Half Baked Totally High Blu Ray Review (Universal)

Half Baked Totally High (aKa Half Baked 2) is a 2024 stoner comedy directed by Michael Tiddes (Sextuplets, Naked, Fifty Shades of Black, and A Haunted House 1/2). It was written by Justin Hires (Dean’s List). It was produced by Griff Furst (Tales from the Hood 2/3, Nightmare Shark, Jersey Shore Shark Attack, Saltwater, Ghost Shark, and Trailer Park Shark). It’s a sequel to 1998’s Half Baked and a few of the original cast members return here. Since they first shared a joint as when they were younger years ago  they have been best buds. JR (played by: Dexter Darden from Saved by the Bell, The Binge, and The Maze Runner), Miles (played by: Moses Storm from Fool’s Paradise, Players, The Lovebirds, and Unfriended), Cori (played by: Ramona Young from DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Santa Clarita Diet, Z Nation, and Blockers) and Bruce (played by: Joel Courtney from Sick, Assimilate, Super 8, and The Messengers) deal with another experience when it comes to their love of chronic when one of them puffs on a fabled doobie containing three strains of weed that turns out to be fatal. They are desperate for money to send their friend’s body across the country for burial. JR ends up being in a relationship with funeral director Trisha Mitchell (played by: Ash Santos from Mayor of Kingstown, Shattered, True Story, Joe Bell, and America Horror Story) after trying to take care of his friend that passed away. JR and his friends end up staying with his mother Mary Jane (played by: Rachel True from Half Baked, The Craft, CB4, Embrace the Vampire, and Sharknado 2). The three remaining stoners accidentally come across a high quality strain of marijuana which blazes a trail across L.A.’s underground pot market. It starts messing with the business of a ruthless drug lord Shadow (played by: Justin Miles from Old Dads, The Hill, She-Hulk, Paradise Lost, The Crazies, The Act, and Swamp Thing) and the popular legalized dispensaries ran by Diesel Sampson (played by: David Koechner from the Anchorman franchise, Get Smart, Twin Peaks, Chips, Krampus, The Office, Piranha 3DD, Waiting, and Cheap Thrills). This group of friends are forced to go against real criminals while trying to complete their goal. Can they survive and help their friend at the same time???? It’s wild that so many people still don’t know that this film actually exists. The official IMDB page is still incomplete yet here we are with the official home video release from Universal Pictures. To be fair, they took forever to make a follow up to it. Half Baked Totally High feels more like a reboot or remake rather than being a true sequel to the original 90’s comedy. The whole main plot and concept displayed here is basically the same as the first one. It’s group of stoner friends that are trying to raise money for one of their own. It even repeats one of the iconic scenes word by word here. The main character is hiding from his girlfriend that he sells weed. The main villain is a rival drug dealer, does all this sound familiar? Unfortunately, Half Baked Totally High doesn’t even come close to the original feature. The only two from the first one that returns here is Harland Williams and Rachel True. Just a warning, Harland Williams actually only shows up real quick in this but Rachel True has a bigger role towards the 2nd half of Totally High. She’s honestly one of the best things about this entire production. It has some familiar faces that show up in this which includes Frankie Muniz, David Koechner, and Roastmaster Jeff Ross. Dexter Darden does a solid David Chappelle impersonation while playing his son in Half Baked 2. They only mention him once in the sequel saying that he’s a burnout and still doing the same things. It kinda teases the idea of him coming back but I don’t know if they will make a follow up to this one or if Chappelle would ever consider doing a lower budget direct to video role considering he’s still doing great when it comes to his career. The other leads in this were alright. I personally don’t think the material gave them much to work with. It has a few funny moments but it falls flat for the most part. It does have an interesting twist towards the end. I’d recommend going into this film with an open mind and having no expectations. Just turn your brain off and try to enjoy it for what it is. I think it’s worth checking out at least once. Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Universal Pictures! This 1080p (2.00:1) transfer looks great especially for being a lower budget direct to video sequel. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the comedy is elevated, and the soundtrack has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. Unfortunately, there’s no extras or a digital code with this brand new blu ray which is a little surprising. It’s available everywhere starting next week including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!