Cheech & Chong light up the big screen once more. Will it be their last joint?

“Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie,” which hits theaters Friday, answers a batch of questions astir the stoner drama duo’s career. But it besides raises a fewer large ones on the way. Chief among them, fixed the title: Is this genuinely the last silver-screen sesh for the pair, present 78 and 86 respectively? And how, aft a contentious originative divided 4 decades ago, did they find themselves reunited for, of each things, a documentary?

I recovered answers to those questions — and much — astatine the outdoor array of a Venice cafe earlier this period erstwhile I sat down to chat with them successful beforehand of the movie’s release. As to the archetypal question, neither of them definitively ruled retired different associated venture.

“It’s [actually] the next-to-the-last movie, but that doesn’t dependable right,” quips Richard “Cheech” Marin with a flimsy motion and a wan chuckle that feels designed to adhd a dash of levity to the heaviness of the question. After a beat, helium turns somewhat much contemplative: “You ne'er know.”

“God lone knows,” Tommy Chong says. “It each depends connected the script. Everything depends connected the script.”

When I inquire this question — which is being videotaped to travel this communicative — they are sitting front-seat-of-the-car adjacent to each different astatine the cafe. Marin wears a crisp bluish denim overgarment and jeans, his arms folded. He leans somewhat toward his longtime drama partner, who provides a colorful counterpoint successful a quilted zip-front overgarment covered successful a riot of paisley patterns. He’s sporting a chunky ammunition necklace. They reply a fistful of questions this mode — Marin with speedy bursts of humor, Chong with longer, near-meandering monologues.

But erstwhile the camera clicks off, there’s a palpable vibe shift. Cheech & Chong — the mentation joined by an ampersand successful our corporate consciousness — are gone. Cheech puts connected his sunglasses and leans away. Chong looks astatine the facade of the edifice and recalls how, nether a antithetic name, it appeared successful a country from 1 of his post-duo films, 1990’s “Far Out Man.” Both sip connected their lattes. Instead of an affable brace riffing disconnected each other, they look much similar 2 guys who worked unneurotic once, had a falling retired and present are backmost successful each other’s orbit but possibly aren’t precisely thrilled astir it.

Which brings america to that 2nd question. What reunited them connected the large surface for the archetypal clip since 1984’s “The Corsican Brothers”?

“You know, you can’t garbage a daughter,” Chong says, referring to 59-year-old Robbi Chong, who is 1 of “Last Movie’s” producers. She coaxed the 2 backmost into a originative narration successful the mid-aughts, which resulted successful a tally of stand-up shows successful 2008. It was astir that clip that she was besides progressive successful an (ultimately unsuccessful) reunion-movie effort.

“I was brought successful arsenic a shaper for that project,” manager David Bushell tells The Times astatine the aforesaid Venice cafe an hr later. “And that’s however I met the guys and met Robbi. We became adjacent and would instrumentality hikes unneurotic and [talk about] trying to support the reunion-movie bid connected the tracks.” Bushell says that, implicit those years, the conception of doing a straight-up, old-school-style communicative movie gave mode to a documentary approach, the effect of which is Bushell’s diagnostic directing debut.

I’ll beryllium the archetypal to admit that, astatine archetypal blush, a Cheech & Chong documentary sounds a full batch little amusive than the hazy buddies-with-buds tenor of the movies. But acknowledgment to a small spot of magic and a full batch of nostalgia, it turns retired to beryllium a worthy roadworthy travel down representation lane. Figuratively and literally.

This movie opens with a nostalgic motion to their precise archetypal one, 1978’s “Up successful Smoke”; Yesca’s blues-rock opus “Lost Due to Incompetence (Theme for a Big Green Van)” plays arsenic a Rolls-Royce with a pot-leaf hood ornament and a KP SMOKIN licence sheet speeds done the desert. An opening montage of video clips ends with an iconic two-shot from the movie of their characters, Pedro (Marin) down the instrumentality and Man (Chong) riding shotgun, disappearing into a surface afloat of smoke. When the fume clears — voilà! — they’re back. Older, grayer and puffier (that’s what a 47-year leap chopped volition bash to you), it’s inactive unmistakably Cheech down the instrumentality and Chong successful the spot adjacent to him.

In summation to those interstitial car-ride scenes, the movie relies heavy connected archival interrogation footage (Cheech & Chong interviewed by Geraldo Rivera, Cheech & Chong astatine the Playboy Mansion, etc.). Paired with these older interviews are inactive photos and funky animation (by James Blagden). Throughout the documentary‘s two-hour moving time, with precise uncommon exception, the radical telling their communicative are either Cheech & Chong themselves (from backmost successful the day) oregon Cheech & Chong (from today).

It turns retired to beryllium a earnestly heavy dive astir 2 precise comic peope and the arc of their vocation together. It starts with some men’s aboriginal lives, the forces that shaped them and the mindbogglingly serendipitous paths that brought the California-born Mexican American Marin unneurotic with the Edmonton-born Chong, the lad of Chinese and Scotch-Irish parents, successful a Vancouver nightclub called Shanghai Junk successful 1968.

“It conscionable seemed close to us,” Marin recalls astir that archetypal gathering truthful agelong ago. “I knew the tunes that helium knew and helium knew the tunes that I knew. And we some had a inheritance successful the Black communities, truthful we had that successful common. It was similar we understood each other’s music.”

About 44 minutes into the film, the 3rd powerfulness subordinate successful the duo’s dynamic emerges. “We had 2 choices — New York oregon L.A.,” Chong says successful a black-and-white archival video clip. “It’s warmer, [so] it’s easier to starve successful L.A.,” Marin jokes successful the aforesaid clip.

They recount being discovered by Lou Adler astatine a hootenanny nighttime astatine the Troubadour successful 1970 and however that narration lighted the Roman candle of their career. They notation however Jack Nicholson’s erratic high-speed driving — connected the incorrect broadside of the roadworthy down Manchester Boulevard — inspired their opus “Basketball Jones.”

“There was nary crippled oregon anything,” says Chong of the duo’s caller movie, a documentary. “So I conjecture they got what they wanted — which is 2 aged guys [talking].”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

“There’s much abstraction and it’s progressive successful California and it allows artists and creativity to grow and flourish, particularly astatine that time,” manager Bushell says astir however helium thinks moving present helped signifier what became Cheech & Chong. “People are going to beryllium influenced by their surroundings. Los Angeles had the weed and surf and skateboarder [cultures]. So, yes, I deliberation situation played a role.”

With oregon without the ampersand, Cheech and Chong person beauteous overmuch made their homes present ever since. Both presently unrecorded successful Pacific Palisades. (Although their homes were spared successful the January fires, some said they’d temporarily evacuated and had lone precocious gotten things backmost to normal.)

There’s conscionable capable movie magic successful the doc to marque it enactment connected different level. Most of it involves the 2 men bantering (and occasionally bickering) down the instrumentality successful their existent incarnations and the occasional unexpected back-seat cameo (the astir memorable 1 being shaper Adler, who financed and directed their archetypal film). When Cheech turns to Chong during that car thrust done the godforsaken and asks, “Hey, man, is this a movie oregon a documentary?” and Chong replies, “I don’t know, man,” it’s a meta, laugh-out-loud infinitesimal that volition marque you consciousness stoned adjacent if you’re arsenic sober arsenic a religion mouse.

It turns retired those revelatory car scenes, which see what feels similar a precise candid rehash of their large schism (part originative differences, portion earthy vocation evolution), were not scripted.

“Dave [Bushell] wouldn’t springiness america anything,” Tommy Chong says. “We were like, ‘What’s the country here?’ And he’d say, ‘Well, it’s conscionable you guys talking,’ There was nary crippled oregon anything. So I conjecture they got what they wanted — which is 2 aged guys [talking].”

Maybe so, but for fans who person been waiting for them to accidental yes to a big-screen reunion since the epoch of Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign, it’s a show to behold. (When we spoke, Bushell confirmed that thing astatine each was scripted and that helium lone suggested wide topics based connected his 30-plus hours of interviews.)

Since it felt similar the guys were genuinely moving done that long-ago rift onscreen, I had to inquire if it was arsenic cathartic for them arsenic it seemed.

“Yeah, I deliberation so,” Marin said with a flimsy motion astir their 1985 divided (a effect of originative differences and Marin’s determination toward a much mainstream acting career). “But we didn’t deliberation specifically astir the effect it would person astatine the time. We were conscionable benignant of figuring retired wherever we were going with it, what we were doing and however to get each this accusation retired portion we’re determination successful the car.”

When talking astir the movie itself — however it came to be, what they anticipation radical instrumentality distant from it (“Hopefully not the seats,” jokes Marin) oregon however it whitethorn oregon whitethorn not cement their 47-year comedic bequest — neither antheral seems peculiarly enthusiastic to rehash it connected this April morning. Maybe it’s due to the fact that it’s 10 a.m. successful the mediate of a two-day property junket (they’re astir to caput to an NPR interview). Maybe it’s due to the fact that they privation the movie to talk for itself. Or possibly they’ve been reunited physically connected the large surface but are not afloat implicit their detachment.

But erstwhile topics crook elsewhere — their biggest Hollywood regrets, for example, oregon expounding connected who should articulation them connected the Mt. Rushmore of personage stoners — they go reanimated and engaging. They look decades person to the Cheech & Chong of old.

“Trump wants to beryllium connected Mt. Rushmore, truthful we should beryllium connected Stone Mountain,” Chong says of his envisoned monument to stoner celebs. “Along with Willie [Nelson], Snoop Dogg and ...” Without missing a beat, some men accidental Seth Rogen astatine the aforesaid time.

They’re likewise playing disconnected each other’s timing connected the taxable of their biggest Hollywood regrets. “Someone called and asked maine to bash a dependable for a video crippled movie and I was like, ‘F— that, I’m a movie star,’” Marin says. “It turned retired to beryllium ‘Super Mario Bros.,’ and due to the fact that I looked similar the feline with the mustache I would person gotten a portion successful the movie and a portion of the full action. But I didn’t.” As if to punctuate his asinine decision, Marin makes a braying donkey noise.

“Jeffrey Katzenberg asked america to beryllium successful his movie ‘It Came From Hollywood,’” Chong adds. “And arsenic a reward, helium offered to get america parts successful a Disney movie. But I didn’t privation to beryllium successful a Disney movie, truthful I turned it down. And it turned retired to beryllium ‘The Lion King.’” Marin, who would extremity up voicing a hyena successful the 1994 animated film, makes different braying donkey noise. Both men smile.

After the interview, arsenic they locomotion toward Venice Beach to beryllium photographed, it’s casual to spot however indelibly linked the 2 are. On their own, Cheech, successful his scuffed Crocs, walking the agelong of Venice Boardwalk up of his erstwhile (and possibly future) co-star went virtually unrecognized. But erstwhile passersby clocked Chong successful his baggy sweats and Skechers slip-ons respective paces behind, heads swivel, iPhones are brandished and excited whispers are heard. Another movie — the past 1 oregon not — abruptly makes each the consciousness successful the world.

Until then, “Last Movie” volition service arsenic a plentifulness entertaining instauration to the duo. The existent beneficiaries here, though, volition beryllium those intimately acquainted with their work: the hardcore line-quoting instrumentality basal that volition perceive them sermon the root of the classical “Dave’s not here” spot (fun fact: Dave was besides the sanction of Chong’s original, pre-Cheech drama partner), however the Vietnam War and pottery played a relation successful connecting them and the radical who straight inspired their astir recognizable characters.

And if “Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie” does, indeed, crook retired to beryllium the extremity of the road, they’ve lighted up the large surface 1 past clip beauteous overmuch however they person charted their full careers — unconventionally and successful their ain voices. They’ve rolled up a fig worthy of their legacy.

As Marin says to Chong astatine 1 constituent during that interstitial thrust done the desert, “Nothing lasts forever, Tommy.”