Scenarist DJ Pooh wrote the classic stoner comedy "Friday," but "Friday" director F. Gary Gray made the most of Pooh's witty screenplay. Pooh has written "3 Strikes," "The Wash," and the forthcoming "Last Friday." "Grow House" represents his third time behind the scenes to helm a film. "Grow House" is a stoner comedy that should have been far funnier when you take into account that he penned "Friday." Sadly, it isn't. Basically, "Grow House" concerns a couple of potheads swimming in debt who plan to enter the medical marijuana business. First, Pat (DeRay Davis of "Chocolate City") and Darius (Lil' Duval of "Meet the Blacks") set out to get a medical license to grow legal pot, and a helpful physician, Dr. Doobie (Malcolm McDowell of "A Clockwork Orange") gets them started with a prescription. Second, they desperately need seed money. Darius contacts rapper Snoop Dog, and they pitch their scheme to him (the real Snoop Dog of "Soul Plane"), and he antes up with $10-thousand. Third, our heroes must find some place to grow it without calling attention to their activities. Darius convinces his flighty girlfriend in the real estate business to let them renovate a foreclosed Bel Air mansion, and she sets them up. They assemble everything that they need to grow the dope. Of course, Terri (television actress Raquel Lee) believes that Darius is in fact renovating the house, but she doesn't linger under this delusion for long after she pays them a visit. Meantime, although they have smoked pot galore, Pat and Darius don't know jack about growing cannabis. The guys encounter one crazy complication after another, but eventually they grow enough to take care of business. There's an amusing surprise ending, but "Grow House" won't keep you in stitches. The screenplay is as thin as the papers that constitute a marihuana cigarette. DeRay Davis and Lil' Duval have zero charisma as guys who are supposed to be pals.
Review of Grow House
