Pineapple
Express
It’s hard to be funny and dumb without
annoying the audience, but these guys have got that ability to make us
laugh without totally insulting the audience’s intelligence.
Seth Rogan stars as Dale Denton – a process server who likes
to smoke the wacky tobacky to make the day go by a little quicker. Saul
Silver (James Franco) is his fun loving dealer who tries a bit too hard
to be his friend, but, Saul has the good stuff, so Dale keeps going
back for more.
One day, Saul sells Dale a special, hard to find type of ganja called
Pineapple Express, which Dale decides to enjoy while on his way to
serve some papers to a big time crime lord, Ted Jones (Gray Cole), who
happens to be the supplier of the Pineapple Express in this town. When
Dale sees Ted and a police officer, Carol (Rosie Perez), shoot a major
player in a rival crime syndicate, he gets scared, drops his fatty, and
looks to run away as fast as possible. Of course, Ted sees that someone
has witnessed the crime, and recognizes his product, which was thrown
on the ground, so he’s off to capture Dale and Saul before
they squeal.
Will
Dale and Saul get away?
Are they too stoned to survive?
I almost think Pineapple Express is a beneficiary of low expectations.
Every commercial and trailer I saw made me think this was going to be
the biggest bomb since The Love Guru. Yet, it was a pleasant surprise
as I laughed at the outrageous Cheech and Chong (or Harold and Kumar
for you younger folks) adventure Dale and Saul involuntarily embark
upon complete with silly physical humor and two guys under the influence not able to comprehend what is happening around them.
Franco is hilarious with his take on the dealer who loves his product
and customers a little too much. Writers Evan Goldberg and Rogan give
Franco all of the best jokes, oddball remarks and references, while he lets
the goofiness shine through without embarrassment or holding back in
any way. Like everyone in the movie, his character is somewhat of a
moron, and he relishes it, but you get the feeling he isn’t
dumb.
Rogan is a perfect co-star with Franco as the two bicker, get overly
emotional and engage in some of the funniest, most awkward fight scenes
in movies, while Danny McBride bounces back from Foot Fist Way to
remind us how funny he can be (and wait until you see him in Tropic
Thunder), and Craig Robinson (Darryl from The Office) continues to be
more memorable than he should be in every small role he plays in every
TV show or movie (let this man take the lead and be a star!).
Goldberg and Rogan don’t quite reach the level of their
instant classic hit Superbad, but this is much better than what some
people want to call comedy these days, if you aren’t offended
by the rampant use of illegal narcotics and their sale.
Pineapple Express is rated R for
pervasive language, drug use, sexual references and violence.
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