# Half Baked
**Half Baked** is a 1998 American stoner comedy directed by [Tamra Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamra-davis), written by [Dave Chappelle](https://www.edgepedia.org/dave-chappelle) and [Neal Brennan](https://www.edgepedia.org/neal-brennan), and distributed by Universal Pictures. Three slacker friends try to bail their companion out of jail after he accidentally kills a New York City police horse by feeding it junk food, raising the money by selling marijuana stolen from a pharmaceutical laboratory.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/half_baked)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Wide theatrical release January 16, 1998; distributor Universal Pictures[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/half_baked) |
| Director and writers | Tamra Davis; written by Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60843-HALF-BAKED?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=1&sid=f9e0f8d3-6c09-429a-89a4-c536718a8884&sr=0.16291958) |
| Lead cast | Dave Chappelle (Thurgood Jenkins/Sir Smoka Lot), Jim Breuer (Brian), Guillermo Diaz (Scarface), Harland Williams (Kenny), Rachel True (Mary Jane Potman)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60843-HALF-BAKED?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=1&sid=f9e0f8d3-6c09-429a-89a4-c536718a8884&sr=0.16291958) |
| Technical details | 82 minutes, R rated for pervasive drug content, language, nudity and sexual material; aspect ratio 1.85:1[3](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/half-baked) |
| Box office | $17.5 million gross in the United States[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/half_baked) |
| Critical reception | 28% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (25 reviews) against an 81% Popcornmeter audience score; Metascore 16 on Metacritic; 6.6/10 on IMDb[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/half_baked) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/half-baked/critic-reviews/) • [5](https://mdblist.com/movie/2qb-half-baked) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
The premise turns on a mishap: Kenny ([Harland Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/harland-williams)), a kindergarten teacher, is arrested for killing a New York City police horse by overfeeding it junk food, and his three friends must raise his bail.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/half_baked) Thurgood Jenkins (Dave Chappelle), Brian (Jim Breuer), and Scarface (Guillermo Diaz) resolve to steal marijuana from a pharmaceutical laboratory and sell it.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/half_baked) [Rachel True](https://www.edgepedia.org/rachel-true) plays Mary Jane Potman, Thurgood's love interest, and [Clarence Williams III](https://www.edgepedia.org/clarence-williams-iii) plays the criminal kingpin Samson Simpson; stand-up comedian Steven Wright appears as The Guy on the Couch.[6](https://kinolorber.com/film/half-baked-special-edition)
## Cast and cameos
The film is built around its guest appearances. Special appearances include [Tommy Chong](https://www.edgepedia.org/tommy-chong), Snoop Dogg, Jon Stewart, Willie Nelson, Stephen Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Janeane Garofalo, and [Bob Saget](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-saget).[6](https://kinolorber.com/film/half-baked-special-edition) Chappelle, 24 during production, both starred and co-wrote the screenplay.[7](https://actoragecheck.com/movie/Half-Baked/9490)
## Production
Tamra Davis, who had previously directed *CB4* and *Billy Madison*, shot the film for Robert Simonds Productions, with Steven Bernstein as cinematographer, Don Zimmerman as editor, and Alf Clausen composing the music.[6](https://kinolorber.com/film/half-baked-special-edition) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60843-HALF-BAKED?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=1&sid=f9e0f8d3-6c09-429a-89a4-c536718a8884&sr=0.16291958) On the twentieth anniversary of the release, Davis said in a Yahoo Entertainment interview that it had been an extremely professional, extremely sober film production, despite the subject matter.[8](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/half-baked-turns-20-director-tamra-davis-exactly-baked-everyone-filming-001340320.html)
## Reception
Critics rejected the film almost uniformly. On Metacritic, of 14 critic reviews counted, none were positive, 3 were mixed, and 11 were negative, producing a Metascore of 16, labeled "Overwhelming Dislike".[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/half-baked/critic-reviews/) Recurring complaints targeted the direction and the script. Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club wrote that Tamra Davis' "leaden direction" prevented the film from developing comic momentum, though he noted a few scattered laughs.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/half-baked/critic-reviews/) Ruthe Stein of the [San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-chronicle) called the script inane, objecting to jokes about lung cancer and the Tuskegee experiment.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/half-baked/critic-reviews/) The most favorable review collected was Lisa Alspector's 60/100 in the Chicago Reader: "I kind of liked this slow, stoner comedy."[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/half-baked/critic-reviews/)
Audience ratings diverged sharply from the critics. The Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter stands at 81% from more than 100,000 user ratings, against the 28% Tomatometer, and IMDb users rate the film 6.6/10.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/half_baked) • [5](https://mdblist.com/movie/2qb-half-baked) Rotten Tomatoes' critics consensus reads: "You'd have to be high to dig Half Baked's half baked production and scattershot sense of humor, although maybe that was the point of this Dave Chapelle-led joint."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/half_baked)
## Legacy
The film's reputation has rested less on its reviews than on its place in the stoner-comedy genre. A Yahoo Entertainment retrospective argued that *Half Baked*, perhaps even more than *Friday* (1995), paved the way for *How High*, *Super Troopers*, *Dude, Where's My Car?*, and other stoner comedies of the 2000s.[9](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/thanks-weed-every-cool-movie-192315461.html) A scholarly study of the stoner film as a genre uses the premise of Kenny being jailed for "murdering" a police horse as an example of a scenario that reads as funny within the genre but would not in a drama.[10](https://www.screeningthepast.com/issue-46-first-release/systematically-stoned-the-stoner-film-as-genre/) The film has remained in circulation on home video and streaming: Universal sells it on digital and on a "Fully Baked Edition" DVD, and it has appeared on Netflix and for rent or purchase on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, and Fandango At Home.[3](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/half-baked) • [11](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/half-baked)
## References
1. [Half Baked, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/half_baked)
2. [Half Baked (1998), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60843-HALF-BAKED?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=1&sid=f9e0f8d3-6c09-429a-89a4-c536718a8884&sr=0.16291958)
3. [Half Baked, Universal Pictures At Home](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/half-baked)
4. [Half Baked critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/half-baked/critic-reviews/)
5. [Half Baked (1998), MDBList](https://mdblist.com/movie/2qb-half-baked)
6. [Half Baked (Special Edition), Kino Lorber Theatrical](https://kinolorber.com/film/half-baked-special-edition)
7. [Half Baked Cast and Crew, ActorAgeCheck](https://actoragecheck.com/movie/Half-Baked/9490)
8. ['Half Baked' turns 20: Director Tamra Davis on exactly how baked everyone was during filming, Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/half-baked-turns-20-director-tamra-davis-exactly-baked-everyone-filming-001340320.html)
9. [Thanks To Weed, Every Cool Movie In The '90s Was A Stoner Movie, Yahoo Entertainment](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/thanks-weed-every-cool-movie-192315461.html)
10. [Systematically Stoned: The Stoner Film as Genre, Screening the Past](https://www.screeningthepast.com/issue-46-first-release/systematically-stoned-the-stoner-film-as-genre/)
11. [Half Baked streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/half-baked)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 1995 to 1999*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license