Review: Pineapple Express

Dope-smoking process server (i.e. he hands out subpoenas) Seth Rogen has just smoked some rare, potent dope with his friendly (if paranoid and frequently incoherent) drug dealer James Franco when he goes to deliver a subpoena to Gary Cole. Before he can, though, he witnesses Cole (a drug dealer), and his crooked cop crony Rosie Perez killing an unidentified Asian man. Smartly, Rogen high-tails it outta there. Stupidly, Rogen leaves behind some ‘evidence’ (weed of a rare variety) for Cole to discover. Rogen alerts Franco to the situation and they both freak out, and not just ‘coz they’re fried. So they decide to hide out until the situation cools down. Or until they’re so wasted that they forget what they’re doing hiding out in the woods. Danny McBride is Franco’s mid-level drug-supplier and friend, who has a run-in with some of Cole’s hired thugs, and is probably the least trustworthy person on the face of the planet. Did I mention Rogen was meant to be having dinner with his high-schooler girlfriend Amber Heard’s parents (dad played by a well-cast Ed Begley Jr. and mom played by Nora Dunn)? James Remar and Bill Hader play military men in a weird, pointless B&W prologue set in the late 30s involving early tests on the effects of marijuana smoking.

This 2008 David Gordon Green (“Undertow”) stoner action/comedy is a sort of What If the characters from “Lethal Weapon” were Stoners?’ situation from the writers of “Superbad” (screenwriters Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, from a story by the duo and Judd Apatow). It has two major problems. 1) I don’t like very many stoner films, or even most drug-centred films at all, really. 2) The character played by Rogen is utterly unappealing and vaguely creepy. He is a filthy-looking dope smoker who is friends with his dealer and is dating a high-schooler! The guy is a foul-mouthed, no-hoper sleazebag (Surely the guy’s at least meant to be 25, right? Rogen himself is surely at least 30 and looks older) in my book. The funny thing is, I was almost able to get over these two bothersome aspects to enjoy this film. After all, it’s well-made for what it is (though the only funny part I even remember is when someone refers to the marijuana as smelling ‘like God’s vagina’. Hilarious line, actually), while Franco and McBride give terrific performances under the circumstances. Rosie Perez still can’t act a lick, though.

If you like this sort of thing, you’ll probably consider this one of the best in the genre, lots of people seemed to respond to it favourably. Aside from “The Big Lebowski” and “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle”, I don’t like this sort of thing, and didn’t get a whole lot out of it, I’m afraid. At nearly two hours, it’s way too long as well. Watch “The Big Lebowski” instead, it’s in many ways the same film, only twice as good.

Rating: C+