Stoned Age, The (Blu-ray Review)
Director
James MelkonianRelease Date(s)
1994 (April 20, 2026)Studio(s)
Moritz-Heyman Productions/Trimark Pictures (Vestron Video/Lionsgate Limited)- Film/Program Grade: C
- Video Grade: B
- Audio Grade: B
- Extras Grade: B
Review
An unreasonable person might say that 1994’s The Stöned Age is a much less interesting version of Dazed and Confused (using the same font on its poster artwork certainly doesn’t do itself any favors), but more favorable viewers might say that it only appears that way from the outside looking in. In truth, it’s more of a story about a pair of characters in an unspecified era as opposed to an overview of teenage life in the same time frame. It’s also a framework to build a story on about being young and searching for booze, drugs, and “fine chicks.” In other words, something like this made today would be tarnished for sexism, homophobia, and outright imitation. The latter isn’t true since the idea for The Stöned Age pre-dates Dazed and Confused by three years, but there’s no way that it would have gotten made at that time without the success of it.
Hubbs (Bradford Tatum) and Joe (Michael Kopelow) are two young guys in 1970s California cruising around in their “blue torpedo” looking for a good time and rocking out to some classic tunes. Hubbs is the more aggressive of the two while Joe is a laid back stoner, looking for more than what life is currently offering. In the pursuit of “fine chicks,” they happen upon Tack (Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez) who informs them that there are pair of them looking to party in Torrance Beach. Ditching him immediately, they head there and meet Lanie (Renee Ammann), a blonde party girl, and Jill (China Kanter), a stoner who’s annoyed by both of them. Everything is ruined when Tack and his friends show up to spoil their fun. The rest of the cast includes Michael Wiseman, David R. Parker, Art Chudabala, Daniel Collins, Kevin Kilner, Josh Berman, David Groh, Jake Busey, Taylor Negron, and in cameo appearances, Frankie Avalon, and Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma of Blue Öyster Cult.
The Stöned Age was a project that went through some considerable gestation. Its director and co-writers James Melkonian and Chris Wilkes had made a thirty-minute short for the AFI and decided to expand the idea into a feature-length film. At one point, it was nearly set up at Disney since some of the young executives there were in favor of it, but it ultimately wound up at Trimark Pictures, which was looking for something like it at the time (though they were mostly interested in getting some boobs into the movie, according to the director). The results weren’t well-received, but the film went on to become a cult favorite over time, which brings us to now.
There are those who saw The Stöned Age at the time it was released and enjoyed it, and then there are others who are seeing it today for the first time and aren’t getting that much out of it... I’m a member of the latter group, unfortunately. First and foremost, I don’t really buy the “friendship” between Hubbs and Joe. Besides there being no real chemistry between them, Hubbs is mostly just abusive to everyone around him, including his closest friends, and why anybody would want to hang around with this guy for more than a day is unfathomable to me. The movie just isn’t all that funny either, but you can appreciate its more creative side, especially moments like Joe’s freakout wherein the film does a full-on drug-fueled paean to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Stuff like that shines through more so than the character relationships and the humor.
On top of that, its style of humor is tougher to get behind in today’s climate. It’s filled with expletives and offensive language that is certainly right on the money for the era in which the story takes place in, but it feels more like a constant barrage of vulgarity than a reflection of how people spoke in those days. There’s a reason nobody makes films with this level of crudeness anymore—there has to be some kind of filter, let alone characters you can truly get on board with. In other words, The Stöned Age wants to paint a portrait of a specific time and place, but it’s too crass and lacking in any real charm to fully enjoy it, at least for me. It’s one of those films that I probably would have appreciated more in my early teens, but now it doesn’t have the same kind of effect.
The Stöned Age was shot by director of photography Paul Holahan on 35mm film with Arriflex cameras and spherical lenses, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Lionsgate via Vestron Video debuts the film on Blu-ray with a dated HD master, encoded to a dual-layered BD-50 disc. It’s offers a decent encode, but it lacks the overall crispness of a fresh scan of the original elements. Colors aren’t all that impressive, but they’ve adequate enough given the material, with satisfactory contrast and some surprisingly deep blacks. The image is clean and stable, as well. It works well enough for what it is, but definitely needs a fresh transfer.
Audio is included in English 2.0 Dolby Digital with optional subtitles in English SDH. Including this in a lossy container doesn’t bode well, but it’s not too bad as it’s given some nice stereo spread. The hard rock soundtrack has some breathing room while dialogue, score, and sound effects have plenty of boost in the mix. Like the video, this could be improved upon, but it’s passable.
The Vestron Video Collector’s Series (#38) Blu-ray release of The Stöned Age features a double-sided insert with new artwork by Lucas Peverill with The Stöned Age title on the front (as well as the slipcover) and the original theatrical artwork with The Stoned Age title on the reverse. A Digital Code on a paper insert is also included within the package. The following extras are included on the disc:
- Back to The Stöned Age (HD – 22:22)
- Tales from the Blue Torpedo: The Stöned Age Reunion (HD – 25:48)
- Extended Scene (Upscaled SD and HD – 2:40)
- Legacy Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with James Melkonian and Rich Wilkes
Back to The Stöned Age is new retrospective documentary featuring interviews with director James Melkonian, co-writer Rich Wilkes, and actors Michael Kopelow, Bradford Tatum, Art Chudabala, David R. Parker, Daniel Collins, and Michael Wiseman. Tales from The Blue Torpedo is a new roundtable discussion between James Melkonian, Rich Wilkes, Michael Kopelow, and Bradford Tatum who share their memories of the project with each other. The Extended Scene offers slightly more of Joe’s freakout. Last but not least is the 1999 DVD commentary with James Melkonian and Rich Wilkes. It’s a lively and entertaining chat as the two reminisce about the film, offering plenty of information about its creation, while also acknowledging its shortcomings. However, they’re very appreciative of its cult audience.
Not carried over from the previous DVD is the film’s trailer. There’s also a sweepstakes promo from the film’s initial VHS release floating around, as well. The biggest items that are missing in action are most of the behind-the-scenes footage (which is glimpsed in the retrospective), the test reel shot for Disney (which is mentioned in the commentary), and the original 1991 short film Tack’s Chicks, though music rights likely prevents the latter from seeing the light of day.
Long-time fans of The Stöned Age will mostly be happy with this relatively inexpensive Blu-ray upgrade with slick-looking packaging and a decent extras package, especially the newly-produced material. More could definitely be done with this in the future, but it’s an improvement.
- Tim Salmons
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