With 4/20 right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to fire up a movie night—whether you’re lighting up or just vibing from the couch. The best 4/20 movies go beyond just weed jokes; they tap into trippy visuals, hilarious stoner antics, and mind-expanding storylines that hit different on a high holiday. From iconic stoner comedies to visually wild cult classics, we’ve rounded up the most “lit” weed-themed films to watch when you're in the mood for some cannabis-centric cinema. And hey, while you're at it... grab yourself one of our favorite stoner snack foods.
Looking for more streaming recommendations? Check out our guides to the best TV shows available on Netflix, Hulu, AppleTV+, and HBO Max, plus the best movies on Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, and Tubi.
Up in Smoke
Director: Lou Adler
Cast: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Stacy Keach
Runtime: 1hr 26m
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: 47% (Critics), 82% (Audience)
Lou Adler may be more famous as a record producer (Carole King; The Mamas & the Papas), but his name is attached to a few cult-classic films, too. These include his role as an executive producer on The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as well as directing the Cheech and Chong classic, Up in Smoke. In the film, an unemployed drummer hits the road and stumbles through a variety of marijuana-fueled misadventures, ultimately competing in a music contest. Featuring two comedy legends, this quotable anti-establishment movie is the quintessential stoner movie.
Pineapple Express
Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole
Runtime: 1hr 52m
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Action
Rotten Tomatoes: 68% (Critics), 73% (Audience)
When a stoner (Seth Rogen) witnesses a murder while enjoying a rare strain of weed, he and his dealer (James Franco) must go on the run, pursued by a drug lord and cop. This simple premise proves to have genre-bending comedic potential in the hands of director David Gordon Green and a pitch-perfect cast with memorable performances from Rogen, Franco, Gary Cole, and Rosie Perez.
The screenwriting duo of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg is great at creating comedies with mass appeal, and Pineapple Express is just another example of why their contributions to the R-rated comedies of the mid-2000s were so strong.
Dazed and Confused
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Sasha Jenson
Runtime: 1hr 43m
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (Critics), 90% (Audience)
Set on the last day of high school in Austin, Texas in the 1970s, Dazed and Confused was marketed as a stoner comedy, even if it’s just as much a coming-of-age story. While it was a box office disappointment, its release on home video quickly gave it cult status. What really makes Dazed and Confused sing is the authenticity of its ensemble cast, an impressive list that includes future stars like Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich, Parker Posey, and Renée Zellweger.
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
Director: Danny Leiner
Cast: John Cho, Kal Penn, Paula Garces
Runtime: 1hr 28m
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: 74% (Critics), 80% (Audience)
Based on the near-universal experience of getting the munchies, seeing a commercial for something delicious (in this case, White Castle), and going after it, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle is one heck of an odyssey. Like many stoner comedies, Harold & Kumar is both elevated by its leads and simultaneously smart/stupid.
You don’t need to be high to enjoy this one, but you may need to have a Crave Case by your side.
Half Baked
Director: Tamra Davis
Cast: Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams, Guillermo Díaz
Runtime: 1hr 22m
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: 28% (Critics), 81% (Audience)
In Half Baked, three friends try to raise bail by selling some stolen weed after their other friend accidentally kills a police horse while stoned by feeding it junk food. If this premise doesn’t clue you in, this is one of the sillier stoner flicks on this list—a movie that breezily skates by thanks to a charming turn from Dave Chappelle. While not the cult classic it should have become, it’s nonetheless a fun way to spend an hour and a half. You’ll have a nice time whether you’re half-baked, fully baked, or sober.
Friday
Director: F. Gary Gray
Cast: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long
Runtime: 1h 31m
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% (Critics), 91% (Audience)
While not an explicitly stoner-centric comedy, Friday nonetheless is a great film with plenty of humor and drugs to make it a fitting watch in honor of 4/20. Set over the course of one outrageous Friday, this comedy starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker runs the gamut of colorful characters. From promiscuous pastors to drug dealers and foul-mouthed old ladies, it’s over-the-top in every sense of the word. If you like crass humor, you won’t be disappointed by the antics at the heart of this 1995 classic.
The Big Lebowski
Director: Joel Coen
Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore
Runtime: 1h 57m
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% (Critics), 93% (Audience)
The Big Lebowski’s main character, Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski epitomizes carefree, laid-back stoner vibes. That is, of course, until thugs break into his home and pee on his rug, confusing him for a different Jeff Lebowski. While you don’t need to be high to laugh at Joel and Ethan Coen’s idiosyncratic writing, it certainly doesn’t hurt — and it would heighten some of the trippier visuals, too (here’s looking at you, Julianne Moore). Don’t think The Big Lebowski has the same stoner vibes for 4/20 as some of the other flicks on this list? That’s just, like, your opinion, man.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Director: Terry Gilliam
Cast: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Craig Bierko
Runtime: 1hr 59m
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: 51% (Critics), 89% (Audience)
Based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a literal and figurative head trip. In it, Raoul Duke (played by Johnny Depp) and his attorney travel across the Mojave Desert in a red convertible full of drugs. The storytelling is off-the-wall, Depp and Del Toro go for broke, and the Salvador Dali-influenced acid trips and hallucinogenic sequences are a sight to behold, whether or not you’ve been smoking. In a word? It’s a blast.
Smiley Face
Director: Gregg Araki
Cast: Anna Faris, Danny Masterson, Adam Brody
Runtime: 1hr 24m
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: 64% (Critics), 45% (Audience)
Most stoner comedies are based on one (or two) characters’ journeys to complete relatively mundane tasks while high. As such, most stoner comedies succeed or fail based on their leading actors. Smiley Face’s premise about an actress who gets a bit too high and her misadventures around LA isn’t the most innovative movie—but it nails two crucial parts of the formula, thanks to Anna Faris. It’s full of cameos (we won’t ruin the surprises) and totally goofy. Whether you’re revisiting it or seeing it for the first time, Smiley Face deserves to be on your 4/20 watchlist.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Runtime: 2h 19m
Rating: G
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% (Critics), 89% (Audience)
If you’re on the hunt for a movie with trippy visuals, the 1968 sci-fi stylings of Stanley Kubrick still hold up even in the year 2025. The film’s psychedelic stargate sequence is reason enough to watch the film high. You can bet it certainly hit just as hard in the late 1960s.
As long as you don’t get too paranoid about Siri thanks to 2001’s space station computer HAL, you’ll enjoy all of the film blazed and blasting off into outer space.
Waking Life
Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Wiley Wiggins, Trevor Jack Brooks, Lorelei Linklater
Runtime: 1h 39m
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Animation
Rotten Tomatoes: 81% (Critics), 87% (Audience)
The second Richard Linklater film on this list, Waking Life is both a visual and a philosophical feast for friends who like to get high and talk about the deepness of life. In this surreal animated drama, the nature of dreams and reality blurs, blends, and bursts forth in a wholly imaginative experience unlike any other movie out there. It’s completely esoteric, best watched high and ready to dive into philosophy.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Director: Amy Heckerling
Cast: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold
Runtime: 1hr 30m
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: 78% (Critics), 80% (Audience)
Sean Penn’s scene-stealing surfing stoner, Jeff Spicoli, is what most people remember when they think of the 1980s comedy, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but the film holds up for more than just that epic performance. Its comedic exploration of life, love, and high school makes it a deeper viewing experience than other stoner flicks on this list, giving it real staying power as a story. And for what it’s worth Jennifer Jason Leigh is just as funny as Sean Penn, even if Penn facing off against Mr. Hand is a high point.
Weed has come a long way in mainstream media since Reefer Madness. Whether you’re seeking an altered state from your viewing experience or with a little help from some of the devil’s lettuce, all of the movies on this list are a great way to celebrate 4/20. Which one is your fave?
Looking for more streaming recommendations? Check out our guides to the best TV shows available on Netflix, Hulu, AppleTV+, and HBO Max, plus the best movies on Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, and Tubi.