebral cinema. Think of Smoked as Clerks with shootouts, starring knockoff Cheech and Chong characters as witless action heroes. The performances are reminiscent of the cadence and vibe of Clerks. Smoked is frenetic, crashing along at a tweaker pace. The action goes so quickly you’ll miss something if you look away. To best enjoy, indulge in your favorite mind-altering substance and lay back to take in the hilarious (well, it will be when you’re high) chaos of Smoked. Initially released in 2014, now coming to AVOD 4/20/2026 (an appropriate release date).
Learn more at the official Smoked website.
"…Clerks with shootouts, starring knockoff Cheech and Chong characters as witless action heroes."
