Mary Jane – A Musical Potumentary explores the complex relationship between cannabis and music. With interviews from legendary musicians, this film shows how marijuana has provided both inspiration and camaraderie among artists over time.
Dell’Arte International introduced Mary Jane at its Mad River Festival, quickly achieving success and selling out every performance, becoming Dell’Arte’s highest grossing play ever.
The Story
Mary Jane is a comedy film featuring Joan Schirle of Dell’Arte (Dell’Arte’s Joan Schirle) as an immigrant pot farmer struggling to raise her son in an underground economy. Directed by John Howarth and available free on Plex, Freevee, Tubi TV and VUDU Free.
The film is an adaptation of a Dell’Arte play by the same name that premiered at Blue Lake Mad River Festival in 2011 and quickly became their highest grossing play ever in 40 years. This musical pairing 12 local songwriters with Dell’Arte actors explored Humboldt County cannabis culture.
“A humorous yet thought provoking film that takes viewers on an eye opening journey into the world of marijuana cultivation!”
The movie is an absolute must for those interested in this burgeoning industry and those behind its success. The fast paced story is quick, entertaining and poignant with heartwarming moments; acting is convincing; characters interesting to follow; dialogue is great and script original – although some over the top acting may work better for genre than film as whole; dialogue quality and script original. Unfortunately however, considering itself a musical, many songs fall between tolerable musical aspects and sounding like bad Schoolhouse Rock episodes!
The Music
Mary Jane Watson (or MJ as she is commonly known among friends and fans) is the only surviving daughter of Peter Parker and Aunt May. While her upbringing left little hope of happiness, MJ found solace in acting classes and parties until Spider-Man came along and became her savior – both sharing two common threads; an eagerness to experience life to its fullest extent while keeping their true selves hidden behind a mask.
MJ was not like other superheroes in that she did not possess superpowers, instead relying on her beauty, intelligence and talent alone to reach the top of her field. Through dedication and hard work she earned herself a place among other prestigious fashion models and became an actress; yet despite all this success she still experienced the trials associated with fame: Peter was too often preoccupied as Spider-Man leaving MJ feeling neglected while dealing with crazy fan attacks or being taken hostage by stalkers.
The film is a satirical comedy that pokes fun at the cannabis industry and its many consequences of legalization, while featuring musical numbers intercut with documentary interviews that address pot cultivation in Humboldt County and beyond.
Dell’Arte International has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for their movie, set for release at Eureka Theater on June 10. Cast and crew are still awaiting word on festival circuits and distribution options.
The film’s soundtrack includes music by The Cuts as well as their cover of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” both available to stream or buy via Spotify and iTunes.
John Howarth is making his feature film directorial debut with “MJ: A Musical Potumentary”, after spending two years developing it. A BBC veteran with 25 years of experience who directed multiple television shows such as The Lost World. While filming took place, Howarth lived in Humboldt County which proved ideal as an ideal location.
The Actors
Retelling of the classic tale through song and music (which I usually adore a lot while my games over the online casinos as seen on the reviews over the yoakimbridge.com). The film will feature a large cast and chorus including local songwriters and actors; Joan Schirle – Dell’Arte’s founding artistic director – plays Mary Jane both onstage and in film form.
She was raised as a poor girl whose childhood was marred by her parents’ constant pursuit of wealth and happiness. To escape Pittsburgh’s monotony she attended ESU for psychology studies while simultaneously modeling to earn money – but even this wasn’t enough to stave off Jonathan Caeser who kidnapped and forced her into retirement.
While staying with her Aunt Anna, Mary first caught sight of Peter Parker. She was surprised that he wasn’t the bespectacled bookworm she expected and they quickly fell in love. Though obstacles would arise between them, their love would only become deeper.
One day at the airport he saved her from being attacked by a rhinoceros, and in so doing revealed his secret identity to her for the first time. At first she was angry but soon realized she couldn’t live without him anymore.
Mary Jane and Peter moved in together, raising two children – Gayle (daughter) and Peter (son). Mary Jane went on to become an esteemed psychology professor while Peter became Spider-Man fighting for all people regardless of who they were or their motives.
But as the war on crime brought with it new threats to society’s balance of power, cannabis views began to change significantly among the general public – initially seen as harmful but later turning into the cannabis movement that exists today.
With national attention now focused on legalizing marijuana, Mary Jane reflects back on her journey from Summer of Love hippie to Humboldt County grower and mother; taking on Ed Asner as a corporate raider with limitless capital as one of her challenges both personally and professionally. Can she overcome both?
The Director
Mary Jane had been living off of the land, cultivating marijuana to provide for herself and raise her son. Now, however, she’s planning a drastic shift in her business practices.
MJ was completely unaware that Peter Parker was Spider-Man when they first met. Expecting an intelligent bookworm, she was shocked when Spider-Man appeared at her door instead. Soon enough they became friends despite Peter’s superhero duties sometimes creating friction; in fact he even went as far as dating other sports jocks like Flash Thompson just so as to make MJ jealous.
Mary Jane was determined to find happiness. After spending most of her life moving from relative to relative, she resolved not to end up like Madeline Watson and Philip; Madeline’s marriage seemed stagnant and her daughter Gayle seemed distant from life. By injecting some zest and exuberance into her life through Mary Jane, it appeared as if she were finally making strides forward in life.
But as Mary Jane advanced in her modeling career, fame caused its own problems for her. Jonathan Caeser attempted to kidnap and assault Mary Jane multiple times. But regardless of these difficulties, Mary Jane persevered until finally seeing success in her works.
At one point, Mary Jane was approached with an opportunity to work for a big-name celebrity and was soon offered her dream job – one which would pay well, take her away from city living, yet also require leaving behind her son – something which Mary Jane wasn’t willing to do.
The film does have some charm, with mostly decent acting from its leads; however, its direction leaves something to be desired. There are few laughs but mostly the dialogue feels forced and stilted. There are some poor performances as well; especially from Mary Jane herself who seems stuck between sounding natural and just reading off script in an embarrassing performance that makes for painful viewing.