In the 1970s, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, popularly known as Cheech & Chong, were the hottest comedy duo around — the heirs apparent to Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
They were architects of ’70s stoner culture, with hot comedy tours, hit records (including 1974’s “Earache My Eye,” which hit No. 8 on Billboard‘s Hot 100) and smash movies. But as businessmen, they were not exactly at the top of their games — at least not when they signed on to do their debut film. In the new documentary film Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie, Marin, 78, and Chong, 86, talk about their lives and careers — both separately and together — and at a little over halfway through the two-hour running time, they land on a somewhat sensitive subject: that first movie, 1978’s Up in Smoke.
The film, which was written by Cheech & Chong and directed by music mogul Lou Adler, was a massive hit that put a lot of money in a lot of pockets — but not Cheech’s or Chong’s.
“The movie comes out, and it’s a giant hit,” Chong says in the documentary. “Nobody thought Up in Smoke was going to do anything but [be] a bust. But the problem was, we had a hit movie and both Cheech and I were literally broke, cash poor.”
Apparently, they ignored the cardinal rule of making money in Hollywood: Don’t quit your day job until you’re financially secure.
“Our income depended on our live performances,” Chong continues. “And all the time we shot Up in Smoke, we stopped touring on the road. We had no income. We started looking very closely at the contract that we had signed with our lawyer. That was a huge horrible deal for us. The 90-10 split.
A this point a snippet of an old interview with Geraldo Rivera is shown. “So how much did your film cost?” Rivera asks.
Chong replies: “Under two. It’s probably a million and a half.”
Rivera: “And how much did it gross?”
Chong responds, “They’re talking $104 million worldwide. Who knows?”
At this point, both Cheech and Chong start talking — sometimes in unison, sometimes interrupting each other, occasionally finishing each other’s sentences.
Cheech: “We got a pair of lime-green shoes out of the deal…. And a hundred dollars.”
Rivera: “And $104 million seriously. What was your original deal, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Cheech: “We got 50 thousand to split.”
Chong: “Twenty-five thousand each.”
Both: “To write, direct and to star and promote.”
Rivera: “So you guys made a great deal.”
Chong; “Yeah, beautiful deal. And we had…”
Cheech: “Vaseline”
Chong: “And we had 10 percent of the back-end. Was it 10 percent or 5 percent?”
Cheech: “Ten percent. Ten percent of some vaguely defined 100 percent.”
Chong: “And we were committed to Paramount for six other movies.”
After renegotiating, they each received $1 million in advance for their second film, 1980’s Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie. Four more films together followed, with diminishing returns. After the 1985 album Get Out of My Room and 14 years together as a comedy team, they split up. Since the early ’90s, they’ve reunited sporadically.
“Me and Tommy have been together longer than I’ve been with any woman,” Marin says in a vintage clip in the documentary, adding, “He’s my best friend.”
“It’s ying and yang, Cheech & Chong,” Chong says. “I’m passive. He’s very aggressive. And it works perfectly. We complement each other. That’s why we’re together.”
Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie is now playing in select theaters.
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