When thinking of dormant films to revive and create a franchise out of, the 2001 Method Man/Redman stoner comedy How High is not likely to be near the top of most lists. While it made its budget back in theaters, it was far from a profit powerhouse, and has failed to have the staying power of other stoner comedies like the Harold and Kumar series or the cult classic Half Baked.
Yet, that’s exactly what filmmaker Simon Barrett (You’re Next, The Guest) proposes in a recent appearance on Adi Shankar’s The Bootleg Universe Pitch Show.
Making things even weirder, Barrett’s idea is not to simply bring back How High for a straight comedy sequel, but instead re-imagine the film as a big budget action flick. Presented in a tongue-in-cheek tone fitting of the subject matter, Barrett’s sequel would see Method Man and Redman return, and would again involve them making a weed batch using the ashes of a fallen friend. Doing this would once again summon his ghost, but the twist this time out would be that their buddy is a martial arts expert, and taking a hit of the weed containing his remains not only brings him back but also imbues Method and Red with formidable fighting skills.
From there the plot would take a Karate Kid-esque turn, featuring Method and Red using their enhanced abilities to compete in a martial arts tournament. The end goal would of course be to impress a pair of attractive women, who Barrett amusingly posits should both be played by Miley Cyrus since she already proved she could pull off a dual role on Disney’s Hannah Montana. The batch containing the friend’s ashes would eventually run out before the finals of the big tournament, only for the two heroes to discover that they’ve picked up real skills along the way. As should be fairly apparent by now, Barrett’s pitch kind of goes off on crazy tangents at times.
Of all the various bootleg universe pitches so far, making an action-packed sequel to How High is definitely one of the most impractical. Studios don’t tend to revive properties that didn’t do that great financially the first time, and Barrett’s pitch has a plot resembling dozens of other films, just with weed and lots of added weirdness. In short, not much new is being brought to the table to entice Hollywood into backing this idea. To top it off, Method Man and Redman aren’t exactly household names anymore. Still, in a world where there are now four Alvin and the Chipmunks films, nothing is impossible.
