Pineapple Express (Movie Review)

Movie Review
Pineapple Express
Dir. David Gordon Green
Starring: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole
Runtime: 1:51

Had I not actually seen a script reading for Pineapple Express, I would have never believed that there was an actual script. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is enjoyable, which is a rare quality for a stoner flick. I can’t tell if it is the hybrid script-improv humour that makes the movie or if director David Gordon Green pulls a rabbit out of his hat but the movie is fun to watch.

Pineapple Express is actually named after a wind current that takes place between Hawaii and Canada (a fact referenced in the film). The context the wind current has in the film is that it just so happens to be a rare variety of marijuana grown. The story begins with Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) who is a process server who’s only goal in life is to get higher than a kite. His only real friend in the film is Saul Silver (James Franco) who also happens to be his dealer. Saul sells Dale the rare herb much to Dale’s excitement. The same evening, as Dale is about to serve another notice to an unsuspecting fool when he witnesses a shooting involving Saul’s drug source (Gary Cole) and a corrupt cop (Rosie Perez). Dale rushes to the only safe place his toasted mind can think of; Saul’s apartment (although not before he throws the marijuana joint out the window. Upon realizing that the marijuana joint can be traced back to Saul. The two bumbling fools flee away as far as two stoned people can go.

When you have a film with a limited script and a window for improv, you need actors that are quick on their feet. Seth Rogen proved that he can definitely deliver in the film Superbad (which he co-wrote and also co-wrote Pineapple Express). Rogen has fantastic chemistry with Franco. The supplementary characters add fuel to the fire and really help complement the main characters. The only hitch is that it seems the director neglects to yell ‘cut’ a couple of times. There are a couple of instances where Rogen and Franco are just rambling on way past the punchline and relevance. It causes the movie to lose traction. I could only imagine watching this movie stoned; either you would find these parts of the film mind-blowingly funny or lose focus on the film to investigate the shape of your fingerprints.

One major problem with this film is that there are several better films that come to mind. It is not the best stoner movie from the last couple of years, nor is it the best Seth Rogen movie in the last week (it’s funny because he does a lot of movies). It’s not that people won’t watch this movie because stoner movies have their audience and Seth Rogen has his audience so this movie will have no problem finding an audience in people’s DVD collection. It’s just that this movie seems inferior to many other comedies out there on the market. What works, works well but there’s too much that dilutes the film.

The world has come a long way from the Cheech and Chong films of yesteryear. There is now a fine line to acting stone on film that separates a film from being released cinematically than one that is pushed out as straight-to-video. Pineapple Express can slow to a crawl at times but it still provides enough laughs and the camaraderie between Rogen and Franco becomes very heart-warming as their relationship develops.

☆☆☆