Review of Stoned (2005) by Alex D — 01 Jul 2018
The script and story seem reasonable (though I don't know enough about the Rolling Stones' history to judge how historically accurate they are), and the production design and cinematography are quite nice - vivid costumes and believable sets and locations.
Most of the damage to the film was done during post-production. Plodding psychedelic "trip" sequences, retro-sixties cliches, and the editors match every key moment with a period song (usually not by the Rolling Stones), i.
E. "White Rabbit" for when characters take LSD for the first time, "Ballad of a Thin Man" for when Jones gets fired). The death scene has harsh string music over it, a la Hitchcock.
The problem with the chronological jumps is not that they're confusing, but that they serve no purpose. Our knowledge of the characters is not advanced or deepened by them; their only apparent purpose is to make the film seem sophisticated (at which they fail).
Jones and Thorogood are both portrayed entirely unsympathetically, as indeed are all the characters, with the possible exception of one of the witless girlfriends. At the end, you wanted them all to drown in that pool.
This review of Stoned (2005) was written by Alex D on 01 Jul 2018.
Stoned has generally received mixed reviews.
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