Seen on: August 6, 2008

The players: Director: David Gordon Green, Writers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Cast: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Craig Robinson, James Remar, Joe Lo Truglio

Facts of interest: Rogen and Goldberg also wrote "Superbad."

The plot: Two lazy stoners (Rogen and Franco) are on the run from a bunch of ruthless criminals.

Our quick thoughts: “Pineapple Express” may not be the best Judd Apatow production we’ve seen over the past two years, but the so-called stoner action comedy still delivers plenty of laughs and surprises to keep those who choose to see it completely satisfied. The film obviously hits a few bumps along the way, but in the end, it offers cinemagoers exactly what it promised: a bunch of solid jokes, some decent action and a considerably high dose of pot-smoking.

In one of the lead roles, Seth Rogen stars a Dale Denton, a lazy process server who listens to talk radio, dates a high school hottie and spends most of his time smoking weed. Dale’s dealer is a wacky dude named Saul Silver (James Franco), who smokes the weirdest joints and sells the craziest dope in town, including a rare new strain known as Pineapple Express.

Everything is going pretty well for both stoners, until the day Dale witnesses a cold-blooded murder by a dirty cop and a dangerous drug lord (Gary Cole). Breaking into a state of panic, Dale accidentally drops his roach while fleeing the scene, which allows the criminals to trace the weed back to Saul. Now on the run from a bunch of people who want them dead, Dale and Saul must quickly find a way to cope with the crisis. 

Smoking is obviously an essential part of Dale and Saul’s plan, and it’s also the source for most of the flick’s humor. In fact, I think the film would have been a lot less funny if Dale and Saul weren’t high 24/7. Seth Rogen and James Franco do a brilliant job at playing two pot-smoking lazybones, each uninterruptedly talking a bunch of vulgar nonsense that provokes some of the film’s most hilarious scenes.  

I have to admit though that despite several excellent one-liners, the comical aspect of “Pineapple Express” is not necessarily as catchy and unexpected as in “Superbad” or “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” The humor plays a big role here because it’s supposed to keep the movie alive in between the action, but I sometimes felt the plot’s pace slowing down a little too much for my taste, especially in the middle of the 111 minutes (which by the way is too long for this type of comedy).

On a similar note, the action scenes are rather limited in “Express.” Fortunately, those we get to experience are fantastic. Besides a hysterically funny car chase and an awesome brawl involving Saul’s middleman Red (a hilarious Danny R. McBride), the film also boasts a remarkable showdown that quickly becomes the speediest and most exciting part. And director David Gordon Green proves he’s got what it takes to keep these scenes visually interesting.

  

Screenwriters Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg give their characters some solid depth, but again, they don’t do it as genuinely as in “Superbad.” There’s some serious bonding going on between Dale and Saul as the story progresses, but in the end, the only memorable thing about these guys is their astonishingly silly behavior when they’re smoking pot. Hey, at least they created two stoners who are way funnier than Harold and Kumar.

Acting honors clearly go to the phenomenal James Franco, who easily delivers the best and funniest performance as Saul Silver. In fact, he steals the show every time he steps in front of the camera, leaving his co-stars only a little bit of space to prove they can be funny too. Rogen of course is funny no matter who he plays, and his character is just as likable as any other character he played so far. As for McBride, I’m sure he’s got a bright future ahead of him (at least in the comedy genre).

Freaky quote: “I just got a shipment of Pineapple Express, the dopest dope I've ever smoked. Smell it. It's like... God's vagina." – James Franco

The final word: “Pineapple Express” is undoubtedly a wild ride, and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it. The film’s flaws are obvious enough and slow down the plot at times, but the script provides the actors plenty of hilarious material to keep the main story line engaging until the end. The only thing I was looking for during the movie and couldn’t find was “Paper Planes” by M.I.A., the brilliant song that helped make the trailer for the movie one of the best I’ve seen this year. Other than that, this pipe’s got all it takes to get you high.       

Article by Franck Tabouring