CLASSIC MOVIE STONERS INSPIRE A NEW GENERATION

Comics Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong created the granddaddies of all
stoners. Their first film, Up in Smoke (1978), about the adventures of a
couple of weed-whacked hippies, paved the road for generations of cinematic
potheads.

In a classic gag, Pedro (Cheech) asks, "Hey, how am I driving man?" Man
(Chong) replies, "I think we're parked."

Guess you had to have been there, man.

A new generation of hapless dopers hits the big screen Friday. Starring two
relative newcomers, John Cho and Kal Penn, Harold and Kumar Go to White
Castle follows the comic adventures of two pals with a terrible case of the
munchies. Blocking the pair's path to tiny-burger bliss are a rowdy
raccoon, a creepy tow-truck driver, an on-the-lam cheetah and Doogie Howser.

In the meantime, check out these film potheads and ponder the question,
"Dude, why are all stoners dudes?"

* They're always hungry. Their ride is a flower-covered van called the
Mystery Machine. And the dog talks! Who doesn't know that Shaggy and
Scooby-Doo are dopers? Further proof in Scooby-Doo (2000), Shaggy says to
Mary Jane, "Like, that is my favorite name." Rut-ro.

* In director Kevin Smith's world, Jay and Silent Bob are the inspiration
for a comic book featuring pot-smoking superheroes Bluntman and Chronic.
The characters have tripped through six films, including a cameo in Scream
3. As the stoner stars of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), they pay
tribute to the Scooby gang when Jay offers a vanload of teens "Doobie Snax."

* Harold and Kumar director Danny Leiner's first film was 2000's Dude,
Where's My Car? To preserve its PG-13 rating, baked buddies Jesse and
Chester, portrayed by Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott, were never
shown smoking marijuana. The pair were mysteriously stoned. Or deliriously
dumb. A favorite "Who's on first" moment: A series of "Dude! What does mine
say?" and "Sweet! What about mine?"as Chester and Jesse examine one
another's back tattoos.

* "I don't do drugs -- just weed," says David Chappelle's character,
Thurgood, in Half Baked (1998). The promotional tagline for this comedy,
which also featured Jim Breuer and Guillermo Diaz, was: Warning: This movie
may cause the munchies, cotton mouth and memory loss!

* Texan Richard Linklater was hailed for Dazed and Confused (1993), in
which the director tweaked a number of high school cliches. Set somewhere
in small-town Texas on the last day of school, Dazed features lots of teens
getting "wasted." Chief among them: Ron Slater, portrayed by CSI's Rory
Cochrane.

* Long before he perfected his stone-face acting style, Keanu Reeves played
a stoner. He played Ted in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), as well
as its sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Party on, dudes.

* "All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine," announces
surfer Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), director Amy
Heckerling's brilliant take on a Cameron Crow screenplay. Portrayed by a
nimble Sean Penn and needled by Ray Walston as a tenacious history teacher,
Spicoli was a beaming, giggling sophist. Penn was awesome.