Synopsis
A match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry when Lyle can't decide which matters most, Nina or Mary Jane.
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Cast
- Amari CheatomLyle
- Trae HarrisNina
- Tone TankJackie
- Isiah Whitlock Jr.Philly
- Colman DomingoChico
- Adrian MartinezHernan
- Tonya PinkinsPatrice
- Diane NealManny
- Liam BroggyJimmy
- Mars WilliamsGirl in Bodega
Recommendations
- 83
The Playlist
Director Shaka King has made a film of big laughs and big heart that makes one long for one long green detour without pandering to the pot-hawks who, unrelatedly, also like the lowest-common-denominator appeal of most pot films without realizing they’re being patronized. - 80
Village Voice
Debut writer-director Shaka King dramatizes her characters' descent into disarray with disarming intimacy. - 70
The Dissolve
The movie has a certain dark charm, and often feels like early Spike Lee in its energetic depiction of working-class Bed-Stuy folk. - 70
Los Angeles Times
The sights, sounds and sociological quirks of Lyle's and Nina's particular circle of existence are what give Newlyweeds its indie resonance, less a city symphony than an urban alt-fugue. - 63
Slant Magazine
Going neither in the direction of Reefer Madness nor a Cheech and Chong movie, it's both funny and serious, and its depictions of pot-smoking could be read as either promotional or cautionary. - 60
New York Daily News
Despite the hard lessons learned, King seems to have a pretty deep appreciation for Lyle and Nina’s drug of choice — and you’ll probably enjoy the movie a little more if you feel the same. Just think twice if you’re planning to sneak some homemade brownies into the theater when you see it. - 58
The A.V. Club
At times, it’s surprisingly compelling, thanks to King’s surefooted direction of actors and well-honed formal sense; while the movie’s execution never quite makes up for its conception, it does elevate it above, well, just being the sort of movie that would be called Newlyweeds. - 50
The New York Times
Newlyweeds, for all its freshness, never really lands. It remains suspended in a haze of secondhand smoke.
