Running time: 111 minutes
Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny R. McBride, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Amber Heard
Rating 8 out of 10
Although it reunites its star Seth Rogen with his Superbad producer Judd Apatow, Pineapple Express is more like the bastard lovechild of Quentin Tarantino and Cheech & Chong. Think Pulp Fiction crossed with Up in Smoke. The result encapsulates the best elements of all of them with hilarious results.
The terms 'stoner' and 'action' aren't generally found in the same sentence, but add the word comedy and it all begins to make a bit more sense. Co-written by Rogen and his Superbad collaborator Evan Goldberg, Pineapple Express is about a couple of potheads who inadvertently find themselves caught in the middle of a drug war. Although filled with all the conventional elements of the action genre, with its car chases, shoot-ups and explosions, all are done with a nod and a wink. And the violence is more comical than sinister.
Seth Rogen brings his familiar slovenly manner to the role of Dale Denton, a process server whose life revolves around getting high. His only diversion being his highschool girlfriend Angie (Amber Heard). James Franco, who'd previously worked with Rogen on Judd Apatow's TV series Freaks and Geeks, is perhaps best known for his dramatic work, but as Dale's eccentric drug dealer Saul Silver, he has created a memorably original and funny character. Saul, who never met a metaphor he didn't like to mix, is a passionate salesman who talks in poetic terms about his products, never more eloquently than when describing a rare new strain of pot he'd just received called Pineapple Express. "It's like God's vagina," he evangelically tells Dale.
Shortly after, while losing his Pineapple Express virginity, Dale witnesses a murder by a crooked cop (Rosie Perez) and the ruthless drug lord Ted Jones (Gary Cole). In his panic, Dale drops his spliff, which is traced back to him and Saul who, fearing for their lives, go on the run. Trying to do anything when you're perpetually stoned is hard enough. Trying to elude a murderous drug baron is, in the case of Pineapple Express, just flat out hysterical. Especially when that drug baron is having his operation threatened by an Asian cartel.
Rogen and Franco form a brilliant comedy pairing. In addition to the absurdist humour, there are some touching moments as the reluctant allies Dale and Saul overcome their initial wariness of each other to become friends. Completing what becomes a trio of unlikely heroes is Red, the middleman between Saul and Jones. Played to farcical effect by Danny R. McBride, Red is a cartoonish oaf who's like a human cockroach as he miraculously survives all kinds of horrific injuries, including being shot numerous times.
Apatow and Rogen definitely seem to have the Midas touch at the moment, with everything they touch turning into comedy and box office gold. That position will only be reinforced by Pineapple Express which, without resorting to the blasphemous description used by Saul, is every bit as good as the drug after which it's named.
Kevin Murphy
The terms 'stoner' and 'action' aren't generally found in the same sentence, but add the word comedy and it all begins to make a bit more sense. Co-written by Rogen and his Superbad collaborator Evan Goldberg, Pineapple Express is about a couple of potheads who inadvertently find themselves caught in the middle of a drug war. Although filled with all the conventional elements of the action genre, with its car chases, shoot-ups and explosions, all are done with a nod and a wink. And the violence is more comical than sinister.
Seth Rogen brings his familiar slovenly manner to the role of Dale Denton, a process server whose life revolves around getting high. His only diversion being his highschool girlfriend Angie (Amber Heard). James Franco, who'd previously worked with Rogen on Judd Apatow's TV series Freaks and Geeks, is perhaps best known for his dramatic work, but as Dale's eccentric drug dealer Saul Silver, he has created a memorably original and funny character. Saul, who never met a metaphor he didn't like to mix, is a passionate salesman who talks in poetic terms about his products, never more eloquently than when describing a rare new strain of pot he'd just received called Pineapple Express. "It's like God's vagina," he evangelically tells Dale.
Shortly after, while losing his Pineapple Express virginity, Dale witnesses a murder by a crooked cop (Rosie Perez) and the ruthless drug lord Ted Jones (Gary Cole). In his panic, Dale drops his spliff, which is traced back to him and Saul who, fearing for their lives, go on the run. Trying to do anything when you're perpetually stoned is hard enough. Trying to elude a murderous drug baron is, in the case of Pineapple Express, just flat out hysterical. Especially when that drug baron is having his operation threatened by an Asian cartel.
Rogen and Franco form a brilliant comedy pairing. In addition to the absurdist humour, there are some touching moments as the reluctant allies Dale and Saul overcome their initial wariness of each other to become friends. Completing what becomes a trio of unlikely heroes is Red, the middleman between Saul and Jones. Played to farcical effect by Danny R. McBride, Red is a cartoonish oaf who's like a human cockroach as he miraculously survives all kinds of horrific injuries, including being shot numerous times.
Apatow and Rogen definitely seem to have the Midas touch at the moment, with everything they touch turning into comedy and box office gold. That position will only be reinforced by Pineapple Express which, without resorting to the blasphemous description used by Saul, is every bit as good as the drug after which it's named.
Kevin Murphy
