Rewatching Half Baked Led Me Down A Rabbit Hole About The Underrated Director (And All The Things She's Done)

While not a stoner myself, I love stoner movies! And, even though I'm a massive Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle fan, I would still say that Half Baked is the definitive stoner movie. I mean, it just has everything that I find hilarious in a film.

While rewatching it the other day, I somehow only noticed for the first time that it was directed by a woman, but immediately put all my attention into learning more. Because while Half Baked might not be the most game-changing film with a woman at the helm, I do love it when I learn that some of my favorite movies of all time were directed by female talents, especially when it comes to comedies.

The filmmaker who's kept me chuckling all these years is Tamra Davis, whose most familiar work to people of a certain generation is likely 2002's Britney Spears comedy-drama, Crossroads. Once I learned that she also directed Half Baked, however, it led me down the intriguing rabbit hole that is her career, and now I'm even more impressed than ever.

Not Only Did She Direct The Definitive Stoner Movie In Half Baked. She Also Directed The Definitive Rap Satire In CB4

Oh, my God. Have you ever watched CB4? If not, it's arguably the best rap movie of the ‘90s.

Essentially the rap version of This Is…Spinal Tap, CB4, which stars Chris Rock and Charlie Murphy, is a mockumentary about three struggling rappers who pretend to be recently released jailbirds (Straight out of LoCash!) and their rise to fame.

The film documents their ascension up the charts, and also the tension within the group. What's great about this movie is that, similar to the musical satire This Is…Spinal Tap,, it taps into a lot of what was going on at the time behind the scenes and within the fandom of genre that it’s parodying.

For example, a politician played by Phil Hartman (R.I.P.) goes after the group litigiously for being too obscene, which was a big thing back in the ‘90s for groups like N.W.A., and 2 Live Crew.

The film is utterly hilarious, and to learn that the same person who directed the outrageous Half Baked also directed CB4 utterly blew my mind. However, now that I’ve looked deeper into Davis’ career, it's not surprising that she made such a good music movie. And that’s because…

She Started Out By Cutting Her Teeth On Music Videos -- More Than 150 Of Them!

Once I went down the Tamra Davis rabbit hole, I discovered that she really got her start making music videos, to which she directed a whopping 155 of the mini-movies.

As a huge fan of music videos growing up, I just had to see some of Davis’ work, and I was surprised to find that she went as far back as 1986, as she directed Depeche Mode’s “But Not Tonight.”

I’m familiar with Depeche Mode, but I’d never seen that video before, so I was impressed by just how expressive the video is. That was interesting, but when I scrolled down the list of some of her other videos, I was blown away when I learned that she directed Young M.C.’s “Bust A Move,” which I am VERY familiar with.

The most shocking video in her catalogue, though – for me, anyway – is 1997’s “MMMBop” by Hanson, which (Okay, I’ll admit it!), I was a huge fan of back in the day. She also directed “Movies” by Alien Ant Farm, which is low-key one of my favorite music videos of all time.

So, it was delightful to go down memory lane and find that Tamra Davis had a hand at directing some of my favorite videos on MTV. That was fun to learn!

She Also Directed My Favorite Adam Sandler Movie, Billy Madison

Now, I’m a teacher outside of writing for this website, and it’s interesting to note that my students, who are mostly 12, have a very different idea of Adam Sandler than I do.

For them, the Sandler they connect with starred in movies like Pixels, Hubie Halloween, and as a voice in Hotel Transylvania. But for me, the best Adam Sandler has ever been was in 1995’s Billy Madison, and would you believe that Tamra Davis directed that, too?

The story of a rich dimwit who has to go back to school in order to inherit the family business, Billy Madison was pretty much my introduction to the man-child archetype. And, while Jim Carrey will likely always be the most important actor who defined my childhood, Sandler is a close second, and Billy Madison (Not SNL) was my first time seeing the actor.

And, guess what? Billy Madison, despite unmistakably feeling like a ‘90s flick, is still one of Sandler’s best movies. It’s just so goofy. That said, while it’s not as profane as CB4 or Half Baked, you can still see Davis’ imprint all over this film as the comedy in Billy Madison is slightly off-kilter in the same heightened way, which I never noticed before until I actually thought about it.

Later Sandler movies like Happy Gilmore, and The Waterboy would also skew slightly strange, with Sandler and Tim Herlihy co-writing both screenplays. But, I’m now under the impression that Davis’ direction on Billy Madison helped get the cinematic ball rolling for this specific silly tone for Sandler, as it carries throughout those movies as well. Again, it’s just an impression, but it’s one that I now have.

I Want To Check Some Of Her Documentaries as Well Now

I love a good documentary, so I’m now enthused to check out some of the ones that Tamra Davis has directed.

The first one I want to check out is her most recent one, that being 2024’s, Larger Than Life: Reign of the Boybands. It features stars from groups like *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and New Edition, among others (ahem, Hanson), and seems to celebrate, rather than deride, boy bands, which I find refreshing.

I then want to go backward in her catalogue, as there’s a documentary called The Punk Singer, which is about Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill, and Le Tigre-fame, two bands that I’ve been meaning to check out for awhile now.

But, the ones I’m most interested in are her documentaries about the late artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, as I’m only really familiar with him through the movie starring Jeffrey Wright.

So, it looks like I have Davis’ documentaries to look forward to as well now.

Her Work In Television Also Can't Be Overlooked

Is there anything Davis can’t do? Not only has she directed movies, documentaries, and music videos, but she’s also done SEVERAL episodes of TV shows, many of which I’m a fan of.

For example, in 2004, she directed the episode “One Tree Hill” of Method & Red. And as a huge Method Man fan, you know I was tuned in to FOX on July 7th when that episode originally aired.

She also directed episodes for shows like My Name is Earl, Everybody Hates Chris, Grey’s Anatomy, and Ugly Betty, all in the early 2000s.

Her biggest contribution to TV though was the mostly VH1 show, Single Ladies, to which she directed 21 of the show’s 43 episodes (She was also an executive producer for the show).

So, filmmaker, documentarian, music video director, and TV director? Is there anything else she’s done? Well, yes! Yes, there is!

As A Major Foodie, I'm Happy To Know That She Even Has A Cooking Show!

Though the videos go pretty far back, I’m happy to report that Tamra Davis even has a cooking show!

Now, as somebody who is a major foodie (Who is trying to cut back on meat), it’s cool to know that Davis made multiple videos on healthier, vegetarian options for meals, such as her video on Thanksgiving Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie, or her Kung Pao Un-Chicken.

While not a great cook myself, Davis breaks her steps down very simply so that even I could make any of these meal plans.

So, yeah, that’s Tamra Davis. Thanks for joining me on my journey!