Riding High

Take a fast Manhattan ride with Steven McGowan, an aging, burned-out pot dealer looking for an easy exit from his crime-lite life. But grab your helmet, there's a dicey curve ahead when his Southern ex-boozing father shows up heaven-bent on patching up family wounds. Then hang on for a heady road trip through a whacked-out universe of rowdy dopesters, down-home geezers, Russian limo-drivers, and overzealous drug warriors. Pit stop with spiritual shrinks, Rasta gurus, homeless angels, and a tough-love sweetheart for inspiration and fresh wit. Will our old-school slacker steer a new course and deal with his life, dad, and sweetie? Or will he just roll another doob and crash on comic despair? Lord knows, but before his wild ride is over, you'll either hug him or strangle him with your bare hands -- if you don't laugh or cry yourself into a ditch first.



Riding High is a bittersweet tour of dysfunction and redemption, but stay on its path of black humor, pain, and promise, and you'll find a metaphor for a country still in recovery from Vietnam, the Cold War, a misguided drug war, and the breakdown of the American family.