THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS – MOVIE REVIEW
*** THREE STARS [An amusing but messy "weed-action" movie]
The Judd Apatow-comedy express puffs out another enjoyable “bro-mance:” an endearingly amusing, but sloppy, spawn of the beloved “weed” and “buddy action” movie genres. In describing the overall tone and feel of the movie, I’ll borrow the analogical device used in the movie: If Harold and Kumar had sex with Midnight Run and had a baby, and Cheech and Chong and 48 Hours had sex and had a baby, and both those babies grew up and had sex – the result would be Pineapple Express.
Indeed, such a freakish, genetic offspring would bear the quintessential traits of amusing buffoonery, witty wordplay, raunchy adlibs, and overall inspired idiocy. It also inherits the unfortunate, in bred side effects of being ungainly, overlong and a tad disjointed. The Seth Rogen -Evan Goldberg [Writers of Superbad] script nonetheless provides ample fun which makes for a perfectly enjoyable Summer movie, especially considering the bar isn’t set too “high.” [I just made a punny.]
Thankfully, the movie stands on its own wobbly legs due to the amiable and lovable characters generally seen populating the “Apatow” universe. After last summer’s suprise hit Knocked Up, Seth Rogen moves up as a leading man, playing Dale, an underachieving, pot loving “process server’ who uses a variety of disguises in order to “serve’ his unsuspecting victims with subpoenas. Due to his love of the beloved ganja, he is forced to purchase the narcotic from the home of his supplier Saul, played brilliantly by James Franco, who redeems his entire acting career and the painful memory of Spiderman 3 with this one hilarious role. All Saul wants is to be Dale’s friend, and all Dale wants is his precious weed and to be out the door in seconds flat.
With this comedic “marriage” set in place the movie finds its most solid and reliable anchor, however much of the pace and rhyhtm falls “off-center” when the picture isn’t focused on the two leads and their dysfunctional relationship. Saul, in his sincere quest to be Dale’s buddy, sells him “The Pineapple Express,” one of the most potent and rare weeds, which Saul sells only to Dale and keeps the rest for himself. Later that night right before he’s about to serve his last victim of the day, a mob boss and drug seller played by Gary Cole, the film’s villain, Dale tokes up outside the home and witnesses Cole and an officer, played by Rosie Perez [Remember her?} , brutally murder a rival Asian gang leader. Dale freaks out, throws out his rare joint - which due to its rarity is immediately traced to its only suppler in town [Saul] – and hilariously “escapes” the two by driving manically to the only place he can: Saul’s home.
Can Dale and Saul, two pot smoking ne’er do wells escape the Cole’s hitmen, Rose Pererz’s corrupt cop, rival Asian mobsters, and Dale’s girlfriend’s psychotic father, played by Ed Begley Jr in a very funny and unhinged cameo appearance? Who cares? The plot takes second seat to the outrageous characters, their eccentric quirks, and the escalating nuttiness of the situation which culminates in a graphically violent, old school action movie “warehouse” shootout.
As with any Apatow production, the comic brilliance of the actors, which includes Danny Mcbride this time around as the mullet styled, red neck who makes birthday cakes for his dead cat, shines with the off the cuff “improvs.” It allows for a naturalistic feel and sincere reactions to the most absurd situations, as when Mcbride’s character sits in a bathroom bleeding to death sincerely apologizing to Dale for trying to kill him earlier. Mcbride’s character, by the way, becomes the “Terminator” due to the sheer number of times he is presumably fatally wounded but inexplicably and hilariously returning to life at the most opportune times. The negative aspects of improv is that it can bog down the cohesiveness and pacing of an otherwise tight narrative. As a result, Express is all over the place and some scenes drag on far too long or provide head scratching randomness that completely takes away from the film’s more principled and focused action: Dale’s relationship subplot for example is completely useless and not even resolved properly.
There’s no reason to intellectually deconstruct or critique a movie like Express: it takes a potentially lazy genre and infuses it with some good hearted, likeable characters and raunchy goofiness and lets everyone have a pretty good time for two hours. Like a big, overstuffed, hand rolled joint: it’s messy and ungainly, but ultimately enjoyable. [Or so I've heard...as verified by my p.h.d. certified, experienced marijuana smoking homies who I invited to the press screening. P.S. Kids don't do drugs...unless you have a prescription.]
*** THREE STARS
