Pineapple Express Movie Review

Pineapple Express Movie ReviewPineapple Express is the latest addition to the stoner-buddy movie hall of fame, making its way to the top of the pile for putting on a fresh satirical spin to the otherwise overplayed genre.

Seth Rogen brings on the sweet and goofy goodness to yet another Judd Apatow-produced movie as Dale Denton, the process server whose pot habits lead him down a winding path of hilarious disaster and destruction. James Franco, another Apatow vet from the Freaks and Geeks days, sheds his usual brooding heartthrob persona to play the part of flaky drug dealer Saul Silver, who is looking to make friends and enough cash to support his Bubbie’s nursing home bill.

Dale is under the firm impression that you can’t be friends with your drug dealer, but when the going gets tough, Dale runs straight to Saul for help. After purchasing a rare and potent strand of weed from Saul, Dale leaves to deliver a subpoena to one of the main drug lords in town, Ted Jones (Gary Cole). Incidentally, Jones is embroiled in a drug war with “the Asians.” While smoking a pre-work joint outside the drug lord’s home, Dale witnesses the murder of one of the Asian spies by Jones and his paid dirty cop (Rosie Perez). He flees the scene to run to Saul’s, but not before throwing out his roach full of Pineapple Express out the window. Dale accurately deduces that the bad guys will be able to trace the wasted rare doobie back to Saul, so they must go on the run.

Dale and Saul are then on the lam from Jones’s hit men, a bickering semi-unprofessional duo played by Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson. They try and get help from Saul’s quirky supplier Red (Danny McBride), who easily flips on them but redeems himself later on. Also, while juggling trying to survive being hunted down by dirty cops and drug lords, Dale also has to deal with meeting his girlfriend Angie’s parents for the first time. By the way, his girlfriend, played by Amber Heard, is a senior… in high school. Throw in one of the funniest car chase scenes ever produced, plenty of gunfire, big explosions, and a smattering of dead bodies, and you have a good time on your hands.

There are enough juvenile jokes, homosexual undertones, and ad-libbed dialogue to choke on, but it seems fitting considering the subject matter. Also in the movie are dozens of cameos pulled from Apatow’s cast goodie bag. And, of course, there are half-naked men carrying their BFFFs (best “effing” friends forever) out of harm’s way to save the day. Combined with the non-condescending satirical outlook on pot, and Rogen’s and Franco’s incomparable comedic partnership, Pineapple Express is elevated to a higher level of comedy; one that, instead of focusing entirely on the obvious for humour, concentrates on the connections and friendships to draw on for material.

It’s not quite just a stoner movie, and it’s not entirely an action-packed cops-and-bad-guys flick, but it is funny and, above all else, another signature “bromance” movie brought to us by Apatow’s creative team. Take a deep breath and inhale the funny.

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August 12, 2008 | Filed Under Movie reviews 
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Comments

3 Responses to “Pineapple Express Movie Review”

  1. Jaden @ Screenwriting for Hollywood on August 13th, 2008 8:29 pm

    Not my type of movie… will wait for it to come on TV. ;-)

  2. Petra on August 15th, 2008 12:58 am

    so I don’t have a say so in seeing this movie as my hubby fully intends to drag me to it this weekend no matter what….. wish me luck and hope I like it!

  3. Monkeyface on August 20th, 2008 11:08 pm

    Fantastic flick, extremely funny and a good bit of action too. James Franco was terrific and now I don’t have think of him as a lame cry-baby goblin anymore. Nice use of the term “bromanace”, very fitting. 4 stars out of 5!

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