Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Jamal and Silas, two ordinary guys who smoke something magical, pass their college entrance exams with flying colors and end up at Harvard. Ivy League ways are strange but Silas and Jamal take it in a stride -- until their supply of supernatural smoke runs dry. That's when they have to start living by their wits and rely on their natural resources to make the grade.
How High is a fun but formulaic stoner comedy that coasts on the charm of Method Man and Redman rather than any particularly sharp writing. The plot is a thin fish-out-of-water premise with predictable beats and low ambition. Acting is serviceable but unpolished — the leads have natural charisma but the supporting cast is mostly broad caricature. Cinematography is workmanlike TV-level filmmaking with nothing distinctive. Novelty gets a slight bump for the hip-hop cultural flavor and the supernatural twist on the stoner genre, giving it a memorable identity within its niche. The ending resolves things lazily with little payoff. A cult classic for its era but objectively middling across most craft dimensions.