Pineapple Express (2008) September 11, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Cinema, Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: David Gordon Green
Where stupidity and ineptitude meets underachieving and misguided, that’s where you’ll find the characters of a typical stoner comedy. Often concerning male friends who are usually on the run from, or to something, the whole genre can seem like a grab at an easy audience and even easier laughs. Pineapple Express changes little of the archetype, because it already has its biggest pulling factor built in: the failsafe comic teaming of producer Judd Apatow and star Seth Rogen. Two gentlemen for whom these are high times indeed.
Its story concerns two stoners: one a process server named Dale Denton, the other his lazy dealer named Saul Silver. Their relationship is one of mild acquaintance, until events conspire that Dale witnesses a murder by a cop and the biggest drug pusher in town – a guy who, according to Saul, is “crazy about murdering”. The two bumbling losers then try to go on the run, but are forever bumping into the wrong people, be it drug middle-man Red, or working thugs Budlofsky and Matherson. The one consistent link between them all: weed, specifically a potent strain that goes by the name of Pineapple Express.
Looking back on the comic legacy of this genre we find movies such as Up In Smoke, Dazed & Confused, and Half Baked, along with more recent additions like the Harold & Kumar films. All fairly safe tales of comic intent and, depending on where you stand, all successful in their own way. What the Apatow crew have added into the mix is a healthy dose of action, in order to make Pineapple Express unlike any stoner movie ever attempted. And it’s certainly present, although you may argue that their interpretation of ‘action’ seems to mean rough and tumble violence more than anything else.
So what we get is 111 minutes of fairly foul-mouthed comic banter, punctuated by moments of wild gunfire and no-holds-barred punch ups. It’s an odd mix, especially when done with such a strong intent on showing people getting injured, but apparently that’s exactly what the writers wanted. Superbad [review] writing team Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are behind the script, which sees our two protagonists bounce around Los Angeles with rather too little focus, bumping into other characters along the way before reaching the natural showdown conclusion. While the story is fairly simple, it’s not terribly engaging, and so it’s the moments between the moments that provide the film’s strongest laughs.
As always, there’s a heavy emphasis on improvisation, which the cast are presumably chosen based on their ability to participate in. Interestingly though, because of all the down time in Pineapple Express, I actually found the improv somewhat intrusive – a first for any of Apatow’s movies. 
Stripping the dialogue back might have made it seem less desperate, and while its true that most of the humour comes out of the random exchanges between characters, there are times when you want people to shut up and move on. It’s a difficult line to tread, but where these movies have succeeded before, this one pushes its ad-libs a little too hard.
Having said this, the cast itself is completely solid and play perfectly into their characters. Expect to see all the old Apatow faces, namely Seth Rogen as the hapless Dale Denton and James Franco as the drug dealing Saul Silver. While we get this kind of thing from Rogen all the time, it is Franco who particularly stands out here, taking a break from his more serous work to show that he still has the funny side that got him his job on Apatow’s Freaks & Geeks series eight years ago. Also worth mentioning is rising comic talent Danny McBride, who is part of the “he’s everywhere” contingent that also currently consists of Craig Robinson and Bill Hader – both of whom have parts in the movie.
It’s a strong comic cast, and their already existing friendships only make the on-screen relationships work even better. That’s maybe why it’s a surprise to see David Gordon Green in the director’s chair. Even though he has ties with some of the cast, this isn’t his typical job at all. As the director of All The Real Girls, Undertow and, most recently, Snow Angels, he is known for his drama more than his humour; he’s even been nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance twice. And yet, here he is, throwing himself into this stoner action / comedy combo with as much intent as ever. Unfortunately, intent doesn’t always equal results.
While he equips himself for the genre appropriately, shooting the comic stuff exactly as expected, there’s something lacking in the action sequences that shows up the holes in this supposedly kick-ass stoner flick. What hangs over the movie is the ghost of Hot Fuzz [review]; Edgar Wright’s action comedy that held its action in as high a regard as its humour. A scene in Pineapple Express which shows the rapid cocking of various guns looks lame in comparison to the Tony Scott-inspired visual aesthetic that Wright managed to adopt to do exactly the same thing.
That’s pretty much where this movie stands – as a fantastic idea that never quite lives up to expectations. Notably, the trailer for Pineapple Express was a superbly put together piece of editing that brings together the humour, the action, a great piece of music, and some of the best cinematography, in a way that never occurs in the final film. It’s still a fun movie and one that has so many gags that you’ll undoubtedly be laughing at some point, but maybe the film works best fulfilling the typical role of a stoner flick – as a secondary stimulus. One of the funniest scenes comes right at the end, as the main characters sit around and discuss the events as if it was a movie they just watched. That, I feel, is exactly how audiences will get the most enjoyment too.
Pineapple Express is on UK general release from September 12th.
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