This may be the smartest stoner comedy ever filmed, based on a Thomas Pynchon novel and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Inherent Vice is a complex, layered, and often-inscrutable film – but it remains hilarious throughout. The diverse cast includes heavyweights like Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin, but spotlights some newcomers like Joanna Newsom. Set in Los Angeles circa 1970, Inherent Vice tells the story of Larry “Doc” Sportello, a detective whose investigations involve strange mental digressions and plenty of weed. The bizarre, interweaving cases he’s working on include a missing saxop
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