Reagan Was Annoyed.
In Nine to Five, the 1980 comedy, the wonderful Dolly Partin and the brilliant Lily Tomlin joined Jane Fonda in a comedy that was also a feminist satire on the life of secretaries who work for a sexist boss, played by Dabney Coleman, a great comic villain.
In my favorite scene, surprise, surprise, Tomlin’s character suggests the three smoke a joint. Fonda thus joined her brother, Peter, who smoked weed in Easy Rider, the 1969 film with Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper. A family affair.
Both scenes were hilarious, but Nine to Five is a lot more fun. It was also a huge box office hit, like Easy Rider.
Ronald Reagan wrote in his Presidential diary that he and his wife Nancy watched the film on Valentine's Day 1981. He wrote, "Funny—but one scene made me mad. A truly funny scene if the 3 gals had played getting drunk but no they had to get stoned on pot. It was an endorsement of Pot smoking for any young person who sees the picture.”
That scene was cut from network showings, but it would have been okay if they had gotten drunk… And maybe if they had killed one another?
As I said, it was a really great movie.
Article written by Richard Cowan, former NORML National Director and co-founder of CBDvsFDA.com
