Mr. Nice

Mr Nice (US title Mr. Nice) is a 2010 crime drama film written and directed by Bernard Rose, Mr Nice is in part a biopic, a loose film adaptation of Mr Nice, the cult 1997 autobiography by Howard Marks. The film features an ensemble cast starring Rhys Ifans as Howard Marks, along with David Thewlis, Omid Djalili, Jack Huston, Crispin Glover and Chloë Sevigny. Ifans portrays Marks, a Welsh marijuana smuggler who ran one of the biggest global cannabis smuggling operations from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, mostly while on the run. Marks associated with some of the more colourful characters of the era, allegedly even cutting deals with the FBI, the Mafia, the IRA and MI6. After serving time in Terre Haute, one of the "toughest" prisons in the United States, Marks stopped smuggling and dealing in cannabis (although he still openly used the drug himself) and gained wider fame as a pro-cannabis campaigner, stand-up comedian, actor (at least in cameos), lads' mag columnist, television show panelist, music producer, motivational speaker, and even prospective Member of Parliament. Like Marks's autobiography on which it is based, the film has polarised critics. Plot The film begins in 2010, with 65-year-old Howard Marks going onto a stage in front of a packed theatre to great applause. Marks asks if there are any plainclothes policemen in the audience, to which the reply is negative. Then, while lighting up a joint, Marks asks, "Who here is a dope (marijuana) smoker?", to even greater applause. The film then diverts to Marks's internal monologue as he recounts his life.