There’s been an all-female “Ghostbusters” and an all-female “Ocean’s 11″ spinoff “Ocean’s 8.” So why not an all-female take on stoner comedies like “How High” or “Friday”?
That is the gift MTV is offering to the world with “Pretty Stoned,” which inexplicably debuted on April 19 but will run at 9 p.m. on the so-called “pot” holiday of April 20 as well as 8 p.m. on Friday.
In the movie, Atlanta comedienne Pretty Vee plays Stella, an unfocused makeup artist who prefers to smoke weed rather than work. She even fakes an illness so she could leave early, forcing her colleague Darcy (Paris Berelc) to cover for her. Darcy, stressed over the extra work, bombs out and gets fired. She storms over to Stella’s pad and in a fit of revenge rage, flushes Stella’s weed down the toilet.
Problem: that weed is worth $20,000 and the Atlanta weed queen Madame X (a mystery character who will be revealed at the end) and her handler Tick Tock (Brandee Evans of “P Valley” fame) want both Stella and Darcy dead if they don’t cough up the weed or $20,000 by midnight.
So the two enemies are forced to work together, get high and bond. Their 4/20 adventure lands them at a strip club, a roller skating rink and a local park. They also have to evade the cops in a state where recreational weed is still illegal while also keeping Madame X and Tick Tock at bay. (Scenes were shot in January and February at Gwinnett Place Mall, Maddox Park and Underground Atlanta.)
Evans, who plays Tick Tock, loves her character’s toughness and abiding love for roller skating. “She’s crazy and so different than what I’ve done before,” Evans said. “Plus, I love roller skating, too. And she is in therapy! She is working on herself!”
“Pretty Stoned” is manic and fast paced, with chase scenes and a fight at the end. The film also features former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Porsha Williams and current “Housewife” Kandi Burruss.
“I love that Stella is mean and fearless and bold and unapologetic,” said Pretty Vee, who is a regular on the sketch comedy and rap battle show “Wild ‘N Out” on MTV. “She just wants to get stoned on 4/20 and not have to work. That’s like me in real life. We have a lot of Stellas in the world and I am one of them.”
This is Pretty Vee’s biggest acting role to date and she enjoyed how director Jonathan Hawk enabled the actors to improvise. “It’s raw, it’s real, it’s uncut,” she said.
She herself acknowledges having smoked “weed back in the day” but not so much now. “They give you a roll and woot! You have to act like you’re doing it!” she said.
Pretty Vee loves the female empowerment angle of the movie and hopes enough fans get hooked that MTV offers up a sequel or two. “There is so much more of Stella and Darcy we can see because the chemistry is great,” she said.
As Evans added: “Women can have just as much fun as the men.”
Credit: MTV
Credit: MTV
IF YOU WATCH
“Pretty Stoned,” 9 p.m. on Thursday, April 20 and 8 p.m Friday, April 21 on MTV. It can also be seen at MTV.com, the MTV App, and MTV VOD (via cable set-top-box) with a cable subscription. YouTubeTV and Hulu Live subscribers can access the movie as well. It can also be purchased via iTunes and Amazon.
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