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Plot:
A lazy stoner (Seth Rogen) is the sole witness to a murder by an evil drug lord (Gary Cole) and a corrupt cop (Rosie Perez). Marked for death, he runs for his life, dragging his dazed dealer (James F...( read more
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Pineapple Express Recent Reviews
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:August 22, 2008
Despite a graphically violent climax, the film delivers a fun-filled & darkly funny action-comedy.
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MCT:January 7, 2009
Funny but not hilarious. Pineapple Express seems to me more about the smaller sideline laughs than the main jokes. But the most effective humor in this movie is the low-key stuff and random references that go everywhere from "227" to Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Seth Rogen (who wasn't too annoying here) and James Franco (the best part of the movie) have great chemistry together and kind of make up for the so-so story. The Bill Hader (officer Slater from Superbad) cameo at the beginning was hilarious as were Ed Begley and Nora Dunn. I saw it for free and rode the express to get to the theater so you take that for what it's worth. But the more I think about it the more I like it. After a second viewing I like this movie a lot better. The actual storyline doesn't flow so well, but whether you're looking at Pineapple Express as a comedy or an action movie you've got to ask yourself if either of those types of movies ever flow well storywise. And I withdraw my original comment--this movie is hilarious and makes me wish that James Franco would take himself less seriously.
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MCT:January 7, 2009This film outshines other comedies like hot fuzz for over the top brutal violence. Not bad, but I probably won't see it again.
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MCT:January 7, 2009
Some funny dialogue and a wonderful comic performance by James Franco simply aren't enough to counter the severe overlength and a propensity for striving for jokes that just don't work. Still, not a waste of two hours. Franco makes it worth it.
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MCT:December 21, 2008
[he examines the joint]
Saul: "It's almost a shame to smoke it. It's like killing a unicorn... with, like, a bomb."
I was never a fan of stoner comedies. I mean, I like to smoke pot as much as the next guy, but I've always had a hard time getting into the humour those films usually offer. The only real pothead comedies that I truly enjoy are The Big Lebowski, Up in Smoke, and a large portion of the Harold & Kumar misadventures. Frankly I'm of the opinion that most pot comedies feel like they were written by someone very stoned, and let's just say that writers don't always do their best work when they're extra-baked. (They might THINK their stuff is hilarious, but usually it's not. That's just the weed talking.) You'll definitely find a few cannabis-caked giggles in trash like Half-Baked, Grandma's Boy, and Smiley Face - just not enough to sustain a whole film, if it's me you're asking.
So it is with much pleasure, enthusiasm, and recently-applied Visine that I find myself completely in love with Pineapple Express, which just may be the Casablanca of stoner films. Or perhaps it's more like "When Ultra-High Harry Met Super-Stoned Sally," but either way Pineapple Express isn't just hilarious, it's pretty damn sharp and clever too. It has some of the funniest "weed culture" insights since Richard Linklater's fantastic Dazed & Confused - which I wouldn't call a full-bore pot comedy, but it sure isn't shy about passing those joints around. Best of all, while Pineapple Express will absolutely appeal to both the casual and committed pot-smokers, it's also just a very funny buddy comedy/action flick parody that comes bearing the very unique stamp of that unique director that is David Gordon Green.
How ironic (and downright miraculous) is it that a filmmaker who has been making art (not just "movies") for almost a decade eventually ended up directing a guns & weed comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco? And if you think the guy's dry, low-key, and slyly sober style has been squashed by the Hollywood Movie Machine, then you're in for a big treat with this flick. Pineapple Express is certainly "accessible" in true multiplex fashion, but it also has several memorable touches of strange wit, unexpected character, and just plain old random weirdness - you can tell you're in the hands of a filmmaker who actually wants to deliver a big, odd concoction of a film.
The plot is enjoyably simple: Two potheads find themselves on the run from a crooked cop and a violent drug lord after one of the stoners accidentally witnesses a murder. (The title refers to the world's most powerful marijuana, so intoxicating that apparently it smells like "god's vagina.") So while early word on Pineapple Express has called it a partial homage to the buddy action comedies of the 1980s, what I saw in this film comes from a decidedly late-'70s format. Imagine if Richard Rush or Don Siegel had directed the first Cheech & Chong film, and that's what Pineapple Express feels like to me. And that feels good.
"A dude, a lady, and a cop? That's like a massacre, man!"
We all know Seth Rogen's a very funny guy by this point and he does a very fine job of creating a central nebbish who simply wants to enjoy his weed and get through life without bothering anyone. As his partner in perpetual paranoia, the normally stoic James Franco is allowed to let his hair down here and have an absolute ball with his role. (If you've never seen "Freaks & Geeks," then you'll probably be shocked to learn that Franco has such comedy chops. I, however, was very entertained but not at all surprised.) Best of all, Rogen and Franco strike a fantastic chemistry together (which isn't surprising either, since they've known each other since they were teenagers), with the former a neurotic and self-centered (but ultimately sweet) nobody and the latter a soft-spoken and frequently clueless (but occasionally insightful) weed-sponge.
As is always the case when Rogen and Judd Apatow are on the job, the bong is over-packed with colourful supporting characters. Once again we have a film that all but screams "This Danny McBride dude is FUNNY!" (This guy redefines the phrase "scene-stealer," particularly as part of one of the funniest film brawls I've ever witnessed.) As the snarling bad guys, Gary Cole and Rosie Perez are clearly having a lot of fun riffing off each other. Even more arcane antics come from the likes of Kevin Corrigan, Craig Robinson, Bill Hader, Ken Jeong, Amber Heard ... plus we get some of the funniest stuff from Nora Dunn and Ed Begley Jr. ("Angie, you're a fucking idiot. I say that with love.") in quite some time. I chuckle just thinking about it. Enthusiastic film geeks who buy a ticket for Pineapple Express hoping for some choice "quotables" will NOT go away disappointed.
"You just got killed by a Daewoo Lanos, motherfucker!"
Pineapple Express is, of course, an unapologetically raunchy, appreciably scrappy, and exceedingly violent little comedy, and it's a "matinee for relative grown-ups" that will almost certainly entertain its intended audience. Green and company keep the material moving at a very brisk clip, some of the more conventional comedy stops are interrupted by unexpected sequences of admirable... weirdness, and the whole thing looks like it was as much fun to shoot as it was to watch. And even if you wouldn't know weed from green wool, Pineapple Express works as a fast-paced buddy comedy with lots of laughs and a few hilariously unpleasant surprises. It's not exactly a "dark" comedy, but it sure isn't scared of making mirth out of morbidity. Let's say that once the bullets start flying, Franco becomes Bugs Bunny and Rogen becomes Daffy Duck. And you know what those guys do to their enemies.
"War is upon you! Prepare to suck the cock of karma!"
In other words, I liked this flick a lot, not just because it gave me some "funny pot schtick" from a bunch of entertaining actors and it's directed by a man I admire immensely - but because it's a comedy that takes chances, hearkens back to a weirder generation, and doles out as many surprises as it does big laughs. I'd call it a near-perfect mix between art-house cleverness and mainstream amusement. Plus, man, it's worth seeing just for Franco's frequently fried facial expressions. This guy should never do "drama" again.
Saul: "BFFF?
Dale: Best Fuckin' Friends Forever, man!" -
MCT:January 7, 2009Another Apatow film that knows it's core audience and doesn't disappoint them, though it may disappoint anyone not in that demographic.
Comments
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pedrogijoeposted 4 days ago -
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