Pineapple Express: Two Hats Are Better Than One?

I rented Pineapple Express with close to no expectations and really because there was only one copy left at Blockbuster. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen what it looks like when a movie is newly released at Bb, but the wall of row by row by row of empty spaces where multiple copies of the newly released DVD used to be is marvelous. (And ultimately disappointing if you are going specifically for that movie.)

The Pineapple Express (written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg – who penned Superbad – directed by David Gordon Green and produced by Judd Apatow) is newly released and hotly rented, except for one lone copy tonight at my local Bb. In an unusual act of fierce competition, I spotted this fluke and literally stepped in front of someone to pick up the movie. Plus it seemed okay to rent it. I heart Seth Rogen. And lots of people want to have James Franco’s babies.

The reviews I’d heard from people were varied. I didn’t read about it on The Internets, one friend thought it would probably be funniest stoned and another went to the theater stoned.

So not really constructive advice.

Here's a summary from IMDb:

Lazy court-process clerk and stoner Dale Denton has only one reason to visit his equally lazy dealer Saul Silver: to purchase weed, specifically, a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. But when Dale becomes the only witness to a murder by a crooked cop and the city's most dangerous drug lord, he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is so rare that it can be traced back to him--and it is. As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they're not suffering from weed-fueled paranoia: incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both. All aboard the Pineapple Express. Written by Anonymous

??????? Yeah.

But I enjoyed it. I don’t regret the time I spent watching it. But there were obvious things missing and an ongoing tug-of-war to jibe comedy and violence that ended up clashing in too many places. The story was so weird. but that was admitted in several interviews I read so it made it easier to swallow. (Maybe that’s also the brilliance of even Apatow’s flops—a commitment to not taking it too seriously—from actor to producer.) I was a bit puzzled by the pace: ups, downs and periods of chaos, all the while quipping one-liners and improvisation.

Apparently Apatow’s inspiration was Brad Pitt's character in True Romance, which is KB’s favorite movie and I watched it years ago when we first met. It’s bad ass though I don’t even remember Brad Pitt. Was he the guy totally strung out with a suitcase of coke? I also might be making that up. I think Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were reluctant at first to write the screenplay, believing a stoner action comedy was just too out there. But I guess they figured with the right people and budget, it could be really good.

Key Points:

I have to admit I was busy during the film but I figured it was okay to be half-watching. Not too far into the movie, however, this was all I knew: plot jokes plot...SCREAMING CHAOS...jokes plot jokes...CHAOS SCREAMING....the scenes escalated to chaos so quickly it seemed the actors were more aware of the imminent violence than me. (It turns out the chaos still came out of nowhere even when I decided to pay close attention.)

Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson stole the show. They play hitmen for the drug dealer that is after Rogen and Franco (I know. SO. effing weird.) and their chemistry is superb. Both seem awkward in their roles as killers (until a surprising scene where Corrigan shoots someone because he was tired of everyone talking). Corrigan spends the film anxious to get home to his wife and Robinson remains jealous and critical of that...I promise it's much more hilarious than the completely unfunny way I just described it.

I like James Franco in a comedic role (notably Freaks and Geeks), though his wig made it hard to appreciate his sexyface. He seemed comfortable improvising with Seth Rogen and proved impeccable timing.

Seth Rogen played Seth Rogen (which means still I love him). I wonder if it’s just his distinctive laugh that many of his characters seem the same? Or it could be the improv. It brings out his own voice and therefore he actually does play himself. Not to mention many of his films were also written by him! So when I think about variation in his roles, it just takes some weeding through the improv to see that each character is different.

There was a lot of pot humor I didn’t understand.

Blood with the violence would have made it awesome but clearly their low budget hurt the violence scenes. (Although Quentin Tarantino always operates on a low budget.)

Seth Rogen's character is dating a girl in high school. Ridiculous and not even plot-necessary. Except it did allow for a sweet scene with Ed Begley shooting at Seth Rogen and James Franco and threatening to take them outside and "fuck them in the street".

I felt like this movie would have worked better as an action movie with really good jokes because the inadequacy of the violence was distracting. I hate being taken away from a movie. Like when an actor breaks character enough that I notice. Or there is something so illogical. And that kept happening. Either the actors didn't play the scenes seriously enough (or they were supposed to be high?) or there wasn't enough camera action. Whatever it was, I kept getting removed from the film.

So Pineapple Express is a comedy that takes its action scenes too seriously. If the scenes were done in an over the top way, adding to the comedy, that would have worked better. Or if the scenes were done on such a high budget, with room allowed for lots of blood and special effects, along with the comedy and ridiculous storyline, it would have been awesome. There was a way to make this movie work with both hats on, but unfortunately the lack of budget made it fall short.