The Stöned Age (Vestron Video Collector’s Series/ Lionsgate Limited) [Blu-Ray]

Director: James Melkonian

Cast: Bradford Tatum, Michael Kopelow, China Kantner

Release Date: April 20, 2026

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Release Rating: 5/10

Synopsis:

Making its debut on Blu-ray™, The Stöned Age follows Hubbs and Joe, in pursuit of partying and girls in Torrance, California, one Saturday night. When they hear about an epic rager going on near the beach, Hubbs and Joe head over, setting in motion a comedic adventure of rad proportions. Hubbs gets the girl! The cops show up! An ex-con loses his temper! And…Joe’s mind gets blown in the gnarliest way imaginable. Featuring a killer lineup of iconic ’70s rock bands.

The zany 1990’s stoner comedy ‘The Stoned Age’ follows an average night in the life of buddies Joe and Hubbs who typically spend their time cruising around Torrance, California and looking for girls in their trusty and flashy car the Blue Torpedo. When they get wind of a party happening near the beach they waste no time trying to beat the other local guys to the location in the hopes of some quality time with the ladies. But as they arrive at their destination it only kicks off a night packed with drinking, smoking weed and hopefully getting lucky, but it certainly won’t be easy as every possible obstacle lands in their path along the way.

‘The Stoned Age’ was directed by James Melkonian from a screenplay that he additionally co-wrote with Rich Wilkes and is based upon the short film “Tack’s Chicks” (although the short sadly isn’t included here) and Melkonian does a decent job guiding along the tale with a fitting sense of silliness and fun paired with a killer soundtrack. The cast includes Bradford Tatum, Michael Kopelow, China Kantner, Renee Allman, and a few more and some performances are quite solid while a few others can be less outstanding.

‘The Stoned Age’ is a goofy, carefree and amusing look at a pair of friends who spend their nights cruising the streets of Torrance hunting for girls, weed and booze and the crazy chain of events that occurs throughout an otherwise average night out. I honestly don’t think I’ve seen this one since renting the videocassette with friends in my teens when it was initially released in the nineties and the film still serves up a zany, over the top and quite remarkably accurate look at life as a teen in Southern California and while some of it will come off as dated and problematic these days, for those familiar with it and retaining a fond memory it’s still an awful lot of fun, not to mention offering a perfect trip back in time for those who grew up in a similar environment.

The drug and alcohol infused ride is packed with everything from great music, girls, desperate guys looking for anything exciting or different and a lot of insults and conflicts, and even featuring a few noteworthy cameos from the likes of Frankie Avalon, Jake Busey and members of Blue Oyster Cult. It may not be a terrific film in many ways but it always knows precisely what it wants to be and never attempts to be anything else along the way and the fun and laughs are served up with regularity throughout.

‘The Stoned Age’ makes its long-awaited Blu-ray debut as the thirty-eighth title in the ‘Vestron Video Collector’s Series’ line from Lionsgate which is now distributed exclusively through Lionsgate Limited. The film comes home on Blu-ray sporting a pretty decent new high definition video presentation that isn’t flawless but looks far superior to any previous releases, although unfortunately the largely solid video presentation is paired with an underwhelming lossy 2.0 Dolby Digital soundtrack that isn’t problematic or distorted but is clearly lacking what could be offered through a lossless option such as a DTS-HD MA presentation.

The Vestron Video Collector’s Series Blu-ray release does arrive with an archival Audio Commentary and a few brand new extras exclusive to this release that features members of the cast and crew discussing and reflecting on the movie and its impact and diehard fans will have a lot of fun with at least a couple of these offerings. While it’s a mixed bag in terms of quality, for those that are huge fans of this cult classic stoner comedy and would love to own it on Blu-ray it will be up to each whether the various merits of the release are worth it for you personally but many will likely be relatively pleased with the release.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The Stoned Age’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation with the film’s original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio that according to the packaging has been Digitally Restored although no specifics on the actual process are provided. The video presentation looks pretty good as a whole and it offers a clean, sharp and nicely detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any notable issues or glitches to be found along the way. Detail is significantly improved from previous releases over the decades and everything from character specifics and vehicles to outside locations and interiors look clean and problem-free, with some noticeable grain present at times as well. It might not have the vibrant picture of some restorations but for a lower budget ‘90s endeavor it looks awfully good. Overall, this is a nice high definition presentation that isn’t outstanding but looks very good as a whole and easily better than the film has ever looked prior which is sure to excite the dedicated fans.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a lossy 2.0 channel Dolby Digital soundtrack at 192 kbps. This lossy soundtrack is a curious choice and sure to disappoint many who had at least hoped for a lossless 2.0 option but fortunately it does offer a clean, clear and problem-free soundtrack that doesn’t have any issues or distortion troubles. It does a capable job of balancing the various audio elements within including dialogue, effects and the rocking soundtrack featured throughout and always makes sure that any simultaneously occurring audio elements never clash or negatively impact one another. Overall, this 2.0 Dolby Digital soundtrack isn’t great and it’s hard not to imagine how much stronger it could be but it does keep everything clean and audible and holds up decently enough all things considered.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The Stoned Age’ features an ‘Audio Commentary with Director and Co-writer James Melkonian and Co-writer Rich Wilkes’, in addition to some brand new Lionsgate Limited extras which feature the cast and crew discussing and reflecting which include ‘Back to The Stoned Age’ (running approximately 22 minutes in length) and ‘Tales from the Blue Torpedo: The Stoned Age Reunion’ (running approximately 26 minutes). Also included is an ‘Extended Scene’ (approximately3 minutes) which expands upon Joe’s psychedelic premonition of his life and future. The release ships with a slipcover and reversible interior artwork.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Release Rating: 5/10

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‘The Stöned Age’ Makes Its Blu-ray Debut On April 20, 2026 From Vestron Video Collector’s Series & Lionsgate Limited

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You can Purchase ‘The Stoned Age’ on Blu-ray directly from Lionsgate Limited HERE!