'High School' report card: Psycho Ed steals the show as made-in-Howell film debuts at Sundance

Adrien Brody as Psycho Ed in "High School."

PARK CITY, Utah – As it turns out, Howell is pretty darn funny on the big screen.

"High School," the comedy that was shot at Parker High School and other locations in the Howell area in the late fall of 2008, had its world premiere on Sunday night at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. The packed house at the Library Center Theatre did a lot of laughing. A whole lot of laughing. If this was any indication of how the film will play to the wider world, it could certainly become the "Hangover" of 2010.

The Sunday-night showing (11:30 p.m.) was part of the Park City at Midnight series, which traditionally attracts a punchy group that's ready to laugh. They weren't disappointed. The laughter at times was flat-out deafening.

As for the film, let there be no mistake: This is a stoner comedy through and through, much more "Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke" than it is "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

The film centers around Henry Burke (Matt Bush), an honor student with a scholarship in his future. It's the eve of graduation, and he's talked into getting high with an old stoner friend, Travis Breaux (Sean Marquette). Big mistake. At the same time, Principal Leslie Gordon (Michael Chiklis) decides it's time for a school-wide drug test - to be conducted the very next day.

Henry and Travis figure the only way to beat the test is to get the entire student body high. Since the school is having a bake sale, they figure they'll just swap out the regular brownies with some pot brownies, and everyone will get nice and baked.

There are plenty of great characters in "High School," including Colin Hanks' vice principal. But the movie belongs to Oscar winner Adrien Brody, playing a tattooed drug dealer named Psycho Ed. A one-time attorney whose life was changed (and not for the better) after getting high, he's now a paranoid wacko. A very funny paranoid wacko.

After "High School" wraps up its Sundance run, the film will hopefully be picked up by a distributor and will find its way into theaters.

For a look at Adrien Brody talking about his role as Psycho Ed, see the clip below.