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Review by David DiMichele

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For those of you who have seen the 1959 classic Some Like it Hot, about two men who witness a mafia killing and then flee the city disguised as women to elude their chasers, Pineapple Express tells the same tale; with the exception that the two witnesses do not flee, only try to flee, from the neighborhood where the corrupted murder took place (and not dressed as women, but as unconscious stoners). Marijuana, the drug that makes our two main characters feel good, is illegal, but no one seems to pay attention to murderers, drug lords or crooked police officers.

Multitalented director, David Gordon Green (Snow Angels) gives viewers a unique experience. He directs with an eye that dismisses the ordinary. With a budget of $25 million (reportedly Seth Rogen wanted $50 million), Green squeezes every possible nickel out as he literally directs a comedy that is both epic in its style and in its visuals. Pineapple Express lays claim to a couple of gay drug dealers, exciting car chases, a drug war between Asians and crooked cops, gun blazing standoffs, a subpoena officer, and a beautifully orchestrated opening sequence in black and white about the illegalization of marijuana. Two stoner witnesses (Seth Rogen and James Franco), along with their friend Red (Danny McBride), are caught in the thick of all of this. It would be a miracle to find all of this stuff ever again assembled on screen at the same time.

Pineapple Express is also heavy with cussing and vicious beatings and killings. It's a wonder the movie received a “green light” to be made for the mass audience. It’s as ruthless a comedy can get, but is also one of the most over-the-top, exciting, touching and energized comedy that has crossed my way in recent years. Yet, that compliment can bend in both directions. Surely the movie recognizes the astronomical interest that audiences will have for it, and the film runs with just that, punctuating what the audience wants to hear and see throughout the entire movie. Most of it--fight scenes, marijuana men who in almost every frame are high and increasingly violence--is entertaining, but as the movie moves towards its climax, some of its decoration gets worn out and over done. That is the reason why we have the story, written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, to fall back on.

Pineapple Express is produced by Judd Apatow - the recent sensation and rejuvenator of the comedy genre- as he once again disperses his patented “Apatow Touch,” which is the ability to make the male gender bond under the most uncommon of circumstances. Teaming the marijuana buyer/murder witness/subpoena giver, Dale Denton (Rogen) with the marijuana seller/doer, Saul Silver (Franco) paves the road for a succession of hilarious sequences, with some occasional dry spells, between the two as they flee from lady cops, two hit-men, a drug lord, Asians and other outrageous people who are only involved in making money.

These Apatow-related touches are peppered throughout the entire movie, producing vulgarity and improperness to the fullest extent. Of course it produces laughs. But we don’t realize, until after we've left the cinema, just how subtle the film’s story is. That amidst the array of pot, explosions, sex and virgins, what the team of Apatow has created is a coming of age tale.

Film Rating: *** out of ****

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Comments (3)

Awful, awful mess

I am sick to death of seeing Seth Rogen play himself (this, coming from a guy who liked Knocked Up/Superbad). His trip to obscurity should well be on the fast track now, but it wont because everyone has been tricked into thinking it is endearing.

I'm gonna go have a drink to him not royally screwing up Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri later this year.

Ugh...

Jeremy , August 06, 2008 | url

Pineapple Express is a Train Wreck

This movie should have been named "Train Wreck". The movie was so boring the plot was tired. All of the cliche's that are possible with homosexuals and potheads in one movie... I was so disgusted I asked for and got my money back. That was a first for me.

Go see Stepbrothers and laugh your butt off instead of wanting to kick yourself in the butt for seeing Pineapple Express.

M Granite , August 20, 2008

...

I love this movie so much! I saw it like, nine times in the theatres and laughed my head off each time. In this day and age when comic performance consist of one liners and pratfalls, James Franco just brings it in performance that is as enchanting to listen to as it is to watch. What's not to love about Saul?
I’ve never had a movie resonate with me for so long. It’s been weeks since I’ve seen Pineapple Express and hardly a day passes that I don’t find myself thinking of some scene and starting to smile. And I’ll never as long as I live, forget Dale and Saul . They are just so real. People say this film is about two lazy stoners but it’s not. It’s about one lazy stoner and one grown-up. Because that’s what Saul is, a grown-up. Here is a person with a home, a business, aspirations and above all responsibilities that he handles all on his own. First off, he’s a business man. Remember as much as he likes Dale, he doesn’t give him the PE, he sells it to him (and boy does he sell it) at full retail yet. And as far as those aspirations go, how many lazy, hapless people do any of us know who want to become civil engineers?
Lastly, why is he the sole supporter of his grandmother? He is a young man. Where are his parents? Perhaps their absence is what explains that bereft quality that again, we only glimpse. But he has made a life for himself , one that Dale through his carelessness completely disrupts. Far from being over, hurricane season is just about to begin in Saul’s little life.
And through all their trials and tribulations, Saul never once does what a lesser person would do and that is call Dale out. If he hadn’t panicked and dropped his roach at the crime scene, none of this would be happening. Even after their argument when Dale has said such awful things to him, he still gives Dale half his money.
From the very start of the movie we see what it takes dense Dale almost the whole picture to realize: Saul is a true friend, feisty,( my God he’s got a mouth on him that won’t quit even in the direst circumstances) loyal, crazy brave and selfless. And I think this movie is going to endure for its message is a timeless one—recognize and value a treasure in your life before it’s too late.

Anne Siebenhoven , October 15, 2008

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