At the time I started writing this review, it was Aug. 7, and I was halfway done. However, I went on vacation, leaving the review unfinished. I came back weeks after the movie had opened, and rather than going back and rewriting it to suit the present time frame, I decided to leave the review as it was and finish it. It had already been through countless edits from the start, and I wasn’t in favor of publishing the review before the movie closed. So please excuse the errors in date and time.
There are 3 kinds of comedies presently: Judd Apatow comedies, Will Ferrell comedies, and everything else. We’ve got Tropic Thunder next week, Step Brothers last week, which leaves this week to Pineapple Express, a stoner comedy with guns, explosions, and (of course), pot.
The movie begins with Dale Denton (Seth Rogen), a lazy court-process clerk with a girlfriend in high school, a doctor’s outfit in the trunk of his automobile, and a lust for cannabis. After stopping by Saul Silver’s (James Franco) apartment for pot, he gets a type of marijuana called Pineapple Express, a shipment so rare that it can easily be traced back to Silver. When Denton witnesses a murder by the city’s biggest drug lord and a dirty cop, he dumps his joint on the curb and speeds away from the scene. Unfortunately, the joint contained the Pineapple Express, which, again, was so rare that nobody else but Silver had it, and was traced back by the wrongdoers. So the two misfits have to evade the police and the lord’s minions in order to stay alive, while smoking more weed and screwing up everything.
Maybe it’s not as good as Superbad, but Pineapple Express is one of the funniest movies of the summer. As usual in Apatow-produced comedies, the main characters don’t set off bad vibes like a junkie in Traffic or Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, but a friendly, wholesome vibe. Like 40YOV and Superbad, this is a movie that could have expressed plenty of hatred toward its characters, but gives them enough charisma and integrity instead to win over everyone.
Seth Rogen plays the same kind of dope-smoking slacker as in most of his recent films, while James Franco plays his dealer/buddy that is just as clueless as him. Both have great chemistry, and don’t seem like leader and sidekick, but just two normal friends, or as close as they can get to normal. We also have Tropic Thunder‘s Danny McBride as Red, a friend of Saul Silver that is caught in the middle of the whole predicament, the supporting cast being Craig Robinson from The Office, Gary Cole as the overlord, and Rosie Perez as the crooked cop.
One of the film’s funniest moments is when Denton, Silver, and Red are at Red’s house, having the dirtiest, most absurd fight I’ve ever seen in a movie. These adults are kicking, biting, screaming, calling time-outs, trucing, and breaking every piece of furniture. I mean it-everything with legs and a surface is completely smashed. Even with all of the violence going on, it’s done in a Hot Fuzz-like matter, producing laughs when using character’s heads to smash through objects, rather than cringes or disgust.
A lot of the humor comes from how clueless and idiotic the main duo are, which at some places can be repetitive, one of the main flaws of Pineapple Express. It’s funny seeing Silver and Denton screw up literally everything they attempt, but not as funny as the one liners and monologues in previous Judd Apatow films. Express doesn’t lack the one-liners and monologues, but could’ve used more. Also, the subplot between Dale Denton and his girlfriend was quite useless, and really only used for one joke and left at that, playing little place in the film. It feels like filler, but a movie clocking at almost two hours doesn’t need filler.
Choosing David Gordon Green (Snow Angels) to direct was a rather interesting choice, but a good one. For a comedy, Express is rather violent, but there is a perfect blend of action and comedy, so as not to disturb anyone. This makes Pineapple Express seem more mature than 40YOV or Superbad.
All in all, Pineapple Express is the kind of movie that you don’t wish to end, making it a worthy summer romp. I say: smoke it.
