Couchlock Film Festival

Seattle’s SPLIFF film festival screens movies “by the stoned, for the stoned,” on or about 4/20 every year, natch. But maybe you can’t make it to Seattle to partake? That’s why we asked the SPLIFFians to create a home festival exclusively for NatuRx readers. They were only too eager to help and recommended strains to accompany your streaming extravaganza. It’s time to open a multiplex in your mind. 

1. Dreams

Based on the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s recurring dreams, these eight mini-films (The Weeping Demon, Village of the Watermill, et. al.) will fuel your weedy reveries without taxing your attention span.
Pair it with Grapefruit Romulan. CannaSOS says this Indica-dominant strain “uplifts mood, relaxes the body” and “relieves stress, stimulates appetite.”

2. Spirited Away

Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film tells the coming-of-age story of a 10-year old girl who wanders into an abandoned amusement park with her parents, who soon metamorphose into pigs. And then it gets weird.
Pair it with Grape Ape. Another strong Indica strain, so prepare for a long night on the couch. Wikileaf calls it a “complex, fruity flavor” and “incredibly potent body high.”

3. Brazil 

Join main character, Sam Lowry, as he escapes the oppressions of totalitarian life through a series of heroic dreams. No, the weed isn’t playing tricks: Terry Gilliam’s film really does feature performances by Robert De Niro, Bob Hoskins, and Ian Holm.
Pair it with Tangerine Haze. Sativa-dominant and citrusy, so you’ll be alert for every last bizarre plot twist, like when Lowry’s cubicle shrinks as the worker next door squeezes a wall in on him. 

4. Blue Planet (TV series) 

A marijuana high can be rather like an underwater experience: aqueous, slow-moving, blurry. So why not watch Humboldt squids cannibalize each other while cannabis inspires you to you polish off the Goldfish?
Pair it with Girl Scout Cookies (aka GSC). Leafly says it “launches you to euphoria’s top floor where full-body relaxation meets a time-bending cerebral space.” Whoa. 

5. I Love You, Alice B. Toklas 

This ’60s counterculture flick stars Peter Sellers (you’re laughing already) and gives credit where it’s due to Alice B. Toklas, who published a pot-brownie recipe in her 1954 best-selling cookbook.
Pair it with Laughing Buddha. If Siddhārtha is snickering, you will too. It’s a sativa strain, so you might even make it to the closing credits. 

6. Baywatch (TV series)

Stream the TV show and be mesmerized again by those red bathing suits—one piecers for men and women—slow-mo-ing up the beach. And as for the plot, who cares?
Pair it with Do Si Dos. Minty. Elevated THC. Indica. Might be an early night, but at least you won’t be miss anything culturally important. 

7. The Wall 

An all-time cannabis-film-music pairing. Not much dialogue, and the plot is whack, but you’re here for the tunes, so enjoy.
Pair it with Blue Dream. It’ll relax your body and stimulate your mind, according to Leafly. “Comfortably numb” says it all. 

8. Monty Python’s Meaning of Life 

Episodic, like Kurosawa’s Dreams. A fantasia of disturbing and hilarious images, like Gilliam’s Brazil. And music filled, as you find yourself humming along to the tune of “Every Sperm is Sacred.” Inhale, deeply.
Pair it with Strawberry Cough. Thick smoke, so you may be hacking while you’re laughing. 

9. O Brother, Where Art Thou 

Come for the soundtrack, which won an album-of-the-year Grammy, and stay for deliciously daft performances by George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Turturro. When the gravediggers start singing “Oh, Death,” near the end, brace yourself.
Pair it with Bubba Kush—a heavy indica strain that will leave you “relaxed but still functional,” according to Wikileaf. 

10. Dumb and Dumber 

After watching Jeff Daniels iconic, idiotic role as Harry Dunne, you’ll wonder why they let him play Atticus Finch on Broadway. And why didn’t Jim Carrey get Boo Radley on stage?
Pair it with Green Crack. Snoop Dogg christened this strain, honoring its invigorating, sativa-dominant impact. It’s strong enough to stone a mockingbird.