Action Comedy, 111 Minutes, 2008
This one kind of slipped through the cracks for me. It stands out as something that I should have watched a long time ago but somehow never got around to.
I count myself as a Seth Rogan fan. That said much of what he does I absolutely hate. He has a certain voice, a “vibe” that works insanely well in some things (“Superbad”) and terribly in others (“The Green Hornet”). This is an example of the former.
Pineapple Express is a stoner action movie – maybe the only stoner action movie. It’s funny – funny as hell in places – but it really is an action movie first and a comedy second. Seth Rogan and James Franco have some great chemistry and ricochet ridiculousness off one-another brilliantly. Danny McBride, whom I really hate, is decent enough as a third wheel as well.
The story is a little silly (and leaves a lot of open holes) but doesn’t get in the way. Many of the jokes are of the wincing, “baseball-to-the-nuts” variety but they work because they’re not overused and not dwelled on. The fact that there’s a lot of smart humor in the staccato dialog also helps to raise the movie past what could have easily been a dull, childish romp. There’s also a classic, hilarious bait-and-switch gag at the end that’s not to be missed.
Bottom-line is we laughed a lot and had a ton of fun with this. There’s really not much more to say.
