The Pineapple Express (2008) Movie Review

Power producer Judd Apatow redeems himself from his last three diabolical comedies (Drillbit Taylor, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, Step Brothers) with the zany stoner-action comedy Pineapple Express. Under the unlikely direction of indie guru David Gordon Green (George Washington, All the Real Girls), Pineapple Express is an on-point buddy comedy that works, even if it is way too long.

The film follows Dale (Seth Rogen), who is a process server that is dating a high-school senior (Amber Heard) and loves to smoke marijuana. Dale’s best friend is also his dealer Saul (James Franco), who just stays holed up in his apartment smoking weed. Both of these characters are constantly stoned, even when they find themselves of the run. Dale witnesses the a murder by a powerful drug lord (Gary Cole), who is also Saul’s supplier, which includes the newly aggressive weed “Pineapple Express,” which you can get high off of the fumes. A hit is put out of the two friends as the escape one scenario after another and actually star a drug war between Saul’s supplier and a group of Asian dealers. The film rolls into an action-comedy of immaturity and male-bonding.

Green brings vibrant energy to the project and seems to have a ball making the film. Most stoner comedies slide off the radar quickly, even if they are still funny. However, Green keeps this film intact and balances the action and comedy nicely. Pineapple Express is a nice departure for Green and proves he can pretty much master anything. Working from a script by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, it is obvious that Green let his actors improvise continuously, which helps the film. Green also delivers a great opening sequence shot in black and white with the military first decision to illegalize marijuana. The script tackles all the typical Judd Apatow “man” themes, but works more consistently with his past few films. Pineapple Express is also a funnier film than the past few projects from team Apatow, even though its duration is too long. The film could have been tighten and snipped, but it still delivers its intentions well.

Rogen fares well as the process server Dale, which includes his usual comedic outbursts. However, the film is practically stolen by James Franco as the stoner Saul. Franco, who has recently been in the Spider-Man films, and lead roles in Flyboys and Annapolis, knocks it out of the park with his comedic performance in this film. Just watching Franco acting stoned with out uttering a word of dialogue is humorous and his lines are the best in the film. Perhaps he will return to team Apatow, in which he got his start on Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks, to do more comedic roles. Danny McBride, who we also see in Tropic Thunder, has a few moments as gun-owning Red, as does Gary Cole as the hot-headed drug lord Ted Jones. A tiny role by Ed Begley, Jr. is also hilarious with the character actor dropping four-letter f words each minute.

Pineapple Express has been hailed as some as the best stoner comedy ever. It is a one of the better stoner comedies that Hollywood has unleashed, but the best still has to be Dazed and Confused, though both are different in many aspects. This film at times is very violent in its action sequences, which are funny, though disturbing. Pineapple Express is ultimately a film about friendship, told in the most unlikely circumstances and in many funny moments involving a lot of marijuana.