Nice Dreams (1981)

Nice Dreams is Cheech & Chong at their loosest and liveliest: a shaggy, sunbaked comedy that moves with the carefree momentum of a great late-night hangout, where every wrong turn somehow leads to an even funnier detour. The movie’s secret strength is its pace and comic invention—sight gags, absurd encounters, and a parade of outrageous supporting characters (including a memorably unhinged cop) keep the laughs coming even if you’re not in on the counterculture. It’s goofy, anarchic, and oddly sweet about two dreamers chasing an easy paradise, with a vibe that’s more playful than mean-spirited. Fair warning: the drug content is constant and the nudity is real, so it’s not for everyone—but if you want a high-spirited comedy that commits fully to its own delirious wavelength, this one delivers.

Nice Dreams is trying to be a loose, anything-goes stoner farce where Cheech and Chong stumble from one absurd set piece to the next, and if you’re already on their wavelength, the goofy chemistry and a few inspired bits (including Stacy Keach’s committed, increasingly unhinged cop) can still land. The problem is it’s less a movie than a string of sketches, with a thin plot, sluggish pacing, and jokes that lean hard into juvenile, drug-soaked randomness rather than sharp writing. If you want a real story, clever comedy, or characters who develop beyond “spaced-out,” this will feel like a long hangout you didn’t agree to. But if you’re specifically in the mood for old-school, very dated stoner silliness and don’t mind heavy drug content and some nudity, it delivers exactly that—no more, no less.