Pineapple Express

If the credits behind Pineapple Express sound weird (the movie reteams Superbad screenwriters, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and pairs them up with director David Gordon Green, a filmmaker more known for serious thought-provoking indie dramas), then the movie itself is even stranger. Here is a movie that tries to combine raunchy stoner humor, with gratuitous, graphic, off the wall violence. Try to picture what would happen if Cheech and Chong wandered into one of the movies Schwarzemegger or Stallone used to make back in the 80s, and you won't be too far off. Though certainly watchable, nothing quite gels together in Pineapple Express, and (like just about every movie comic producer Judd Apatow has made) the movie is far too long to the point that it wears out its welcome long before it's done.

Just like Superbad, the movie deals with two friends who find themselves in a series of escalating adventures just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) is a process server who spends half of his time handing out legal summons, and the rest of his time either getting high with his best friend and drug dealer, Saul (James Franco, in a rare and surprisingly effective comic role), or trying to avoid the parents of his underage high school girlfriend Angie (Amber Heard). After Dale picks up some rare weed from Saul known as Pineapple Express, he goes back to work, and happens to witness a murder where he sees a dangerous drug kingpin named Ted (Gary Cole) and a crooked cop (Rosie Perez) executing a rival. In his panic to escape, Dale accidentally drops his joint, and Ted recognizes it and its source. Dale and Saul are forced to go on the run, trying to stay ahead of the hitmen that Ted sends after them, no longer sure who they can trust.

Pineapple Express is the sixth release from Apatow's production company in the course of a full year (from last August when Superbad came out, to now), and this movie obviously shows some strains. While there are still some fleeting laughs throughout the film, they're not as big as they should be, and they definitely did not come very often to me, or anyone else at my screening. Much of the humor is of the lazy stoner variety, which we have seen far too many times before, and the movie does very little to convince us why we need to see it again. This is a fairly aimless and meandering comedy that takes its sweet time in setting up its premise, then pretty much puts it aside for long periods of time, giving Rogen and Franco plenty of chances to do some pot-assisted hijinks. While I'm still not fully convinced that Seth Rogen has what it takes to be a leading man, James Franco seems more than up to the challenge of playing the surprisingly sweet-natured and almost child-like Saul. Not only does he get the best lines in the film, but he also throws himself full-tilt into his off-kilter character, and makes him into someone we can get behind. He's obviously the character that got the most attention at the screenplay level, as no one else even comes close in the film. No surprise, considering Rogen had initially written the character for himself.

Much like the two half-baked lead characters, the movie seems to be in a continuous daze. It never really focuses on its plot, its characters, or anything much in particular. The villains and hitmen after Dale and Saul kind of wander in and out of the story. They're there to fuel the more action-heavy moments of the film, but not much more than that. Equally mishandled is the character of Dale's girlfriend, Angie, who is set up early on to play an important role in the film, then kind of just peters out without so much as a resolution. We're supposed to be amused by the antics of the two friends at the center of the film, and while I was for a while, they're not strong enough to carry a nearly two hour long movie. At least the title characters in the Harold and Kumar films come across as interesting and somewhat intelligent people. Though Franco's Saul is likable, neither him or Dale come across as people you'd want to spend an extended amount of time with. Even stoner comedies need something we can attach ourselves to, and this movie gives us very little in terms of character.

What sets Pineapple Express apart from most comedies of its kind is its occasional action sequences, and surprisingly graphic depiction of violence. While the sequences are done extremely well (a highlight being a wonderfully staged car chase sequence half-way through the film), they do give the film a severe personality disorder. The film's climactic and gory shoot out is surprisingly brutal, especially considering that this is the same movie that features a fellow drug dealer whose running gag is that he cannot die, no matter how much he gets shot, mangled, or blown up. It's last 20 minutes or so suddenly seems to take a rather serious turn on its violence, and we're left with mixed signals. The characters seem out of place with the violence and chaos erupting around them, and while that's perhaps the joke, I still found it hard to chuckle when a character who was mainly played for laughs was crushed to death by a speeding car.

Pineapple Express never quite finds a consistent tone, nor does it find a reason that it has to be as long as it is. There are a couple laughs and some stand out action sequences, but they're not enough to hold up an entire film. I liked the character of Saul, but everyone else I could do without. For me, this movie only strengthened my belief that Seth Rogen should stick to supporting characters, where I actually find him funnier. He doesn't have the personality or the charm to carry a leading role, and when that leading role is attached to an uneven and mainly uneventful film, he sinks even faster.

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