Get the Weed (Denny Brechner, 2017): Uruguay

Review by Rasmus Nilsson. Viewed at the Metro 4 theater, 2018.

The hilarious mockumentary Get the Weed is about Alfredo Rodriguez’s, played by Denny Brechner, mission to find Uruguay a short-term weed supply. The recent legalization of marijuana in Uruguay has led to a shortage of the drug. And the people wants to blaze. Alfredo receives a mission from José Mujica, the president of Uruguay, to go to America and find a way to supply their country with Cannabis until they can grow their own. To give himself some credibility among the weed community, Alfredo sets up a fake department called “Uruguayan Chamber of Legal Marijuana” were he is the director. Before the mission starts he decides to bring his mother with him. And throughout their journey to find a reliable weed source they meet all types of weird people.

One part that brought the movie to life was that they managed to actually work with president José Mujica. President Mujica who is known as the poorest president in the world, is very unlike other presidents. He drives his own car and flies commercial. This made it possible for the filmmakers (who worked with a small budget) to include President Mujica in the film which gave it a lot of authenticity and humor. A movie having a short budget is usually very limiting. Especially when it comes to finding actors. But the chemistry between Alfredo and his charming mother, who was a surprisingly good actor, made up for it.

In conclusion, I really liked the movie and thought it was hilarious. It took about half of the film before I realized that it was a mockumentary, and I think it took a while for the rest of the audience as well. This was not a bad thing though. It made it less silly and more authentic and made up for the low production cost. It focuses surprisingly little on weed considering the title and more on the people who makes it less of a stoner film. I recommend it to anyone who is up for a good laugh.