‘The Beach Bum’: Harmony Korine’s comedy gets you high

The eclectic auteur Harmony Korine brought The Beach Bum to theaters last year with hopes of giving his audience an aroma they’ll never forget. That’s right: a smell. Besides sitting in a theater viewing his film, Korine plans to take the moviegoing experience to the next level.

In an interview with Telerama, Korine delved into the plan to get audiences into a lax state for the stoner comedy starring Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Snoop Dogg (Training Day), and Zac Efron (Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile). “I would very much like to see the film, when it’s released, be shown in rooms that spread curls of marijuana (smoke).”

You heard it here, folks – Korine wanted to get you high while watching McConaughey’s rebellious stoner character Moondog, who lives by his owns rules. The Beach Bum was Korine’s first feature since Spring Breakers in 2012. As outrageous as it sounds, this comes as no surprise to Korine fans who’ve been there along the way.

Korine is known for his distinct and eclectic style in independent filmmaking. Since his shocking script of Kids (1995) and directional debut in Gummo (1997) and Julien Donkey-Boy (1999), Korine has always managed to disturb the general audience.

Kids, the controversial film directed by Larry Clark (Another Day in Paradise), follows teenagers throughout the AIDS epidemic and led the way to Korine directing his first film, Gummo. The debut unfortunately did not do well with its loose narrative involving a boy in pink bunny ears finding odd ways to pass the time.

The film left brave viewers wondering if there was any artistic value in boys huffing glue or a little girl holding a photo of Burt Reynolds (Smokey and the Bandit) while repeating, “I want a moustache dammit!” Whether Korine has left you uncomfortable or begging for more, there’s an undeniable underground popularity for the director’s absurdity.