Pineapple Express

Judd Apatow and his minions strike again with another big honking summer comedy. I wonder does this guy get any sleep, I know he isn't directing all of these movies but everything he seems to touch turns into a solid gold production lately. With Talladega Nights, Knocked Up, Superbad, Stepbrothers and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. (I guess, technically, he does have a couple bombs like Drillbit Taylor and Dewey Cox.) This time around the director is a fellow NCSA alum David Gordon Green. Frankly I was very surprised that he was chosen for this film given that he has mostly done indie style dramedies for most of his career. This is also a bit of a departure for the Apatow/Rogan crowd as they extend into Comedy/Action with Pineapple Express. The end result was funny but I do think that Rogan and company are starting to wear a little thin.

Dale Denton (Seth Rogan) is a pot head process server who pretty much plays the same doofus character he has played in his last few films. I can't remember the last movie that had a process server as the lead but I could imagine anyone who would dress up in funny disguises to serve court orders to unwitting citizens at their place of business would be either a complete loser or a total scumbag. Dale plays a combination of both. He's lazy and unmotivated and he is dating a senior at the local High School, played by the very attractive Amber Heard. As I mentioned before Dale likes to smoke a lot of pot. He picks up a new kind of bud called, you guessed it, Pineapple Express from his stoned out of his mind dealer Saul (James Franco). The shit hits the fan when Dale witnesses a murder by a crazy angry cop (Rosie Perez) and her drug dealer boyfriend Ted (Gary Cole). Dale and Saul go on the run and of course the comedy and action ensue. At this point the films jumps back and forth from a typical Judd Apatow stoner comedy to car chases and bloody action sequences and then back to the Laurel and Hardy style gags again.

James Franco really steals this show with his bizarre and funny portrayal. Another NCSA alum, Danny McBride, puts in some good laughs as the fence swinging pimp/dope dealer Red. I enjoyed the Midnight Run homages, although, it made me think about how great that chase movie was compared to Pineapple Express. My brother and I laughed frequently but the pot jokes had mostly been used in other, better, films like Cheech and Chong's Up In Smoke. Overall it was a silly action romp with some great laughs but it was ironically a forgettable film that finds itself 4th in my Judd Apatow/Seth Rogan film list.. so far:

1. Knocked Up
2. 40 Year Old Virgin
3. Superbad
4. Pineapple Express