CHEECH AND CHONG STILL SMOKIN'

Routine Almost The Same As It Was In 1981

Would weed jokes dating back to the BBCB -- before BC bud -- era stand
the test of time?

Judging from the reception routines such as "Let's Make A Dope Deal"
received at the first of Cheech and Chong's two sold out performances
at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre last night, anything the hydroponic duo
ever did was guaranteed to get the crowd on its feet. Of course,
everyone was totally wasted.

OK, that might be overstatement, but the pot smoke haze in the theatre
wasn't exactly what you get with the opera crowd. This crew was in the
zone and many might've been in exactly the same place 27 years ago
when the comic team made its last appearance here.

A lot of water has flowed under the bong since then and the both
Cheech's and Chong's careers have had big ups and downs. Cheech has
become one of Hollywood's definitive "Latino" voices in hit animated
movies, but then there was Nash Bridges. Chong has never been able to
move on from the weed humour and yet managed to bring it to That 70s
Show and it rocked. But he got busted.

That formed a big part of his amusing dialogues last night. He is the
voice of the team. Cheech is the wild man character.

Together, they are the equivalent of mega-star musicians to the fans:
People were pumped up and beyond for the performance. A popular rock
band would be beside themselves to receive the kind of fervent love
that was in the venue on Friday.

All in all, a funny night out even if it was watching your grandparents talk
about doing
a LOT of drugs. Which is a tad unnerving if you really think about it.
Grade: A-