Natalie Portman to do a Stoner Comedy

Natalie Portman and her production company Handsome Charlie Films have signed on to make a stoner road trip movie. Not a surprise, given the success of the Harold and Kumar movies, Knocked Up, Cheech and Chong, and The Hangover.

Actress Portman to star in and finance a stoner comedy

The thing about those movies is that they’re about men puffing away, because according to the silver screen women don’t smoke weed. They want babies. Marie Claire would like to prove them wrong, but of course, MC is preaching to the choir (and treating female smokers like they’re a new development). There are always exceptions to the rule, but most comedies just don’t deal with women smokers. Hollywood is still very much a boys’ club, and it’s refreshing to hear that women are getting new and different roles both behind and in front of the camera (this link has some choice quotes from screenwriter Jamie Denbo).

Knocked Up‘s Alison (Heigl) asked Ben (Rogen) to give up pot

Portman’s been in the spotlight since the tender age of thirteen, when she played a sweet ingénue hitwoman-in-training in The Professional. When not acting, she plays the media machine like a pro. Portman signed the petition to free Roman Polanski during his rape trial. She’s an outspoken animal rights advocate (her comments on Jonathan Saffron Foer’s book Eating Animals made national news) who designs vegan shoes. Her Harvard education is bandied about by haters as the ultimate evidence of bourgeois tendencies. But she also loves rap and cussing (as evidenced by her hilarious SNL digital shorts) and mouths off about drugs and drinking. I happen to like her, but have trouble assimilating her defense of Polanski with the kind of person she’d like to broadcast. Nonetheless, I look forward to her attempt at marijuana-influenced comedy. Far too few road trip comedies utilize women in major roles, and I have high (ha ha) hopes for a female-driven buddy comedy—and let’s hope it’s not labeled a “chick stoner flick,” but maybe, just maybe, a plain old funny movie.

Julia Rhodes

Julia Rhodes graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Communication and Culture. She’s always been passionate about movies and media, and is particularly fond of horror and feminist film theory, but has a soft spot for teen romances and black comedies. She also loves animals and vegetarian cooking; who says horror geeks aren’t compassionate and gentle? Bank Routing Numbers