The 4th Cheech & Chong movie starts out strong with hilarity but fizzles as it progresses.The title obviously refers to the 1981-82 recession that was going on at the time. Cheech & Chong have dual roles as themselves and two wealthy Arab brothers who own a chain of car washes.The stoner duo somehow have found themselves in Chicago working for the brothers in a car wash. After they are fired for incompetence, they are re-hired as singers in a band (where they perform One-Eyed Snake) and find out the Arab's French girlfriends (played by Cheech & Chong's wives) are attracted to them.Later, they are told to drive a limousine to Las Vegas. However they have no money and in lieu of cash, they give away parts to pay for gas. Unbeknownst to Cheech & Chong, there was a ton of cash hidden in the car and when they mistakenly give it away without a second thought, the Arabs find out about it and they go on a search in the desert outside Las Vegas to off the stoners.Things Are Tough All Over has its moments but there are too many scenes of repetition and boredom in the middle. The characters of Slyman and Habib are actually funny at times but at this point, we already know all too well what will come out of Cheech & Chong's mouths. The same stuff we heard in the prior 3 films.It's still an O.K. film but it just lacks the full-court press zaniness that the prior three entries had.

"Things Are Tough All Over" takes a little bit of a different turn from the stoner duo's previous movies. This one casts them as hustlers in Chicago who take a job driving a car to Las Vegas, not knowing that the car's owners -- C & C in dual roles as Arab princes -- have stashed money in the automobile.Of course, the movie is just an excuse for a bunch of silliness. There's less in the way of drugs this time around, but there's plenty to make up for it. The best scene was probably the movie theater.Yeah, just an excuse to be goofy, but that's what makes it great. Evelyn Guerrero reappears as Cheech's girlfriend Donna, and Rip Taylor also appears.

I really liked this movie. Besides being funny, it really did a decent job of illustrating how nobody's life tends to be a a bed of roses regardless of who somebody is or isn't. I've often thought of the film to put things in a different perspective when I've found myself envying another person for whatever reason. Chances are, it's not easy being anybody.It was largely a departure from all of the drug humor in previous films, but the drug was going at full steam ahead around when it came out. Besides, it was about time they branched out and explored new humor horizons.

Thing's Are Tough All Over is a funny movie. No spare parts needed to pump up the action and, in a way, works by being slightly more laid back then the past ones. It actually takes away an element without too much trouble and adds another. And it stays funny. The pot is what's taken away, for the most part, with maybe one or two tiny moments put in to reference their past films. What do they add? A road-movie attitude and two new characters by Cheech and Chong which are hilarious. Not withstanding that they're the most blatant kind of caricatures imaginable, they also have the funniest lines in the film. It's one thing to just have the look of these characters, but the duo pepper each one with clever dialog from start to finish (some of it pretty weird in its way). Some scenes here and there lag, but when the pace picks up again tenfold once they arrive in Las Vegas. With a funny cameo by Rip Taylor this film is one of Cheech and Chong's best.