"The Pineapple Express" Review - Written by Fred (The Wolf)

DIRECTED BY
David Gordon Green

STARRING
Seth Rogen - Dale Denton
James Franco - Saul Silver
Danny R. McBride - Red
Gary Cole - Ted Jones
Rosie Perez - Officer Carol Brazier
Amber Heard - Angie Anderson
Craig Robinson - Matheson
Kevin Corrigan - Budlofsky

Genre - Comedy/Stoner/Action/Buddy

Running Time - 111 Minutes

Score - 3 Howls Outta 4


If there's anyone in Hollywood who is still giving viewers comedies that actually have laughs, it's Judd Apatow. The man has been on a roll, either producing or directing films that seem to be part of modern pop culture. Is there anyone out there who hasn't heard of or seen ANCHORMAN? THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN? KNOCKED UP? SUPERBAD? FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL? DRILLBIT TAYLOR? Okay, maybe the last one is kind of justified [I haven't seen it yet actually] but the other films are still really funny. Who knew that the guy who produced that short-lived television show almost 10 years ago called Freaks & Geeks would be one of the most powerful and influencial men on the comedy movie scene?

Freaks & Geeks - the little show that did a lot but was appreciated by few during its short run. I was a big fan of the show when it was on NBC during Saturday Night programming [great night to show your program, dillhole NBC executives] but it ended way too soon and confirmed that great, intelligent shows will get cancelled while crap like According To Jim remains on air. But at least the actors on the show have thrived and become bigger stars since. Linda Cardinelli has gone from SCOOBY DOO to E.R. Busy Phillips went from Dawson's Creek to E.R. as well. Jason Segel is now on How I Met Your Mother and starred in many Apatow flicks. But the two that have really made it have been Seth Rogen and James Franco.

Franco has probably had the most prolific work of the two, although his star has only really gotten to shine recently. Winning that Golden Globe in 2002 for JAMES DEAN and starring in those SPIDER-MAN flicks should have made the guy an A-lister. Unfortunately, Franco was stuck in the "guy who broods and whines alot" role, where he wasted his talent in films that were beneath him. It was a struggle because I'm a fan of the guy and watching him do films like ANNAPOLIS and FLYBOYS wasn't really gonna make him a big star. But then I saw that guy who was on Freaks & Geeks during the very disappointing SPIDER-MAN 3, where he pretty much stole the show as The New Goblin and seemed to be enjoying himself again in front of a camera. Add his cameo in KNOCKED UP and it was like seeing a talented actor break the chains that kept him typecast.

Rogen had a longer trip to get noticed, but he did it by sticking with what he knows: working with Apatow and playing the loveable slacker character that we all seem to appreciate for whatever reason. He's pretty much hit it big every time, with THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, KNOCKED UP, and SUPERBAD making the guy a bonafide star.

So it's 9 years after Freaks & Geeks and the Apatow/Franco/Rogen team is back on the field, ready to hit a comic homerun in the stoner flick, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. I was really excited about this one for a while because I remember the great chemistry Rogen and Franco had on Freaks & Geeks and figured the magic would still be there. And I was correct, even though the film isn't a home run. But it's a helluva triple, I must say, and that's good enough for me. So let's light this bitch up and see what comes up in smoke.

PLOT
Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) is your typical stoned pot-head who happens to be a process server. That explains the pot smoking. Anyway, this guy pretty much delivers subpoenas high as a kite and enjoys dating high school girls named Angela (Amber Heard). Dale, on his way to serve some papers, stops by at his stringy haired dealer, Saul Silver's (James Franco), house. Saul introduces Dale to some really good marijuana called the Pineapple Express, which will make one high as a motherfucker - to the point where you'll be walking on clouds. After smoking some pot shaped as a giant cross, Dale continues on with his job, ready to deliver a subpoena to some drug lord named Ted (Gary Cole). While waiting outside in his car, he witnesses Ted and a dirty cop named Carol Brazier (Rosie Perez) kill some other cop. Dale immediately freaks out and makes a lot of noise getting away, putting a target on his ass. Unfortunately, Dale puts a target on Saul as well since Dale dropped some Pineapple Express on the ground in mid-escape, which Ted actually sold to Saul. Wanting to silence any witnesses, Ted sends some idiot lackeys (Craig Robinson and Kevin Corrigan) to hunt them down. Dale and Saul escape and go on the run before the lackeys can find them, seeking the help of Saul's hilarious dealer Red (Danny R. McBride). This is only the start of their problems, as they seem to have started some sort of gang war in which they now have to survive with force. Now where are my Fruit Roll-Ups?

REVIEW
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS isn't the best stoner comedy I've seen but it's still a very funny flick. There's a bit of MIDNIGHT RUN. There's a bit of SUPERBAD. There's a bit of TRUE ROMANCE. There's a bit of FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. It's a very smart film that's never as lazy as the stoner characters who make the film what it is.

The script by Rogen and Evan Goldberg [who also wrote SUPERBAD together] is almost close to genius. I mean, what film has the balls to have two grown men selling drugs at a schoolyard and getting away with it? Or creating a quasi homoerotic vibe between Saul and Dale that is more funny than shocking? And what about stoners having gun fights with each other in order to survive? It's insane. It's almost illogical. But it works because Rogen and Goldberg believe it works, which helps the actors believe it can work too. We've seen the whole "innocent bystander who knows too much must escape bad guys by devising strategies to stay alive and take back control of their lives" in these action/thriller flicks. But here, the "innocent bystander" has to do this while stoned. Yeah, imagine how well that turns out. You'd think the characters would want to be sober for this mess. Nope, they would rather bong away. Silly but hilarious. The dialogue is mostly funny, due to improv mainly from Rogen and Franco, and you just sit there with a smile on your face wondering if this kind of thing can actually happen in real life [someone gets shot like 5 times and still lives - I thought 50 Cent only had that kind of luck].

I also appreciated that the script felt more cohesive than some other Apatow comedies, since the plot was stronger. I love KNOCKED UP but I could have cut a few scenes from that flick without it hurting the film at all. I have a harder time doing that with PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. It seems every bit has a purpose. There's a point for everything in the film. I do feel that this may have made the film less funny at times since it had to follow the basic storyline. Some parts did drag, especially in the second act, although the car chase sequence almost made up for it [definitely one of the funnier scenes in the entire film - I'll never put my foot through a car window if I'm evading people while driving]. I also thought the action stuff wasn't as tight as it could have been towards the end, but it's definitely a stronger story than most of the Apatow films that have been released. We understand who these people are. We understand why they do the things they do. We accept the consequences without question. It's simple, mature, and smart storytelling that doesn't become a parody of what it's trying to be.

David Gordon Green, who's better known for his indie flicks such as SNOW ANGELS and ALL THE REAL GIRLS, isn't the type of person you'd associate with directing a film like PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. But surprisingly, it really works in the film's advantage. Not only is Green a great filmmaker, he "gets" it. He knows this isn't about winning an Oscar or becoming the next Martin Scorcese or Steven Spielberg. Green is having fun with the subject and not really taking it all that seriously. But he also gives the film a lot of heart, because he shoots things in a way in which we're allowed to care about them. Especially Saul and Dale, who I'm sure most people would find one-dimensional, but are given a lot of depth visually with the help of the actors playing them. The action sequences are energenic and fun. The prologue in black-and-white has style. Another director could have made PINEAPPLE EXPRESS look and feel like a live-action cartoon. But he gives a very ridiculous premise an intelligence I'm sure most filmmakers would totally not bother dealing with. Hell, if you can make a grown man dating a teenager a likeable guy who doesn't seem to want to become an adult rather than making him look like a disgusting pedophile and a paper thin stoner character into a person we can actually identify with, you're doing something right. Green definitely enhances this film. This could have been a mess in less capable hands.

The acting is dead on. Seth Rogen plays the loveable slacker guy down to an art. He knows who the character is. He seems extremely comfortable in the character, giving Dale Denton depth and sympathy even when he does the stupidest things. Rogen is good at not acting in a way just to make people laugh. He's just naturally funny and brings that to the table through his character, not by some silly gimmick [looking at you, Mike Myers].

However, the real star of the duo is James Franco, who has finally come out of that shell he's been hiding under for so many years and liberated himself by playing Saul Silver. The guy is hilarious and has excellent comic timing. It's obvious he was inspired by Sean Penn's Spicolli character from FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, but does it his way. He looks like he's having a blast. I don't think I've ever seen Franco seem more confortable with himself on film like I do here. He takes what could have been a joke of a character and gives him life. He's probably one of the most loveable stoners I have ever seen on film. Originally, the two actors had the roles in reverse, which would have made Rogen "Saul" and Franco "Dale". I'm so glad Apatow made them switch because it works so well and the two have awesome chemistry together. I would love to see these guys work together again. And not in another 9 years either. They're that good.

Big points also go to Danny R. McBride as Red, the missing piece of the trifecta. He talks shit. He gets shot to shit but refuses to die. McBride brings the funny and I literally cried during some of his scenes, especially with Rogen and Franco. I believe McBride is also in TROPIC THUNDER, which is coming out in a couple of days. This guy is gonna be a big comedy star. "Thug life." - Nuff said.

The supporting actors were good too. Gary Cole and Rosie Perez don't do much but are good in their villain roles. They were a bit too generic for me though, which kind of make the good vs. evil dynamic a bit unbalanced, but it didn't bother me much. But they're characters could have been a bit more developed since Dale, Saul, and Red had their share of it.

And I gotta give kudos on the music used in the film. Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue"? "Tha Crossroads" by Bones Thugs 'N' Harmony? Was that Huey Lewis and the News during the end credits? And did James Franco really utter out N.W.A. lyrics during a gun fight? I have two words for this: FUCKIN' AWESOME.

THINGS I'VE LEARNED WHILE...I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS I SAYIN' AGAIN?

- Bongs take away all addictive agents marijuana possesses, according to Saul. I'm not too sure about that. If that were true, how does one explain SONNY, FLYBOYS, ANNAPOLIS, DEUCES WILD, that cameo in that horrible THE WICKER MAN remake...?

- Gary Cole plays a very convincing scumbag. Playing Mike Brady in two THE BRADY BUNCH films will probably do that to a person. At least he still has a job. I'm wondering if that Tiki amulet destroyed Shelley Long's career. Or maybe she's busy making TROOP BEVERLY HILLS 2. Yeah, I like the no career better.

- Don't ever tell another man that you'll love to dip your pen in their company ink. Especially in prison. That kind of stuff leads to situations involving water, soap, and a prostate exam you were not expecting. Zip it!

- Don't smoke pot before watching PINEAPPLE EXPRESS in a theater. Yeah, you'll probably enjoy the film more. But then you'll have the munchies and you'll be buying all that expensive food, leaving your wallets bare to the point where you can't buy another stash. And when you don't have pot to deal with that revelation, it'll only lead to really bad and dark things. Remember - don't help the economy. Help yourself.

*This is a Public Service Announcement paid for by The Wolf*

THE FINAL HOWL
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS is a good time at the movies. It'll make you laugh. It'll probably make you cry because of laughing. It's the best comedy of the summer so far, which isn't saying a whole lot, but it's still a fact. Even though this is a "stoner comedy", you don't need to be on drugs to enjoy a smart, well filmed, and well acted movie. So go out and get high on some PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. If you don't, THE LOVE GURU and the upcoming DISASTER MOVIE will torture you constantly in your afterlife. Nobody wants that fate.