Pineapple Express

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
2008 - David Gordon Green

Thank goodness television executives were too stupid to understand Judd Apatow's greatness when they had him. Maybe most surprisingly in this story of incompetent network decision making, only one of the them were the nitwits at FOX, the other being the nitwits at NBC. It's a well-known tale now, but after Apatow had a couple quality TV series in "Freaks & Geeks" and "Undeclared" unceremoniously canceled before they had a chance to find the audience they deserved (and a third where the pilot wasn't even picked up), Judd made his way to the big screen. To everyone's benefit.

Starting with The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and now including projects he doesn't direct but produces and helps guide to the greenlight including Knocked Up, Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Apatow and company have brought the R-Rated comedy actually made for those over the age of thirteen into a glorious Renaissance, with (so far, anyway) amazing quality control and not just getting something made because he has the power but because they're good scripts brought to life by good people.

The latest in those string of successes is Pineapple Express, co-written by one of its stars and Apatow regular, Seth Rogen, and directed by indiestar David Gordon Green, new to the Apatow fold. And it may well have the most laughs of any of these movies yet. Simple plot: a twenty-five-year-old slacker of a process server named Dale (Rogen) accidentally witnesses a murder by a would-be drug kingpin. He runs to his doofus of a dealer, the good natured perpetually baked Saul (James Franco), and together they flee for their lives, fearing the kingpin (Gary Cole) will be able to identify them from the rare strain of pot Dale left at the scene, the titular Pineapple Express. What follows is essentially an action movie, as far as the plotting. It might have been an episode of "Miami Vice" circa 1985, but what makes it so funny is that it is essentially played straight. Or at least, Hollywood straight. Like Simon Pegg's Shaun of the Dead almost all of the comedy derives not from spoofing the genre but by placing incompetent average Joes at the center of it all, and instead of them magically becoming Bruce Willis they have to bumble and bluff their way through it.

These characters and their little asides and attitude of general fear layered into a genre story of murder and mayhem around Los Angeles plays so much more "real" than escapist junk like the Rush Hour series, but also ten times funnier. There are long, rolling, sustained laughs from beginning to end, the kind that you're going to have to wait and see it a second or third time on DVD before you even catch all the dialogue because you can't hear it over your own guffaws. And the fight scenes! Hysterical because they're so damn messy and give the illusion of not being choreographed. It also opens with a period sequence that I found more worthwhile than the opening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Unlike that blockbuster, Pineapple Express delivers on every expectation and then some. Rogen and Franco, who co-starred in "Freaks & Geeks", are perfect, as are the varied members of the supporting cast including Rosie Perez as a crooked Cop, Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson (Darryl from the warehouse on "The Office") as a pair of bickering hitmen, Ed Begley Jr. & Nora Dunn as the parents of Rogen’s High School-aged girlfriend and Danny R. McBride as another dealer who steals every single scene he's in.

I saw one of the other R-Rated comedies of the Summer last week, Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder. While that one had what they call in the business a "high concept" it failed to deliver beyond the set-up. Pineapple Express is much more simple on paper but its high characters make it all a joyous and outrageous pleasure. The Apatow gang continue to spin their particular oxymoronic magic: stupid comedies for smart people.


GRADE: B+

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

I love how you mention the issue of having to watch a flick 3 or 4 times to eventually get all the dialogue. That's the sign of a good comedy, to me. Shot in the Dark does this to me every time. There are parts of the film I feel I will never actually be able to hear in their entirety...

This flick looks fun. I might have to see it in the theater, something I rarely do for comedies.

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Thanks Holds, I think we're going to go see this. This will mark the first Apatow flick I've seen and if we like it then I will start collecting all of his other flicks.

Great write up as per usual.

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Now my hopes are seriously high, no pun intended.

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I'm about to see this tomorrow morning - looks great.

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I was expecting more and was quite underwhelmed.

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"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza

I haven't seen either of those TV shows, or The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I can't remember how I came across it, but I saw the trailer to Pineapple Express about a week ago. It looks very funny, so I'll grab a copy as soon as it comes out. I'm feeling pretty sure I won't regret spending the money on this.

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It was fun, and genius. A-.

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I read that as Coleman when i first read through it, bit disappointed when i realised my error.

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Are you high, dude? Don't listen to this garbage, everyone. Pineapple Express was most certainly not underwhelming. It was overwhelming. I've suffered such a whelm overload from this movie, it's crazy. All you Mofos go out and give this flick lots and lots of your money so Seth Rogen can keep redefining the art of comedy as we know it.


"F**k Jeff Goldblum, man."

Well. We got a FRIGGIN MONTH TO WAIT over here.

Very funny stuff, I want to take a second to say thanks to Holden for the strong recommendation, I know you kind of act like a big tough guy and say you don't care what others think and all. But still thanks anyway and I appreciate you taking the time to write this flick up in the first place. I admit, I was going to skip it.

By not skipping it I got to see a pretty damn funny movie and some pretty interesting twists on a genre that I don't always enjoy. Holden is dead on about one thing there are a few gut busting and possibly almost laugh until you cry moments in the movie. And for me having spent a few drug crazed nights in the woods myself, the entire time they were out there was pretty damn funny. Apparently my wife could really relate to because she was laughing harder than I was during one part in particular. You know the part I'm sure.

Good stuff, a fun way to spend a couple of hours.

"Hey, look. It's like my thumb is my c*ck."

Movie looks ok, but why are they overrating and overadvertising it? They preview is on every channel all the time. Kinda stupid...

So, you have decided it's overrated without seeing it?

I haven't seen one single advertisement for this film. Not one. Your TV has an off button, btw.

Oh? You didn't see ONE advertisement for this movie, did you? Then how did you find out about it?

This does look like a good laugh will be looking forward to seeing this.

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~In the event of a Zombie Uprising, remember to sever the head or destroy the brain!~

Not lately, no. I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with you on this one. I've found the Seth Rogen/Judd Apatow comedies quite hilarious, but this was by far the worst one. It would be the last one I would recommend. There's plenty of chuckle moments, but it just doesn't stand up to the most recent adult comedies Knocked Up and Superbad. If I go in expecting to laugh just as much as I did at those films, and don't; I'm underwhelmed. Quite disappointing, but a fun film regardless.

Oh, I don't know. Maybe he read about it on some type of forum. A forum dedicated to movies, of course. A "movie forum," if you will. Perhaps you've come across one?

Sorry, but Sedai's right: it's goofy to say they're "overrating" a film you haven't even seen. I think you're exaggerating its level of promotion, as well.

And I feel exactly the opposite: to me Superbad, while funny, is by far the least of these Apatow-brand movies yet. The 40-Year-Old Virgin may still be the all-out funniest to me, but after one viewing Pineapple Express is right there with it, and I most definitely laughed very hard and a lot all the way through. If you care to compare my reviews, my thoughts after seeing Superbad last August can be found HERE.


Diff'rent strokes, Mr. Drummond.

I clicked on the thread on the main page of this site, which then allowed me to read Holden's review, which then allowed me to decide weather or not I wanted to see it. Amazing, eh?

Ok, ok, you got me, occasionally a small banner flashes across the top of the site with the name of the film on it; I haven't seen any trailers or commercials for it, though.