Archive for the ‘pineapple express’ tag
Pining Expressly For More Movies Like This.
Dale (Rogen) and Saul(Franco) in Pineapple Express
If you’re familiar with any of Judd Apatow’s and Seth Rogen’s stable of work (Knocked Up, Superbad, The 40 Year Old Virgin), then Pineapple Express is going to be familiar territory. Familiar, hilarious territory. As usual, Seth Rogen plays the anti-hero (Dale Denton) pursuing the two loves of his life, both of which aren’t exactly approved of by general society. The two loves in this case happen to be marijuana and barely legal high school girls, so it’s really not too big a surprise that they’re frowned upon. Spiderman’s James Franco also puts in a surprising performance as Denton’s stoned drug dealer (Saul Silver), giving us a crucial insight into what the Green Goblin did before he decided to jump on a flying hoverboard throwing explosive pumpkins. Actually, this movie would explain a whole lot of that.
Saul Silver's Later Years
Apatow’s movies thrive on putting realistic, likeable characters into ridiculous situations. All the characters in this movie are people you’ve met, or known. Well, except for all the mob bosses. Unless you’re part of the mafia. Which is cool, I guess. The ridiculous situation in this case, is Denton witnessing a mob murder, then running from the guys who did it, dragging Silver along with him. Along the way they team up with newcomer Danny R. Mcbride, playing the overweight, cowardly yet hilarious Red. Craig Robinson from the Office also puts up a particularly funny performance, while the infamous BILL LUMBERGH (Gary Cole.. yeah, I was also surprised that he had a real name apart from BILL LUMBERGH!) from Office Space seems out of his depth.
The plot moves relatively quickly, with laugh out loud moments almost all the way through. There’s very little of the Hollywood polish on this one which just adds to the overall humour. The guys know they’re making a funny movie and they’re letting you join in on the joke. Half the movie feels like it was made up on the spot. The dialogue is natural, and never “tries too hard” to be funny.
The movie does sport two flaws, which are more annoying than anything else. The first is Rogen’s tendency towards politics. A lot of the movie feels like a forced advertisement for the legalization of marijuana. Sure, we know you like pot, but you don’t have to stuff your views down our throats Seth. People are intelligent enough to make their own decisions. I think. Are we? The second flaw is the long run time. 2 hours is definitely pushing it for a comedy. There were a lot of minor unnecessary scenes that felt more like DVD extras than scenes that should have been put in a theatrical release. It did feel like it was dragging near the middle, but the humour is just so explosive and funny, that it makes up for it.
Overall, I would say.. go see it.
Yes Seth, We Get It. You Like Weed.