Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, more widely known as Cheech & Chong, are a comedy duo with the rare status of being culturally relevant from the seventies all the way to today. After all, with a lovable air and stoner sensibilities, what's not to love about these two? They began their career in the 1970s with stand-up comedy and musical skits focusing on Latino and stoner culture, political satire, dark and character comedy, and the ups and downs of everyday life. Their success swelled in the comedy circuit, leading to them creating their first film together.
Up In Smoke was released in 1978 and quickly found both a cult following and box office success. Sequels quickly followed, with Cheech & Chong's Next Movie, Nice Dreams in 1981, Things Are Tough All Over in 1982, and Still Smokin' in 1983. They broke from their typical stoner comedy movies to release the lesser-known Corsican Brothers in 1984, only to return to form with Get Out of My Room in 1985.
But the duo would part ways soon afterward. They'd continue several other projects independently, from acting to writing to producing what may or may not have been pretty cool but illegal at the time drug paraphernalia (according to the 2003 federal officials who raided Chong's glass company). They'd go on to reunite in the 2000s and tour the country doing sketch and musical comedy. As of now, there's only one movie they've released post-reunion, that being Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie in 2013.
Now, whether you're born in East L.A. or just appreciate the duo from a smoke-filled room elsewhere, here's every Cheech & Chong movie in chronological order.
1. Up In Smoke (1978)
One of Cheech & Chong's most fondly remembered films is also their earliest. The story follows the aptly named Anthony Stoner (Chong), an unemployed, well, stoner who aspires to be a drummer. When his strict parents threaten to ship him off to military school, he leaves home to find his way in the world. Along the way, he meets Pedro De Pacas (Marin) and the two form a quick friendship thanks to their similar interests, one of which being marijuana. The two find themselves arrested for possession, only to be let off on a technicality. Hijinks ensue, including being accidentally deported to Tijuana, drug smuggling, and an epic Battle of the Bands finale in which everyone gets high thanks to a van funneling marijuana smoke into the venue. The movie has a cult following that still exists today despite being over 40 years old.
2. Cheech & Chong's Next Movie (1980)
Cheech & Chong, starring as themselves, spend the film tearing up the city of Los Angeles in an effort to find some roaches. After Cheech loses his job in the movie industry, the two go to try to collect unemployment from Cheech's girlfriend, Donna (Evelyn Guerrero). However, thanks to their habit of causing trouble, they end up being kicked out of the welfare office and go in search of alternative income. The plot of this film goes even farther off the rails than the first, dipping into alien abductions with the interesting addition of "space coke" to spice up the duo's usual high antics.
3. Nice Dreams (1981)
In a bid to make it rich, Cheech & Chong, who are once again starring as themselves, start selling marijuana out of an ice cream truck. Thanks to their frozen front, they're able to evade law enforcement and make a substantial amount of money. Unfortunately, they get involved with a bizarre strain of bud that turns its consumers into lizard monsters — which happens to one of the police officers trying to bust Cheech & Chong's ice cream operation. The film ends on a hilarious note, with the pair's weed supplier going bust and putting them out of business. As a result, they become male strippers under the names Maui and Wowie in order to make money.
4. Things Are Tough All Over (1982)
Cheech & Chong, aspiring musicians, start the film working at a car wash to make ends meet. Unfortunately, after messing up on the job, they find themselves forced to work and perform at a club owned by Mr. Slyman and Prince Habib (Cheech & Chong). When Slyman and Habib come into a large sum of illegal money, they need a way to get it from their current location, Chicago, to Las Vegas, the location of their secondary business. To get it there, they stow it in a limo, which they then instruct Cheech & Chong to drive to its intended location — all under the guise of sending the musicians on a "rock tour." But of course, none of it goes according to plan.
5. Still Smokin (1983)
Cheech & Chong are invited to Amsterdam, the "marijuana capital of the world," to attend a comedy performance. However, when they arrive, it's revealed that the man who invited them dipped, taking all the money with him. As such, it's up to Cheech & Chong to save the show by impersonating Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton and performing a stand-up act. The film centers heavily on the pair's stand-up routine in which the sketches are presented as cutaway gags. Critically, the film flopped; hilariously, this film was nominated for a single award in its release year: The Stinkers Bad Movie Award.
6. Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers (1984)
With a tagline like "They saw Paris. They saw France. They saw the Queen in her underpants," you know exactly what you're in for. The film is, strangely enough, a parody of the Alexandre Dumas novella The Corsican Brothers. The story (and thus the film) follows two conjoined twins that are able to feel the other's pain and pleasure even after being physically separated. Cheech & Chong's interpretation is set during the late 1700s. With the familiar plot of the duo running amuck wherever they go, this naturally leads to the two bringing about the French Revolution and deposing the Queen's (Edie McClurg) sadistic regent Fuckaire (Roy Dotrice).
7. Get Out of My Room (1985)
This film departs from the usual far-out, fictionalized stories of Cheech & Chong to attempt something a little more down to earth. With a runtime of just under an hour, Get Out of My Room is part film, part album. In it, Cheech & Chong film a mockumentary about themselves in a This Is Spinal Tap style. It shows the two attempting to finish a novelty "video album," complete with fake interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and celebrity cameos from the likes of Cassandra Peterson and Beverly D'Angelo. The film was definitely experimental for the two, and would be the last film Cheech & Chong would create together before their split in 1986.
8. Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie (2013)
This entry is unique on this list for being both the first (and so far only) Cheech & Chong film released post-reunion and for being the pair's only animated film. Where previous movies would often incorporate parts of the duo's stand-up routines, characters from their sketch performances, and songs they'd created, it was often only a small part of a largely original plot. Here, however, the film is almost entirely already created content connected through a loose wraparound plot involving a body crab named Buster (Chong). In the film, Chong plays a character called Man, while Cheech plays Pedro De Pacas, who you might remember from the first movie on this list. The film animates many of the two's most famous sketches including "Sister Mary Elephant," "Earache My Eye," and "Dave."